The 26-year-old hooker, who admitted the offence but denied his actions had been deliberate, was found guilty of breaching Law 10.4(m) by making contact with the eyes or the eye area and acts contrary to good sportsmanship.

In a fixture both sides had to win to advance to the quarter-finals, Pool C winners Ireland triumphed 36-6 at Dunedin's Otago Stadium and so knocked Italy out of the tournament.

The IRB said in a statement: "Having conducted a detailed review of all the evidence available, including all broadcast angles and additional evidence from the Player and submissions from his legal representative, the Judicial Officer found the contact with the eyes of the Irish player to be a deliberate act on the part of Ghiraldini and categorised it as top end offending which has an entry point of 24 weeks suspension.

"However, taking into account particular aspects of the offending in this case and a range of mitigating factors, principally Ghiraldini’s previously unblemished record, the Judicial Officer reduced the period of suspension otherwise arrived at to 15 weeks."

Ghiraldini, who has 48 hours to appeal, will be suspended until January 17 next.

During the first half of Sunday's match an angry Healy indicated he had been the victim of eye gouging, but experienced South African referee Jonathan Kaplan said he could take no action as he had not himself seen the incident.

Eye gouging is one of the most serious offences in rugby union and is punishable by a maximum three-year ban.

Ireland face Wales in a World Cup quarter-final in Wellington on Saturday.

Both teams have poachers extraordinaires in the shape of David Pocock, for the Wallabies, and Heinrich Brussouw for the Springboks.

And Australia back-row Elsom, himself no mean player at the breakdown, said it would be a key aspect of the match.

"If you ever discount the breakdown, you're going to be in trouble, particularly as you get to the pointy end of the tournament," Elsom said on Tuesday.

"That's going to be a real area of contention because any time you get dominance at the breakdown you're going to provide front-foot ball for attack and that's an enormous part of the game.

"If you look at the teams whose attack has stuttered you can always link it back to the breakdown."

Elsom added Sunday's match against Australia's old foes would be tactically and mentally different from a Tri-Nations match.

"The fact we're more familiar with them means we've got more background on them and we don't have to pore over as much footage, but by the same token we know they can be a handful and they're a very good side," he explained.

"You just need three big games (in the knockout phase). Win, draw or lose this weekend, you've got to start afresh.

"If you're going home, it's disappointing, but if you're going into the semis it's a totally new game in this tournament, more than any other.

"It is important to take lessons from the past. We don't have to go too far back to have a look at when we don't do things so well to see how it turns out for us,"

"One of the great things about Test matches is you really find out where you stand," said the 28-year-old Elsom, capped 73 times by Australia.

"We've got a tough opposition in South Africa and on Monday you'll have a clearer view of how world rugby sits."

Elsom added that this tournament differed from the 2007 World Cup in France, when Australia were pipped in the quarter-final by England, who then went on to lose to the Springboks in the final.

"It's obvious the games are different. There's a whole lot more advantage in the defence," he said, in a view that differed from many pundits' perception of how rugby had changed in the past four years.

"The strength of the South African defence is that they get off the line very hard and it can be very good for them and it has been good for them so far."

Utility back Adam Ashley-Cooper said Australia, stunningly beaten 15-6 by Ireland in the pool stages, had to raise their game and be ready to go the distance against South Africa.

"We're looking for a lift in intensity and urgency. We'll approach it like it's our last game, because if we don't get past it we're going home on Sunday.

"All the games played (at the tournament) show the 80-minute effort is important."

Lievremont's move in playing Clermont scrum-half Parra at 10 ahead of specialist outside half Francois Trinh-Duc has been one of the talking points of this World Cup.

But although France, with Parra at fly-half, have lost to both New Zealand (37-17) and, far more dramatically, Tonga, who beat Les Bleus 19-14 in Wellington last weekend, Lievremont has stuck with his new stand-off, who will again have Dimitri Yachvili inside him at scrum-half in the team announced here on Tuesday.

"Despite the great qualities of Francois in that position, I love the possibility of playing Morgan there and his understanding with Dimitri Yachvili," Lievremont told reporters.

"Morgan is a competitor. I think he's added a certain dynamism which, although it didn't produce concrete results against New Zealand, I want to stick with."

No team has ever won the World Cup after losing one pool match, let alone two.

But Lievremont, for whom Saturday's fixture could be his last in charge as he will be replaced after the tournament by fellow former France international Phillipe Saint-Andre, insisted the team could bounce back.

"The essential thing is that the players must take responsibility," he said.

"One can have regrets, and I am the first to have regrets, but now we are in this difficult situation we have to react.

"But I am convinced the players can react," he added ahead of a match where France will try to avoid losing to England in a third successive World Cup, following defeats in the semi-finals of both the 2003 and 2007 semi-finals.

The only changes to the starting side beaten by Tonga saw the return of first-choice No 8 Imanol Harinordoquy in place of Raphael Lakafia while leading tighthead prop Nicolas Mas took over from Luc Ducalcon.

Meanwhile, centre Aurelien Rougerie was included in midfield despite suffering a shoulder injury last weekend.

On the bench, back David Marty took the spot vacated by Fabrice Estebanez, whose World Cup ended on Monday when he was banned for three weeks for a dangerous tackle against Tonga after coming on as a replacement.

England, unbeaten at the tournament so far and 17-9 winners over France in the Six Nations in February, are due to name their side on Thursday.

France: 15 Maxime Medard; 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Alexis Palisson; 10 Morgan Parra, 9 Dimitri Yachvili; 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (capt); 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Pascal Pape; 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Fabien Barcella, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Louis Picamoles, 20 Francois Trinh-Duc, 21 David Marty, 22 Cedric Heymans

It was inconceivable the sport's showpiece tournament could take place without any of the top sides, members of the squad said.

A row over the future involvement of the All Blacks, arguably rugby union's best-known international team and one of its most successful, started last week when New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) chief executive Steve Tew said pulling the top-ranked team from the next World Cup could not be ruled out.

Tew said his organisation lost money every time the quadrennial tournament was staged and received the backing of neighbours Australia.

He added competing at the current World Cup in New Zealand was costing the NZRU more than NZ$13-million ($10.3-million), casting a shadow over their participation in four years' time.

But IRB boss Mike Miller said while it would be good to have the All Blacks in England in 2015, "everyone is replaceable."

It was a statement that stunned members of the New Zealand team who are preparing to play their quarter-final match in the ongoing tournament against Argentina in Auckland this coming Sunday.

"You can't have a World Cup without the All Blacks, without any of the top nations. They've all got to be there just to make it a legit World Cup," wing Richard Kahui told reporters.

Assistant coach Wayne Smith also rejected Miller's comments, saying the New Zealand public would not stand for it.

"You've just got to see what rugby means in this country to think of it as inconceivable," he said.

"But I haven't thought a lot about it. I'm focusing on Argentina. They're a big enough test for me."

Tew said the bulk of the New Zealand rugby's shortfall came from lost revenue because the annual Tri-Nations competition was shortened in World Cup years so it did not clash with the tournament.

But Miller said that was not an IRB directive, but rather a decision taken by the Tri-Nations countries South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

He added that Tew was on the IRB Council, had been involved in the decision making for several years and knew the economics of the World Cup were to be re-examined after this tournament.

Tew's words were widely interpreted as a starting point for future talks with the IRB, with few believing the NZRU would disappoint their rugby-mad home public, and their players, by pulling out of the World Cup.

"It'd be devastating for our country and our rugby players here as well," All Black hooker Keven Mealamu said last week.

Niggling injuries meant the reigning champions' pre-eminent enforcer sat out the narrow, hard-hitting victories over Wales (17-16) and Samoa (13-5), instead just getting a run in the facile 87-0 dismantling of Namibia.

But the towering lock insists he is back to top form ahead of the quarter-final against the Wallabies in Wellington, with Danie Roussow having filled in with aplomb in his absence.

"You don't know how frustrating it's been," Botha told reporters on Tuesday. "All the physical battles that I missed against Wales and Samoa.

"When I was sitting on the sidelines I just wanted to take off my number one jacket and get stuck into it.

"I'm just happy to be back. I'm here for the team and I want to do something for the team.

"I'm feeling 100 percent. I can get out running and get out into it. I'm feeling good, as long as I can get on the pitch, although selection falls to the coach," he added.

Botha predicted a fiery confrontration up front with a Wallaby pack he said had improved under Kiwi coach Robbie Deans.

"Since Robbie Deans has taken over, the Australian pack has definitely picked up physicality-wise," said Botha, who will join French Top 14 club Toulon on a three-year contract after the World Cup.

"During the Tri-Nations and all Tests they're involved in, Australia are a much more physical side than they were three, four years ago.

"You can't play good Test rugby if you haven't got a pack that dominates physically.

"They've definitely picked up and this weekend coming will be a physical battle as well and hopefully we'll get on the pitch, do our work and have a good day at the office."

