South Africa played their final pool match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup last night, defeating Tonga on a scoreline of 49-18 in Marseille.
It was a game that the Springboks needed to win, something they did rather comfortably. They will now have to sit around for almost a week while the remainder of the fixtures in the pool are played, mainly Ireland vs Scotland.
The game between the two Six Nations teams has been billed as a loser goes home match. The Scots need either a win and try scoring bonus point, or a win and to deny Ireland a losing bonus point in order to finish ahead of Andy Farrell's side in the pool.
In saying that, thanks to the scoreline in last night's game against Tonga, there is also a result that could yet see South Africa eliminated from the competition.
Jacques Nienabar not happy with Ireland-Scotland 'match-fixing' question
The permutations in Pool 'B' are becoming increasingly complicated as we enter the final round of games.
A win or draw for Ireland against Scotland will see them top the pool, while a loss without a bonus point of any kind could see them eliminated from the competition altogether.
However, there is also a certain type of result that would both Ireland and Scotland advance at the expense of South Africa.
A bonus point victory for Scotland, coupled with a try-scoring bonus point for Ireland, would leave all three teams tied on 15 points. It would then come down to scoring difference to decide who topped the pool, while second placed would then come down to head-to-head between the other two sides.
Here's how the pool currently looks.
The result that would see both Ireland and Scotland go through would require the Scots to score four tries and beat the Irish by over 20 points, while Ireland would then also need to get a bonus point for scoring four or more tries.
In this scenario, Scotland would top the pool on point difference, while Ireland would finish second as they hold the head-to-head advantage over South Africa.
It still looks very unlikely.
In saying that, the question was put to South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber last night about the possibility of the other two teams colluding in order to to eliminate the Springboks. It's fair to say it did not go down well.
"That would be extremely disappointing..."
- The extraordinary Pool B match-fixing suggestion put to Jacques Nienaber in the final question of his Sunday night post-match Springboks briefing. #Springboks #RSAvTGA #RWC2023 #IREvSCO pic.twitter.com/qrDjCcxEnU— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 2, 2023
If I understand, you say they can maybe chat between each other to decide?..
Could I believe in a scenario where they will decide 'we want to get this amount of points and the get South Africa out of the way'?
That would probably be match-fixing I would say.
I hope not. Rugby is clean, we wear those t-shirts. Hopefully not, that would be extremely disappointing don't you think?
Needless to say, there is no chance that any sort of collusion will take place between Ireland and Scotland this weekend.
Whatever two teams end up making the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup, they will very much be there on merit.
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