Botha added that the set piece challenge would be key to the team that comes out victorious, saying he thought Deans would pick the combative Nathan Sharpe in a bid to cause Victor Matfield problems in the lineout.

"The line-out and scrum are key elements in the game," he said. "I think they'll put Sharpe in this weekend and they'll try to play against Victor because we know Victor's the best lineout lock in world rugby."

The centre, who in an earlier post said tournament organisers were guilty of "slavery" for the way they treated teams like Samoa, failed to attend a disciplinary hearing in Auckland on Tuesday.

That hearing saw Sapolu "provisionally suspended from all participation in the game of Rugby Union," a Rugby World Cup statement said.

This means he will be unable to resume playing for English Premiership side Gloucester unless and until a future hearing, to be held at a time yet to be announced, decides otherwise.

Sapolu was in trouble again following his latest outburst after Samoa's 13-5 loss to champions South Africa last week - a defeat that ended their World Cup quarter-final hopes.

He claimed Samoa were the victims of a conspiracy and slammed Owens after several other contributors to the Welshman's Facebook page criticised the referee.

"I can understand the hate!! Haha good luck u racist biased prick," tweeted the 30-year-old Sapolu.

"Get s.a (South Africa) into next round. The plan was obvious. Can't wait 2 meet irb (International Rugby Board) members in public," he added.

The comments come after Sapolu was forced to apologise for comparing the World Cup to "slavery" and even the "holocaust" after Samoa had only a few days to prepare for their key game against Wales, which they lost.

A statement issued by World Cup organisers on Tuesday said judicial officer Jeff Blackett of England had ruled that due to Sapolu's failure to attend the hearing, he would adjourn the case to an appropriate time when he would face the charges against him.

But it added: "Pending the holding of such hearing he ordered that Mr Fuimaono Sapolu be provisionally suspended from all participation in the game of Rugby Union."

The statement said the Samoa Rugby Union accepted the charge of misconduct against them for failure to control Sapolu.

The question of what sanction, if any, the Samoa Rugby Union will face will be addressed at the same hearing as that of Sapolu himself.

Samoa were also involved in controversy after wing Alesana Tuilagi was heavily fined for wearing a mouthguard displaying the name of a company that is not sponsoring the World Cup.

The Pacific Islanders threatened an upset against South Africa on Friday in a match where Samoa full-back Paul Williams was sent off.

Wales are set for a ‘50/50’ challenge when they take on Ireland in Saturday's World Cup quarterfinal, buoyed by a lack of injuries to the squad - something that has forced rival stars Dan Carter and Frans Steyn to pull out of the tournament.

The Welsh have seemingly run into prime form and ended their pool play with a clinical 66-0 dismantling of a poor Fijian side.

"We're looking pretty healthy, probably the healthiest we've been going into this week. It's very promising in that area," defence coach Shaun Edwards said of the Welsh injuries.

"It's a nice change for us really, because we had to come over here without quite a few of our star players, so it makes a welcome change for us to be having a nice run with injuries.”

"Over the last two or three years we've definitively had more than our fair share of injuries and it's probably come at the right time that we have a lot of guys available."

With the All Blacks coming to terms with the blow of losing Carter with a severe groin injury and the Springboks having lost the in-form Steyn to a shoulder problem, Edwards said injuries were to be expected.

"Every team realises now that in such a collision-based sport you are going to pick up injuries," said the former Wigan and Great Britain Rugby League star.

"All coaches hope and pray that they are not going to get their star players injured, but percentages tell you you're going to lose a star or a key player or two along the way."

Edwards dubbed the Wellington quarterfinal against Ireland as a "50-50 game".

"It's pretty hard to pick the winner. They are two teams that have run into a bit of form, relatively injury-free.”

"The Irish, after being criticised for their pre-World Cup form, are obviously running into some very strong form themselves."

But he said both the Welsh and Irish players would take the quarterfinal in their stride, as used as they are to the knock-out nature of the European Cup.

"It's just like a Heineken Cup situation where you have your group stages and then you're into a sudden-death situation, so our guys are used to that, as are the Irish lads," he said, adding he was left beaming by keeping Fiji scoreless.

"I was pleased with the lads because of their attitude really. The lads were really disappointed that we didn't get a nil against Namibia," Edwards said.

"There was an interception try that we gave away unfortunately and Stephen Jones has held his hand up and apologised.”

"It's very unusual to get a zero nowadays in rugby. To get a zero you have to shoot out to a quite convincing first-half lead otherwise people go for penalties.”

"Fiji battled on to the end and did their best, but our line held strong until the end of the game.”

"We got some good tackling practice in and because the game was a six-day turnaround, it's not easy to get full-on contact sessions in when you're training."

France centre Fabrice Estebanez will miss the rest of the World Cup after being suspended for three weeks for a dangerous tackle in the upset loss to Tonga.

Estebanez was suspended late Monday after a judicial hearing in Auckland, where he admitted making the tip tackle on Tongan replacement lock Joe Tu'ineau in the second half of Saturday's 19-14 defeat in Wellington.

The suspension will run until 24 October, the day after the World Cup final.

France are playing 2003 champions, England, in the quarterfinal clash on Saturday.

France's World Cup campaign has been full of frustration thus far, with team harmony at a low point following difficult wins over Japan and Canada before back-to-back losses to New Zealand and Tonga in Pool A.

The French only ensured qualification for the knockout round when winger Vincent Clerc scored in the corner in the last seconds on Saturday to earn a bonus point for losing by fewer than seven points against Tonga.

Rugby World Cup judicial officer Christopher Quinlan of England found Estebanez guilty of a mid-range dangerous tackle after reviewing footage and taking evidence from the player. Estebanez was yellow-carded during the match. France has 48 hours to appeal.

His suspension means a player from each team was suspended in the wake of the match.
After a hearing late Sunday, Quinlan banned Tongan winger Sukanaialu Hufanga for five weeks for a dangerous tip tackle on Clerc just before half-time. Hufanga cannot resume playing before November 7th.

A series of other players have been cited over weekend incidents. England winger Delon Armitage was banned for one week for a high tackle on rival fullback Chris Paterson in the 16-12 win over Scotland in Pool B on Saturday night and would miss the quarterfinal against France.

Georgia wing Lekso Gugava was suspended by Jean-Noel Couraud of France for five weeks for a tip tackle on Argentina centre Felipe Contepomi during the Pumas' 25-7 win on Sunday.

Samoa centre Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu is also due to face a misconduct hearing for criticizing Welsh referee Nigel Owens' performance.

Fuimaono-Sapolu described Owens' refereeing as "absolutely horrendous" on Twitter after Samoa lost 13-5 to South Africa on Friday, adding: "get SA into next round. The plan was obvious; can't wait 2 meet IRB members in public."

The International Rugby Board issued a statement saying "the charge follows a previous formal warning issued to the Samoa Rugby Union regarding social media conduct by the same player."

"Yes, I think it's much bigger," de Villiers told a press conference at the team hotel.

Long-range goal-kicker Steyn hurt his shoulder in the pool match against Samoa and has been replaced by fullback Zane Kirchner, while flyhalf Carter suffered a serious groin injury at training. Flyhalf Aaron Cruden replaces him in the squad.

The Springbok coach said Steyn's value lay in his versatility and how he helped to build team spirit.

"Coming to the World Cup he came as a full back. We were forced to use him at centre and then he showed us what his value is as a player and he's a team man there.

"Yes, we're going to miss him, definitely," said de Villiers.

Springbok second row Victor Matfield said it seemed the Sanzar (South Africa-New Zealand-Australia Rugby) teams had been hardest hit by serious injury, with Australia also having to replace loose forward Wycliff Palu and wing Drew Mitchell and others also being sidelined.

"It probably helps a little bit with the northern hemisphere having quite a big off time before this World Cup," Matfield said.

"But that's part of the World Cup. You have to deal with it, you have to adapt and that's how you can be successful if you can adapt to whatever happens to you as a team."

Asked whether northern hemisphere teams were fresher and had a real advantage coming into the World Cup, Matfield said that was difficult to say.

"Maybe we've got more match time, maybe we're sharper, but on the other side you lose because you get injuries to guys that are a bit tired from the long Super Rugby season.

"But I think if you have a look out there, there's definitely more injuries in the southern hemisphere teams than in the northern hemisphere teams."

Australia have defeated South Africa in five of their past six meetings, including twice this year on their way to the Tri-Nations title.

But Horwill said the dynamics of tournament rugby were completely different to the annual southern hemisphere competition and Australia could not afford any complacency against the defending world champions.

"World Cups are different," he told reporters. "It's a tournament, it's knockout - this is it.

"You can put all history behind you, this is a game that we need to win, it's a quarterfinal against the Springboks. It's a huge occasion and you can't read too much into what's happened in the past."

Horwill predicted a tight contest in Wellington and warned the Wallabies could not afford to squander any chances against the miserly Boks' defence.

"They're a very good defensive team, we know that because we've played them twice already this year," he said.

"The games we have played, especially the one over in Durban [a 14-9 win to Australia], there wasn't a lot in it.

"We need to take our opportunities when we get them, whether that's through the boot or scoring tries, we've got to be precise."

He did not believe South Africa's loss of in-form centre Frans Steyn to a shoulder injury would diminish the Springboks' threat, saying flyhalf Morné Steyn was also dangerous with the boot.

"Morné Steyn's a fantastic kicker, his record at this World Cup is pretty high," he said.

"So you've got to be aware that their goal-kicking ability is pretty strong across the board, with or without Frans Steyn."

Wallabies' assistant coach David Nucifora said South Africa, who like Australia are two-time world champions, had gained momentum since the Tri-Nations.

"They were probably a little bit slow to start and they've gained a fair bit of momentum since they arrived here and that's showing in the confidence in the way they're playing," he said.

"It's for keeps now and they're experienced at this type of footy, so it's going to be a great contest."

Nucifora predicted the quarterfinal between the southern hemisphere powerhouses would go down to the wire.

"The team that loses concentration for a split second will be the team that's going home," he said. "I don't think it'll come down to much more than that.

"There'll be one or two opportunities to win this game on Sunday and the team that's up for it and ready to take those chances is the one that will be staying."

The injury-hit Wallabies received reinforcements Monday when winger Lachie Turner and flank Matt Hodgson arrived in Wellington to fill in for Drew Mitchell and Wycliff Palu respectively.

Turner said arriving just ahead of the quarterfinals was "nerve-wracking" but he was raring to go.

"I haven't come over here to watch the boys play, I've come over here to try and get back in that side, so it's a great opportunity for me," he told reporters at Wellington airport.

"The team's got the goal of winning the World Cup. I certainly share that goal and I'll be doing everything I can to ensure I'm part of a team that goes on to win."

Armitage was cited for making a dangerous tackle in England's 16-12 Pool B match against Scotland at Auckland's Eden Park last Saturday.

Judicial officer Bruce Squire deemed Armitage's offence to be at the lower end of offending which has an entry point of two weeks.

The Judicial Officer took into consideration mitigating factors and the absence of aggravating factors in suspending Armitage for one match.

Armitage's suspension takes effect immediately and will include Saturday's quarterfinal against France at Eden Park.

The player has 48 hours in which to appeal the judiciary's decision.

Meanwhile, Georgia wing Lekso Gugava was Monday suspended for five weeks after being found guilty of making a ‘dangerous tip tackle’ in his team's final World Cup pool game against Argentina.

Gugava was cited by citing commissioner Achille Reali from broadcast footage of the match, won by the Pumas 25-7 in Palmerston North on Sunday.

The suspension takes effect immediately and Gugava is free to resume playing on November 8.

Carter presented a positive image as he spoke to the media for the first time since Saturday's injury, but admitted behind closed doors he had let out his frustrations.

What started as a landmark day, when he was asked to captain the All Blacks for the first time, ended in tragedy on his fourth practice kick on the eve of the All Blacks final pool match against Canada.

He knew immediately the damage was serious and team doctor Deb Robinson confirmed it was a "completely torn adductor longus tendon" in his left groin.

"I knew it was pretty serious just because of the pain," Carter said.

"After kicking a ball it just popped and I went down on the ground in agony.

"Obviously, it's pretty gut wrenching and really disappointing what's happened but I have to get over that and continue to think positively and try to help the guys out in whatever way I can."

The 29-year-old Carter has tasted the disappointment of World Cup defeats twice before, playing in the All Blacks' failed 2003 and 2007 campaigns and he was hoping to break through for the first time this year.

The acclaimed playmaker, who is the world's leading Test point scorer and rated by many as the world's best fly-half, said it was very frustrating to have his hopes dashed.

"Just the pure randomness of the injury and for it to come out of the blue, my body was really good leading into the week and it was good all week and I haven't had any groin or abductor or hip problems in the past.

"So for something like this to happen is really tough. I can't put my finger on why and I'm constantly asking why did this happen and I don't have the answer."

'Craziest day of my life'

Carter said he only intended having four kicks at practice and the tendon snapped on his final shot at goal.

When asked about his calm demeanour, Carter said he was "a little different behind closed doors. I tend to let out my frustration a lot.

"But being around the team really spurs me on to think positively and try and help them out in whatever way, and moping around is not going to help them.

"But lying in bed on Saturday night was pretty tough, looking back on what's one of the craziest days in my life.

"To be named All Blacks captain, it's something really special, and then have that taken away through injury and later to find out my dream of being involved in a World Cup is now over. So it has been tough."

Carter was to have led the All Blacks in the absence of regular skipper Richie McCaw, who suffered a recurrence of a foot injury but has been cleared to play Argentina in Sunday's quarter-final.

Although Carter is no longer a member of the All Blacks World Cup squad he will be assisting the team with video analysis of opposition sides.

There has been a national outpouring of disbelief in New Zealand over the injury to their most influential player but Carter said it was time for people to re-focus on supporting the team.

Immediately the extent of his injury was known he sent a message of support to his inexperienced understudy Colin Slade, who has been thrust into the limelight and become the target of unfavourable comparisons in the media.

"I feel sorry for him. He's getting a lot of talk comparing the two of us but he's a great player and deserves his spot and now its his opportunity to go out there and play his game," Carter said.

Carter only recently re-signed with the New Zealand Rugby Union for another four years and did not discount being around to play in the 2015 World Cup in England.

"One thing's for sure, the real World Cup is starting this week," said captain and hooker John Smit, who guided the Springboks to four victories from four pool games.

"It's definitely a tournament that is set up in two stages, and this is the stage where every game is do-or-die, it's a different level completely."

Predicting there would be a "different vibe" around the camp, Smit added that any team that had safely negotiated pool play was worth their spot in the knock-out phase.

"If you've got this far, you've done well in being successful in your pool and those pools, especially for us, have been invaluable because we came into the competition pretty undercooked," he said.

"So having the game time, being able to see what your combinations are like, and see how players can get into form, it's really invaluable."

Smit added: "Everyone's on the same level, so the results of what happened are irrelevant because everyone's on the same footing, but experiences of the last four weeks will have been helpful for the eight teams through."

Pleased with progress

Smit said he was "pretty pleased" with his team's performances so far.

"We've managed to come through our pool with some tough challenges. But it comes down to how we perform over the next three weeks."

The first challenge comes in the shape of the Wallabies, whom Smit agreed had a mental edge over the Springboks.

"We haven't beaten Australia this year and last year wasn't fantastic either," said the hooker, who has signed to play for English Premiership club Saracens after the World Cup.

"They're a team that has one up on us over the last two seasons, they're good opposition, we do know their players better than most and they're a team that has been improving.

"Certainly, they'll feel they'll have a mental edge.

"We'll want to face the match as a fresh start in terms of where we want to go over the next few weeks and I'm pretty sure they'll look at what they've been able to achieve before against us into this weekend.

"It's two different mindsets, I suppose, and they've certainly had the upper hand in the last couple of seasons and it would be naive not to accept that."

But he warned that neither team would rely on past laurels or disappointments.

"They're not going to fool themselves and rely on what they've done and we're not going to fool ourselves and look back at what hasn't been done," he said.

"Each of us is going to take what we've done over the last four weeks, work on that, take the positives out and put it all together on Sunday."

"If we do happen to get to the final we're more than happy Dan Carter's not playing in that game," Gatland said.

"He's a fantastic player and a huge loss to that team.

"Everyone's known for a long time that Dan Carter's been a pivotal, key man for the All Blacks and when he doesn't play, that potentially makes them a little bit vulnerable."

But Gatland said no teams would take pleasure from Carter's freak training injury which has ruled him out for up to 12 weeks.

"I think a few teams will be a little bit happier that he's been ruled out. It's unfortunate for Dan because I know what it means to him and if you want to beat a team, you want to beat them with their best players available," Gatland said.

"So I don't think anyone would take any delight in Dan Carter being injured and being ruled out of the World Cup.

"Because if you happen to beat the All Blacks or they do lose you'd like to think it's with Dan Carter playing and you're good enough to beat the All Blacks at their best."

Wales will not meet the hosts unless both qualify for the World Cup Final in Auckland on October 23.

Henry backs Slade

Meanwhile, New Zealand coach Graham Henry gave his backing to Dan Carter's replacement Colin Slade, after his forwards laid the foundations for a facile 79-15 roasting of Canada on Sunday.

The first five-eighth sparked some early attacks that yielded a handful of tries against some woeful Canadian defence, but his performance was far from error-free and he was at times erratic with his kicking from hand and for goal.

He was shifted to the wing to accommodate the more accomplished goalkicker Piri Weepu at flyhalf, before he hobbled off in the 65th minute, tired more than injured, according to Henry.

Weepu dominated the run-in to the final whistle - albeit against a wilting Canucks team, the All Blacks registering their fourth straight pool victory to set up a quarterfinal against Argentina in Auckland next week.

"Going forward, Colin Slade's the boy. He played pretty well for a long part of the game today," Henry said.

"He just needs to play more football, so the more we can play him, the better he's going to get.

"I think we saw that Piri can play there as well and he played better the more time he was in the number 10 position and played very well in the last 10 minutes of the game.

"Aaron Cruden's joining the group on Monday, so we'll take it from there."

The scrum was also a highlight for the All Blacks, the Canucks being shunted off their own put-in on four occasions, leading to three tries in the 12-try to two romp.

"We went out there to focus on getting our scrum going. We are pretty happy with how that went, the line-out went pretty well as well," said Andrew Hore, captaining the side in the absence of regular skipper Richie McCaw and Carter.

"We had a few problems before giving away penalties so we went out there with a plan on how to do it and we're pretty pleased to turn over a bit of their ball and get a couple of tries off our scrum so it went well.

"Hopefully we can build it up because the Argentinian boys are definitely going to be a step up so hopefully we can grow from that and be good to go next Sunday."

Henry added that he had been happy with the quality and variety of their Pool A opponents, something observers said was severely lacking in 2007 when an undercooked All Blacks crashed out to France in the quarterfinals.

"The 20 teams have been stronger than they have been in previous World Cups," Henry said. "It's been better than before."

The All Blacks coach will face an interesting selection dilemma in several positions come next weekend.

Guildford, in his first game since admitting a drink problem last month, put his hand up for a winger's berth with an electric first-half display, the Canadian defence unable to cope with his sheer pace and jink.

And Victor Vito, who replaced McCaw at openside flanker, enjoyed an enormous game which saw him claim two tries, his second scored from the right wing, where he moved to replace Slade and the injured Israel Dagg.

Du Plessis was speaking after SA's 13-5 Pool D win over Samoa on Friday, which saw the defending champions top the log and set up a quarterfinal clash against the Wallabies next weekend.

"The mauls were one of the main focus areas for us on the weekend against Samoa as we wanted to keep it tight, because we knew they had great athletes, from No.1 to No.15, that can run the ball," he said.

"We put in a lot of work in that area of our game and I can't see us changing much at this stage."

The Springboks next face Australia - another team known for its expansive approach to the game - in quarterfinal action in Wellington on Sunday.

The big number two said discipline would remain important and was a facet of the game each player took personally.

Du Plessis, who earned his first start of the tournament against the physical Samoans, combined well with fellow former Grey College scholar Heinrich Brüssow in securing turnover possession on Friday.

Getting down and dirty in the rucks just so happens to be an aspect of the game he enjoys.

He credited Sharks coach John Plumtree for some of his skills at the tackle area, revealing: "I pride myself in that [securing turnovers] and I work hard on that aspect of my game at my franchise.

"Luckily Plum [John Plumtree] taught me a few things to do in those situations and I've taken note of what some of the other guys are doing there, as it is an area that I would like to improve in."

Deciding when to go for the steal was just as important, and in that regard Du Plessis said instinct played an important role when numbers were committed to rucks.

"It is purely a decision you have to make as a player, I think when you are under you don't want to commit guys and when you are on the front foot you want to put a lot of players in," he said.

"I think Samoa put us under a lot of pressure with counter-rucking and I think we stood our ground well there."

As impressive as the Springboks were at line-out time - where they won three of the opposition's balls in the first half - their scrumming also left a Samoan front row forward begging for mercy during the contest.

Du Plessis said there would always be room for improvement in all aspects of play.

"Every game is different, in one game you have great line-outs and in other games your scrums. We just have to keep working hard at everything we do."

The Boks ended top of Pool D, whilst the Wallabies - after losing to Ireland in a round robin match - finished second in Pool C of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

And, next Sunday, the two Tri-Nations superpowers will go head-to-head in the World Cup for just the third time in the tournament's history.

"It will be a challenge for them on the scrums, our scrum is exceptionally good at the moment," De Villiers said on Sunday.

"We use it as a good platform to play from and a guy like Pierre [Spies] gets enough time to go off the back of it.

"Our line-outs aren't bad either, but if they get their team selection right against us, we will be challenged."

Obvious threats in the Wallaby team include their halfback pair of Quade Cooper and Will Genia, while close tabs will have to be kept on the versatile Kurtley Beale at fullback.

De Villiers said his men would have to be careful of allowing those players to attack from broken play, revealing: "They're dangerous in turnover play and in space.

"We know that and we saw how Ireland cut off their space and how Samoa cut off their space.

"This is one area we want to look at - we want to cut off their space and force them to play deeper."

A different challenge

The Bok mentor said this week's challenge would be an entirely different one to the physical onslaught his men had to endure against Samoa on Friday - a game the Boks won 13-5.

"Australia won't be easy, but they will be easier," he said.

"Firstly they won't be as physical as Samoa, but they will try to be. It is just Samoa who can be as physical as that because it's part of their nature. Secondly, we understand Australia and we know what they do.

"We've been playing them for years, and they're not likely to change anything this coming week. For them it will be easier and for us it will be easier."

It will be the first time South Africa and Australia face each other in a World Cup quarterfinal, having met in the pool stages in 1995 and in an epic semifinal battle four years later.

Australia secured a 14-9 victory over South Africa the last time they met, in Durban in August, before going on to win the 2011 edition of the Tri-Nations.

De Villiers was nonetheless confident his men have what it takes to set the record straight.

"If you look how we were a year ago, and how we needed to play catch-up rugby, to where we are now, then you can see a big difference. We begin by playing in our structures and we do it well.

"The first and especially our last game, we played total rugby."

The fact that his charges have missed an average of 26 tackles per match is not a major concern either.

"There were line breaks against us, but if there weren't when would we be able to practice our scramble defence?

"Overall though, if you compare last year and this year there was a big difference."

The Boks were made to work for their fourth successive win at the 2011 tournament, but lost star back Frans Steyn to a tournament-ending shoulder injury, whilst a host of other players found themselves getting 'special attention' from the Samoans.

"We don't want to lose focus," De Villiers said on Sunday.

The violence extended from a blatant punch that struck Jaque Fourie while he was standing more than 20 metres from play, to several low blows flank Schalk Burger had to endure on the edges of the rucks.

De Villiers said these incidents would not receive further attention.

"We are here to win the World Cup and it takes around two or three hours to prepare an incident for the citing officer, and that time could be used better to prepare for the next match," he said.

"All I want is for people to realise, the world saw it. The fact that they allowed it to take place brought the game into disrepute."

The Samoan team now also face further action from the International Rugby Board, after Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu went on a Twitter rampage after his team's defeat.

"What a f**king joke. RWC is bullshit. we were climbing a mountain all tournament!! You saw the game. Bullshit," read one of his tweets.

Fuimaono, who accused World Cup officials of "slavery" and "apartheid" in a previous brain explosion, on Saturday accused Welsh referee Nigel Owens of being racist and biased in an expletive-filled Twitter rant. He will no face a misconduct hearing for his outburst.

De Villiers said the threats his players were exposed to intensified in the second half.

At the worst point Samoan fullback Paul Williams received a red card for striking Heinrich Brüssow.

"What bothered me most is that this could still happen at this level when there is technology at the disposal of the officials. If this is what professional rugby has become I do not want to be part of it."

The Springbok world champions remained unbeaten after four games and came through the 'Pool of Death', qualifying for next weekend's quarter-finals with 18 points and scoring 166 points and conceding just 24.

South Africa may face Tri-Nations champions Australia in the quarter-finals.

Springbok lineout general Victor Matfield, who was captain for the night, praised his team's discipline in the face of the passionate Samoans.

The Samoans played a man down for the last 10 minutes after fullback Paul Williams was sent off for striking Springbok flanker Heinrich Brussow 10 minutes from the end.

There were other flashpoints with Welsh referee Nigel Owens hard pressed to keep a lid on it.

"We want to focus on the ball in games and show we are disciplined. I'm proud of the boys not to get too involved in all that crap," Matfield said.

"They had nothing to lose and we knew we wanted to go on, so I was very happy with our discipline that we didn't get involved.

"We stayed out of it and that's the positive we can take out of it.

"We are very hard of our discipline and I'm proud that the boys kept their heads."

Coach Peter De Villiers said his team was prepared for the Samoan challenge given their circumstance coming into the deciding game of Pool D.

"We knew that they would be up for it, two months ago they beat Australia, the Tri-Nations champions, and they gave Wales a good game here," De Villiers said.

"We always knew they would be physical and confrontational so for us this game as been brilliant. The boys made the right decisions on the field."

"The mood in the changeroom is good, guys knew that they had to put their bodies on the line for our country.

"I know that our medical staff will work around the clock again."

Winger Bryan Habana, who scored his 40th Test try, came off early in the second half with what appeared an injured left knee, while Danie Rossouw and replacement Francois Hougaard went to the blood bin.

"With the amount of injuries we have, it was a tough game. But we are going into the playoffs and that is the most important thing," hooker Bismarck du Plessis said.

"We are always scared playing against Samoa. They are a great side. Playing a match like this though is definitely the sort of game we want before we go through to the quarter-finals."

The Samoans, bidding to reach their first World Cup quarterfinal in 16 years, came up short, 5-13, after a titanic second-half contest with the Springboks.

Samoa finished with 14 men after fullback Paul Williams was given a direct red card for striking flank Heinrich Brüssow in the face 10 minutes from the end of a pulsating second half.

It was just one of several decisions by Owens that irked the Samoans, who almost added the prestige scalp of the Springboks to the one of Tri-Nations champions Australia in Sydney in July.

"I thought the ref was pretty hard on us," skipper Mahroni Schwalger said.

"There was a lot of times when they were slowing our ball down and for me it's got to be fair on us as well and make sure he gives us a chance as well.

"I felt like it was one way, but we can't change the result, it's done."

Schwalger said "acting" was involved in the red-carding of Williams.

Brüssow instigated the incident when he wildly thrashed out at Williams' arms to get release from a maul and the Samoan fullback got off the ground and retaliated by striking him in the face.

"There was a little bit of acting out there, there was nothing in that, but the referee gave him a red card and that was a little bit harsh."

Schwalger said his Samoa team was excited by the prospect of testing themselves against the world champion Springboks on the World Cup stage.

"The boys knew they had a special occasion like this to get a chance to play the world champs and you might as well make the most of it," he said.

The All Blacks hope to give fringe players game-time against Canada to ensure they are match-fit if needed as injury cover later in the World Cup, assistant coach Steve Hansen said Thursday.

Hansen said back row forward Kieran Read had recovered from an injury scare and was set to play against the Maple Leafs in a Pool A encounter on Sunday, but wing Cory Jane was likely to be rested after sustaining a head knock in last week's win over France.

He said wing Richard Kahui was a definite non-starter after straining his hamstring in the same game and loose forward Adam Thomson was in doubt due to a knee injury.

"There's probably a question-mark over whether we take the risk of playing him [Thomson], we'll see what he's like over the next 48 hours," Hansen said.

The assistant coach said Read, who has taken no part in the World Cup so far after suffering a serious ankle injury in a Tri-Nations Test against Australia last month, was raring to go.

He said Read twisted his ankle at training on Wednesday but soon recovered.

"We all got a fright but within half an hour he was fine, he'll be training fully tomorrow and playing on Sunday," Hansen said, adding that the 25-year-old was unlikely to play for 80 minutes.

With the All Blacks expected to comfortably defeat Canada in their final pool match, Hansen said New Zealand's coaching staff were eager to give back-up players a run before the World Cup knockout phase begins.

"People that you know may come into the tournament later on because of injury needs," he said.

"The only way you can do that is in the tournament itself, so this is probably the game to give some of those people a trot."

That could be good news for fullback Mils Muliaina and wing Zac Guildford, who, along with Read, were the only members of New Zealand's thirty-man squad not to have played so far.

Muliaina, who has lost his status as first-choice fullback to Israel Dagg, has 98 Test caps and would be desperate to add to his tally as he bids to become only the second All Black after Richie McCaw to play 100 Tests.

Samo finished last week's 67-5 win over the United States on the wing, after a spate of injuries disrupted the Australian backline, scoring a try.

He has been given a further chance to shine in the position as coach Robbie Deans shuffles his resources for Australia's final pool match in this upper South Island city.

The good news for the ravaged Australian World Cup squad ahead of this Pool C encounter is the return of their sole specialist openside flank, David Pocock, who has been sidelined by a back injury for the past two games.

Just two backs, and four forwards, have been retained in their starting positions from the run on combination that Australia fielded against the US.

Despite their patched-up look, the Wallabies should still be far too strong for the Bears and will qualify for the quarterfinals while Ireland and Italy contest the remaining play-off berth from Pool C on Sunday.

Coach Robbie Deans said his biggest concern about the match was the risk of further injuries to his already decimated side.

He has had to conjure up the best team possible from the players still standing, although Samo does have some experience on the wing.

"He started as a wing, you saw him there last weekend. Obviously it has not been his typical position of late but with our circumstance it has become a necessity," Deans said.

At 1.97 metres and 117 kilograms Samo would be one of the biggest wings in the world and Deans said he should not be taken lightly.

"He's a remarkable athlete, he's 35 and still runs very fast and is good in contact so he's got a skill set that will be useful in the wide channels as well as through the middle."

James O'Connor gets the start at fullback and Drew Mitchell partners Samo on the wings with Adam Ashley-Cooper, Berrick Barnes, Quade Cooper and Luke Burgess completing the backline.

The remaining fit backs - scrumhalves Will Genia and Nick Phipps - fill the reserves bench with Deans saying a decision will be made at the time on who takes the field first.

Pocock's return bolsters the forwards as he shares the back row with Ben McCalman, and Scott Higginbotham while Nathan Sharpe and captain James Horwill will lock the scrum.

Of the squad's three hookers, Stephen Moore will start with Tatafu Polota Nau and Saia Fainga'a both on the bench to make up the numbers.

Should Phipps feature along with reserve prop Salesi Ma'afu, all of Australia's 30-man squad will have gained on-field time during the pool phase. The Australian Sevens representative would also become the first player to have represented the new Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby franchise at a World Cup.

While Australia still has four backs - fullback Kurtley Beale, wing Digby Ioane and midfielders Rob Horne and Pat McCabe - unavailable through injury, the pressure is at least starting to ease on the Wallabies forwards.

Skipper and lock James Horwill and loose forward Scott Higginbotham both return, after being sidelined last week, while flank David Pocock is also back in harness, with last year's John Eales Medal winner featuring for the first time since Australia's opening match of the tournament.

Although injuries have taxed Australia's resources, with this week's loss of No 8 Wycliff Palu for the tournament due to a hamstring injury the latest setback, Deans has no doubt that the combination selected for the weekend can get the result needed to secure Australia's position in the next round of the competition.

"While there are various permutations as to where we might finish, we need to win first and foremost. No one in our group is looking beyond this match," Deans said.

"The Russians won't be easy. They will be excited about the prospect of playing against a top tier nation and will be looking to finish their first World Cup with a strong performance. They have been competitive in their three matches to date and scored two tries against Ireland."

Deans said the inclusion of all three the squad's scrumhalves, and all three hookers, was caused by the team's current injury circumstance, as was the inclusion of Samo on the wing.

"We've had to be a bit creative but it's never been about the number on their back," he said.

"The players all know the role-play. While some of them might be out of their normal positions, they won't let us down and will enjoy the opportunity. We saw that last week with Radike [Samo] and Tatafu [Polota Nau] in the match against the United States."

A bonus point win will advance Australia into the quarter-finals, although the Wallabies will most likely finish as Pool C runners-up unless Italy beats Ireland in Dunedin on Sunday.

If both Australia and Italy were to record bonus point wins, and finish tied on the final standings, Australia would advance as the pool's top qualifier because of its 32-6 win over Italy earlier in the tournament.

Australia: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Radike Samo, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Ben McCalooman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill (captain), 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota Nau, 17 Saia Fainga'a, 18 Salesi Ma'afu, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Rocky Elsom, 21 Will Genia, 22 Nick Phipps.

Delon Armitage will start on the left wing for England as one of three changes for the Pool B decider at Eden Park on Saturday.

The London Irish back, who has scored two tries in his last four England games, replaces Cueto.

Team Manager Martin Johnson's other two changes see the Northampton Saints lock, Lawes, restored to the second row after a two-game ban and Saracens prop Matt Stevens return at loosehead.

They replace Stade Francais lock Tom Palmer and London Irish prop Alex Corbisiero respectively.

Chris Ashton, who tops the World Cup 2011 try-scoring charts with five, is one of five players starting their fourth game of the tournament, alongside Northampton Saints team mate Ben Foden, Leicester Tigers pair Manu Tuilagi and Dan Cole and Ricoh Black Rams No.8 James Haskell.

Bath flank Lewis Moody again captains the side on the occasion of his 70th cap and flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson will make his 90th Test appearance for England.

Wilkinson was preferred again to Toby Flood at No.10.

"Delon has played very well. We're very comfortable with him playing there and Mark has obviously had limited game time since he's been here, so another good week of training for him will be great," said Johnson.

He added that Armitage, who was banned during England's victorious Six Nations campaign for pushing a doping official and was then suspended again for punching in a Premiership game, had seized his chance to return to the team.

"I've said all the way through, if Delon's playing well and he's in form he's a Test match player," Johnson said.

"He wasn't available to us at the end of the Six Nations for various reasons and he's come back from that and worked very hard all the way through.

"Obviously the injury with Mark has been a factor in that. He's (Cueto) probably one game short of being right back to where he could be, so he will work as hard as he can this week to get himself there and hope to get another chance."

The uncompromising Lawes is back after serving a two-match ban for kneeing Argentina hooker Mario Ledesma in the head during England's hard-fought opening win in Dunedin.

England are looking for a fourth straight victory which would ensure they reach the quarter-finals and a likely match-up with France, while Scotland need to win and deny England a bonus point.

"It's knock-out rugby. Let's not worry about the points differences and all that," Johnson said. "We've got to win, they've got to win. It's what World Cups are about. No one's under any illusion about what it's about."

England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Mike Tindall, 11 Delon Armitage, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 James Haskell, 7 Lewis Moody (captain), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Matt Stevens.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Alex Corbisiero, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Nick Easter, 20 Richard Wigglesworth, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Matt Banahan.

The former IRB player of the year scored four tries in the Springboks' 59-7 win over Samoa in the pool stage in Paris on the way to lifting the 2007 World Cup.

Left-winger Habana, 28, became the Springboks' all-time greatest try-scorer at this tournament with his 39th try in his 72nd international, and knows the defending champions are in for another physical test against Samoa on Friday.

"It was pretty special, it is also unique scoring four tries for your country," Habana told a press conference in Auckland on Thursday.

"But in that first 20 minutes I wasn't really interested in taking any collisions after seeing their number eight (Henry Tuilagi) running into Danie (Rossouw) and Schalk (Burger).

"That first 20 minutes against Samoa in 2007 was some of the toughest Test match rugby I've ever played, it is pretty tough.

"I reckon tomorrow it will be no different. The structure that Samoa have come into with a lot of their players playing in European leagues has seen them become a much-improved side than what they were in 2007.

"They are going to lay down a big challenge for us, not only physically, but in their structure.

"So we have to make sure we are playing our best rugby if we're going to have any chance of success."

Habana, who equalled Jonah Lomu's tournament record of eight tries at the last World Cup, said although the All Blacks are the team to beat, the Springboks believe they can win back-to-back Webb Ellis Cups.

"There is a belief within the team that we can definitely go and win this World Cup," Habana said.

"The outside influences are not really important but the pressure we put on ourselves as a team and as individuals to perform.

"The All Blacks have definitely laid down a marker over the last couple of weeks and the rest of the world is following them at the moment."

"We expect you to be firing on all cylinders in the game against Samoa this Friday," Mbalula wrote in a message to the South African Rugby Union, the Springbok team management, and the Bok players on Wednesday.

"Treat this game and the remaining games as the final and continue launching the final assault on the enemy as true warriors."

The title holders need one point from their last Pool D match against Samoa in Albany on Friday to reach the play-offs.

"Once this mission is accomplished this Friday, we will join you as you escalate and intensify the attack on the opposition we will be meeting at the quarterfinals," Mbalula wrote.

"Remember we are the future and nobody can stop us."

Mbalula told the team over 50 million South Africans were following their progress in the tournament with "great enthusiasm and interest".

He urged the players to maintain a fighting spirit in their quest for a third title.

The Springboks take on Samoa on Friday in their final Pool D match of the tournament, and pending other results, could still be eliminated if they lose.

"We are looking for constant improvement, there are lots of areas in our game which we are still not happy with," Muir told a media gathering in Taupo.

"We are always looking for that ultimate game, but overall we are looking for improvement in quite a few areas."

Muir emphasised that at this stage only the All Blacks were certain qualifiers.

"This is really an important game for us, so you could see it as a knockout game."

This week only Bakkies Botha was not considered for selection because of injury.

Muir said selecting Frans Steyn ahead of Jean de Villiers at centre was reward for what he had brought to the side and that De Villiers would have his chance to win back his position.

"You give another guy a gap and he takes it and you have to fight your way back in," Muir said.

"We know Jean is a very special player and he will get an opportunity to prove that."

The Bok backline coach was also pleased with the reinforcements at his disposal.

As is the case with De Villiers who should be eager to win back his starting jersey, Muir said Butch James was also waiting in the wings.

"He [James] is one of those players who doesn't get flustered with the bigger moments and he has been training hard," said Muir.

"The fortunate thing with Butch is that he has a World Cup winning medal around his neck. He played at flyhalf and has a huge amount of experience."

Incumbent flyhalf Morné Steyn is so far the tournament's most accurate contributor with the boot at 85 percent, having converted 17 from his 20 attempts at goal.

The two sides go head-to-head in a Pool D encounter at the North Harbour Stadium in Albany on Friday.

Springboks backs coach Dick Muir admitted the change in approach from the Pacific Islanders is a cause for concern.

However, he felt they would be "foolish" to change that policy ahead of Friday's showdown.

"They've obviously been together for a long time as a team and you've seen the progress," he told a media gathering in Taupo on Wednesday.

"They're a side that are really playing good rugby and they've got a lot more structure to their game.

"We'd like to starve them of possession.

"They've got big, strong ball-runners so we'll have to chop their legs and get them to ground as quickly as we can."

'He's a big man'

One of those big, powerful runners is Alesana Tuilagi, a player with which Muir is very familiar.

Tuilagi played a warm-up match for Super Rugby side the Sharks four years ago.

Muir was head coach of the Sharks in 2007 when he invited Tuilagi to trial for the Durban-based franchise.

"We had an arrangement where I had him on loan," Muir said.

"England pulled out a whole lot of players from [English side] Leicester so he then had to go back, which was unfortunate for us.

"Interestingly enough, none of the jerseys fitted him.

"We had to get a supporter's jersey especially for him to wear in that game.

"He's a big man."

Muir is now plotting against Tuilagi - nicknamed the Samoan Bulldozer - and the 121kg flyer's teammates.

Asked whether he had a specific plan to combat the power and pace of Tuilagi, Muir joked: "We haven't got a sniper!

"He's shown his class all over the world and he seems to just be getting better and better. We need to keep him at bay. We have got a plan."

The Springboks are viewing the match against Samoa, coming off a bruising 27-7 win over Fiji in Auckland on Sunday, as sudden death.

"Look, there's only one side that's definitely through to the play-offs and that's the All Blacks," Muir pointed out. 

"For us it's still knockout.

"If we don't get the result then we don't make it."

The defending champions, South Africa, need at least one point to set up a likely quarterfinal against Australia, while Samoa must upset the Springboks with a bonus point to advance.

"I think it is all about attitude. The team that turns up with the right attitude will probably come up on top," Schwalger said on Tuesday.

"We have to make sure these guys are cranked up for Friday."

The trouble is having the right attitude hasn't always come easy for the Samoans.

"The World Cup, you can't go half-hearted. You can't have the attitude that you are going to come second," said Schwalger. "I have said before — it is all about attitude and it is something we need to work on.”

"I think the issue has always been belief, whether or not we actually believe we can roll with these big guys,'' added Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu.”But now I think the belief is there, we just need to have that execution."
 
Samoa is tied with Wales for second place in Pool D on 10 points. Wales play Fiji on Sunday to close out the pool phase of the competition.

The Samoans know they must be firing on all cylinders to have hopes of upsetting the defending World Cup champions. The Springboks have outscored their opposition 153-19 in three victories, while the Samoans have an 86-36 advantage in registering two wins and a loss.

"To win games against these teams you've got to have strong defence. If you get the chance to time how long a player touches the ball, it's about 20 seconds in a game, so it's all about the 79 minutes and 40 seconds that you do without the ball,'' added Sapolu.

"You will have to play smart rugby against South Africa. Discipline will be the key,'' said Anthony Perenise.

"They have a big pack and their wingers are fast and mobile. It will be interesting to see what game plan we use against them."

The Samoans know they are taking a step up the competitive ladder but motivation should not be a problem.

"It is a great opportunity. To make the quarter-finals and beat the world champions would make it more special,'' said Kane Thompson. "There will be an extra holiday in Samoa if we knock them out, no doubt."

Veteran fullback Mils Muliaina sits on 98 Test caps and would be the sentimental favourite to start in New Zealand's final pool match against Canada on Sunday, edging the 31-year-old closer to his Test century.

Smith said Muliaina was available for the match in Wellington but his inclusion would be decided on merit, not the possibility of achieving career milestones.

He said that while Muliaina, wing Zac Guildford and loose forward Kieran Read were all desperate to play for the first time at this year's tournament, the needs of the team came first.

"We're very conscious of the fact that we've got some keen players who want to be part of the contest but we've got to put team first and do what's right there as well," Smith told reporters.

He insisted New Zealand could not afford to relax after last weekend's 37-17 win over France, saying the Canada match was a chance to rectify some "patchy" areas of play against Les Bleus.

"This is an opportunity to build momentum," he said. "Yes (France) was a good win but we were patchy. We've got some areas we really need to improve on and we've looked at those in the last couple of days and we've got to get that right this week."

Read appeared confident of making his debut at this year's tournament after an ankle injury sustained during the Tri-Nations competition kept him out of the early games.

"The ankle's great, I'm available for selection for this week, so I'll be training fully with the guys, which is pretty pleasing," he said.

"I can't wait. It's obviously been pretty tough watching but pretty exciting as well watching the boys go... I want to get out there and add my bit," he added.

Smith said he expected a tough challenge from Canada, who were surprise victors over Tonga, and repeated the team's mantra that "no one is looking too far ahead" to a likely quarterfinal against Argentina.

He admitted he had been impressed with the skills that rugby's so-called 'minnow' nations had displayed at this year's tournament, saying they no longer adopted a 'kick and hope' approach.

"Canada definitely has sequences off their set pieces that are well structured and well played. They're not going to roll over, I can guarantee that," he said.

The English are expecting a ferocious battle against desperate Scotland as they fight to avoid World Cup heartbreak in this week's make-or-break final pool game.

Fullback Delon Armitage said powerful and unpredictable Scotland would come out firing in Saturday's clash in Auckland with only victory enough to prevent an early journey home.

"We know what's coming. They're a very strong, physical team and obviously they want to beat England," Armitage said. "So we know exactly what's coming and we need a result, otherwise we're going home."

Scotland was just seven minutes from a vital win against Argentina on Sunday but they were undone by a piece of magic from Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, who jinked through their defence to secure a dramatic 13-12 win.

The agonising result left Scotland needing victory over cross-border rivals England to reach the quarterfinals, while Martin Johnson's team also needed a win to be sure of progressing.

"The way we play every game is like fighting for your life," said flank James Haskell.

"If you don't, very quickly you can be looking at your boarding pass thinking, 'I should have been more involved'. You don't want to leave that England shirt without a great performance, a do-or-die thing.”

"You put everything on the line and that is how a team wins the World Cup. We will be fighting as if it is our last game," he warned.

Scotland, coached by former England handler Andy Robinson, will take heart from recent results against the old enemy including two defeats and a draw at Murray field in the past five years.

"We've had a look at them, they've been really physical, and they’ve looked to go through teams. We've had a look at them, we know their threats," said Armitage.

"Obviously we've got to keep our eye on them because they have come with a few tricks against us a few times so we're going to be covering all grounds."

"I thought they were unlucky on the weekend but they've got a good squad and they're going to be up for it," he added. We're going to have to look out for anything they can mix it up so we've got to be ready for it."

Prop Matt Stevens was also expecting a testing evening at Eden Park against a Scottish pack bolstered by the return of devout front row forward Euan Murray, who sat out the Argentina game because he refused to play on a Sunday.

"I think he will make a difference. He's quick across the mark as a tighthead and he's someone we'd definitely look at as a player," Stevens said.

"It's going to be a tough game. Scotland has their backs against the wall and they'll want to come out fighting," he added.

"We've got to take that next step up with our physicality and our discipline and we've been working hard at that."

Knockout competition has come a week early for Ireland at the World Cup, but they are more than ready for the challenge as most of their players have a wealth of experience to draw upon.

With Irish sides having won European club rugby's Heineken Cup in four of the past six years, Ireland's squad is packed with players wholly familiar with the pressures of must-win, one-off matches.

And that's what's in store on Sunday against Italy. All the good work of three straight pool wins could be undone by defeat in Dunedin against a team desperate for victory to boost their own faint hopes of progress.

"Knockout rugby is different and it's something you might not always be used to," Irish fullback Rob Kearney said. "Whether you like it or not, it's a much higher pressure situation, knowing if you do lose, you could be going home.”

"It's just about dealing with those pressure situations, do your basics and take your opportunities when they come. Like any other big game, where there's a huge amount on the line, you have to limit your errors massively and take those opportunities," he added.

Kearney was part of the Leinster squad that won the 2009 European Cup Final, the first of two titles in three seasons for the Dublin-based side. He missed this year's 33-22 win over Northampton in Cardiff because of a knee injury sustained against the All Blacks in November.

He only made it back into action for the August 6 World Cup warm-up against Scotland and having spent that time on the sidelines, he is trying hard to take one game at a time: A difficult feat after the 15-6 Pool C win over Australia opened up a route to the final that avoids all the southern hemisphere giants.

"Always in the back of your mind you're maybe looking a couple of games down the line. Of course," Kearney said. "It would be fantastic to get into the quarterfinals, semi-finals and your mind can sometimes wander a little bit."

But with a powerful Italian pack fighting for progress itself, Ireland cannot look too far ahead.

"'Experience' is the word," Kearney said. "It comes down to having played in those big games before and having to fight your way back in, in the last few minutes of games when things might not be going your way and be patient."

The United States Eagles bowed out of the World Cup on Tuesday with a 27-10 loss to Italy amid an uproar over scheduling as they played their fourth match in 16 days.

"It does take its toll, there's no question. It's a hard slog," said US coach Eddie O'Sullivan, who has previously experienced a more gentle draw when he guided Ireland at the 2003 and 2007 World Cups.

"When you get down to the back end of the pool games, a number of games in a short space of time, you pick up injuries, fatigue.”

"All those games against tier ones (established teams) are real killers in terms of what they take out of the team physically and mentally, so I think we're beginning to see daylight appearing now in some other results," he added.

The television demand for leading teams to play at peak times at weekends has left the lesser sides to fill the mid-week roster, playing games as little as four days apart.

Furious Samoan midfielder Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu created uproar by comparing the treatment of tier-two sides to "slavery, like the holocaust, like apartheid".

His outburst came after Samoa, with a four-day turnaround, lost narrowly 17-10 to a refreshed Wales coming off a seven-day break.

World Cup organisers considered Fuimaono-Sapolu's comments "inappropriate" but took no further action after he apologised.

Scotland coach Andy Robinson underscored the value of a long recovery time when questioned about his side having just three days off between Romania and Georgia, and then 10 days to recuperate before facing Argentina.

"We’ve had two tough games, so we need this break," he said.

Italy coach Nick Mallet plans only one training run in the five days before their crucial match against Ireland to decide the qualifiers from Pool C.

Former All Black Frank Bunce, who is of Samoan descent, said the short turnaround for tier-two teams penalised those "least equipped" to handle the situation, and that was reflected on the field.

"We've seen at World Cup after World Cup they start well, but tend to drop off because you can't keep that intensity up when you have to play again so soon," Bunce said.

But O'Sullivan accepted there was no easy solution given the demands on completing the tournament of 48 matches within an acceptable timeframe.

"I'd like to have more time between games... (But) we knew the plan coming in and we had a strategy for dealing with it and I'm pretty pleased that strategy worked pretty well," he said.

The United States beat Russia and ran close to tier one sides Ireland (22-10) and Italy, with their only severe hiding being a 67-5 loss to Australia when O'Sullivan elected to rest all his top players.

The English are expecting a ferocious battle against desperate Scotland as they fight to avoid World Cup heart-break in this week's make-or-break final pool game.

Fullback Delon Armitage said powerful and unpredictable Scotland would come out firing in Saturday's clash in Auckland with only victory enough to prevent an early journey home.

"We know what's coming. They're a very strong, physical team and obviously they want to beat England," Armitage said. "So we know exactly what's coming and we need a result, otherwise we're going home."

Scotland was just seven minutes from a vital win against Argentina on Sunday but they were undone by a piece of magic from Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, who jinked through their defence to secure a dramatic 13-12 win.

The agonising result left Scotland needing victory over cross-border rivals England to reach the quarterfinals, while Martin Johnson's team also needed a win to be sure of progressing.

"The way we play every game is like fighting for your life," said flank James Haskell.

"If you don't, very quickly you can be looking at your boarding pass thinking, 'I should have been more involved'. You don't want to leave that England shirt without a great performance, a do-or-die thing.”

"You put everything on the line and that is how a team wins the World Cup. We will be fighting as if it is our last game," he warned.

Scotland, coached by former England handler Andy Robinson, will take heart from recent results against the old enemy including two defeats and a draw at Murray field in the past five years.

"We've had a look at them, they've been really physical, and they’ve looked to go through teams. We've had a look at them, we know their threats," said Armitage.

"Obviously we've got to keep our eye on them because they have come with a few tricks against us a few times so we're going to be covering all grounds."

"I thought they were unlucky on the weekend but they've got a good squad and they're going to be up for it," he added. We're going to have to look out for anything they can mix it up so we've got to be ready for it."

Prop Matt Stevens was also expecting a testing evening at Eden Park against a Scottish pack bolstered by the return of devout front row forward Euan Murray, who sat out the Argentina game because he refused to play on a Sunday.

"I think he will make a difference. He's quick across the mark as a tighthead and he's someone we'd definitely look at as a player," Stevens said.

"It's going to be a tough game. Scotland has their backs against the wall and they'll want to come out fighting," he added.

"We've got to take that next step up with our physicality and our discipline and we've been working hard at that."

Palu had scans of the hamstring injury he picked up in Australia's 67-5 defeat of the United States in Wellington last Friday.

"It's bad luck for Wycliff. Unfortunately his previous history of injury in this area has impacted, in terms of lengthening the timelines that are required for his rehabilitation," Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said.

Coach Robbie Deans said he would not be calling for an immediate replacement from Australia, with Scott Higginbotham in line for a run in the Wallabies' final group match against Russia in Nelson on Saturday.

While Palu will be replaced in Australia's 30-man squad, Deans says the selectors will be taking their time with that decision, and may even delay any call until after this weekend's final pool match against Russia in Nelson, so they can determine at that point what the team's specific needs are.

Lock Dan Vickerman and fullback Kurtley Beale also underwent scans in Christchurch.

Vickerman was cleared of any problems in his leg, while Beale, who left the field during the first half of last week's 67-5 win over the United States, was diagnosed with a minor hamstring strain, which will see him rested from this weekend's final pool match in order to get him ready for a possible quarterfinal the following weekend.

Centres Pat McCabe (shoulder), Anthony Fainga'a (head) and Rob Horne (cheek) also left the field during Australia's third pool match.

Fainga'a is following the IRB concussion protocols required by tournament and could be available for Australia's next match.

Although McCabe and Horne will miss Saturday's historic game against Russia, the timelines have been established for their return to playing duties, and they will both be remaining with the squad.

McCabe, who has made considerable progress with his injury since last weekend, is expected to be fit for consideration for a possible quarterfinal appointment, while a possible semifinal (should Australia qualify) has been set as the return date for Horne after he underwent scans in Christchurch on Sunday.

Although unavailable to play, Horne will run with the squad during its public training in Hanmer Springs.

Wing Digby Ioane is continuing his rehabilitation from the dislocated thumb he sustained in Australia's opening match of the tournament against Italy, and is on-track to be available should the Wallabies qualify for the quarterfinals.

Flanks David Pocock (back) and Scott Higginbotham (back), wing James O'Connor and lock James Horwill (shoulder) are all expected to be available for selection for Australia's next match at the tournament.

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has selected an all new front row of Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira, with an additional three front row players on the bench to combat the impressive Samoan scrum.

De Villiers pointed out that Samoa "annihilated" Fiji in the scrums in Auckland on Sunday "so that's a bit of bother for us".

He also noted the Samoans were playing more structured rugby instead of their trademark free-flowing style.

"It will make them more difficult to play because of the structure," he said.

"They'll keep the ball for longer periods. They will be very strong at the breakdown like they normally are. Because they went into structure they forfeit something, but they gain a lot of other things.

"What they gained is exactly what all the other teams at the international level do. It doesn't make it easier, but you can actually sit down and analyse them a bit."

The good news for South Africa was that most of the players have responded well to treatment, with only lock Bakkies Botha unavailable for selection.

"It is now the first time since our first game that we had the privilege to select a team from, at this moment, 29 fit players," said De Villiers.

Matfield returns from a hamstring strain – after a two-match absence – as one of seven changes to the team that defeated Namibia 87-0 at the same venue on Thursday.

He assumes the captaincy in place of John Smit, who drops to the bench, in a pre-planned move to allow Bismarck du Plessis to start his first match of the tournament.

The Springboks need at least one point from the match to be sure of qualifying for the quarterfinals.

There are five changes in the pack as Du Plessis is partnered with the returning Tendai Mtawarira and brother Jannie du Plessis in an all-Sharks front row. The final change among the forwards sees the return of Heinrich Brüssow to the back row.

Bakkies Botha was unavailable for selection after injuring a hamstring against Namibia but the remaining four forwards (Smit, CJ van der Linde, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Willem Alberts) all drop to the bench.

JP Pietersen and Fourie du Preez return to the starting line-up among the back division while the versatile Francois Hougaard drops to the bench where he is joined by the fit-again Jean de Villiers as the two backline replacements in a 5/2 split on the bench.

South Africa: 15 Pat Lambie, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn , 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 CJ van der Linde, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Jean de Villiers.

Date: Friday, September 30
Kick-off: 20.30 (07.30 GMT)
Venue: North Harbour Stadium, North Shore
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Stuart Terheege (England)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)

Springbok hooker Bismarck du Plessis said filling captain John Smit's boots will be one of the goals he would like to achieve when South Africa take on Samoa in their final Pool D match on Friday.

"It wasn't nice sitting out last week, but I'm just happy to get my chance this week, so I hope I can fill John's boots as he played really well and lead from the front," he said.

The Springboks would announce their team on Tuesday, but Du Plessis said he had known his physical approach to the game would be at the team's disposal.

The hooker had been a prominent figure on the Springboks' bench prior to last week's match against Namibia, which he had to watch from the stands.

He said his contribution to the 17-16 victory against Wales in their opening match proved that he thrived under pressure.

"Rugby is a contact sport and we won't shy away from the contact and we are looking forward to the challenge Samoa will present."

He said the importance of Friday's match could not be overstated.

"No team has ever won the World Cup by losing a pool game, but we are definitely still going on an upward curve, which is good."

Samoa secured a 27-7 victory over Fiji on the weekend.

Du Plessis said his team were expecting to face a similar performance from them.

"I think in the first game they played this year we saw they are very dangerous.

"Their back three especially are very dangerous with ball in hand. They are very structured and do things on their terms and I won't say that I'm surprised by it because they have so many players in the premiership."

He said he was impressed with Somoa's approach at set phase of the scrum.

"I thought their scrums were really superb on the weekend when they played against Fiji. They used the scrums as one of their main weapons and are looking forward to that specific challenge."

Over the weekend Springboks enjoyed their first break since leaving South Africa on 1 September, and according to Du Plessis, the rest has done wonders for the team.

"For us the last two days have been great, the guys got out of the hotel a little bit. We have been doing quite a bit of outdoor stuff. Yesterday (Sunday) we did some clay pigeon shooting and... went deer hunting on Saturday.

"So we have been quite busy, but yeah, it was very relaxing," he said.

Such is the toll that discarded veteran utility back Matt Giteau is on standby to join the Wallabies in New Zealand.

In a hard-hitting encounter the Wallabies won 67-5, both starting centres and a replacement midfielder were all taken off with serious injuries.

"Obviously, there was a consequence from the game," said Deans. "At first glance, it doesn't look great."

Deans said Rob Horne's fractured cheekbone, sustained in his first tackle of the match, was a "minor displacement" and classified as "promising".

Outside centre Anthony Fainga'a, who scored a brace of tries, was knocked clean out when he took a knee to a head while attempting a tackle in the last minute of the game.

He received several minutes of on-field treatment before being taken off on a stretcher, but Deans said that was par for the course.

"It never looks good, but the stretcher's protocol in those circumstances. He can recall everything including the moments leading up to the tackle, so that's a great sign," the former All Black said.

"We will monitor him, it's not something we mess around with. We want to make sure he's fully recovered before he enters the fray. We will not be re-entering Anthony Fainga'a until he's fit and able."

Pat McCabe, who came on as a replacement for Horne, suffered a "sublaxed" (dislocated) shoulder, Deans dubbing the injury as not as "grave as it potentially could be".

No.8 Wycliff Palu will undergo an MRI scan on his hamstring strain, while hat-trick scorer Adam Ashley-Cooper "jammed his ankle, so he's not moving very freely but it's nothing too sinister".

Fullback Kurtley Beale and wing Drew Mitchell both tightened up, while the four players unavailable for selection - Digby Ioane (broken thumb), David Pocock (back), Scott Higginbotham (back), James Horwill (hamstring) - were all "progressing well".

With three centres having been injured, Deans acknowledged that veteran Matt Giteau, controversially omitted from the squad could be flown in as a replacement.

"He's obviously in the frame for a call-up because he was in the original 40-strong training squad," said Deans.

"The good thing now is that we've got an eight-day turnaround and we won't actually be getting back out to the training field until Tuesday.

"We probably won't be making any decisions in the next 48 hours. We'll make sure we're fully aware, fully informed, before we move.

"When you've been around the game as long as I have, you just keep going, it's part of it. It's a part of the game the players don't enjoy, nor do we as coaching staff but it's a constant.

"You've got to keep concentrating on what's important for the group and recognise that you can't avoid that stuff and critically, it's about the fit and able ones."

The Wallabies will now head to Canterbury on the South Island for some downtime before relocating to Nelson ahead of their match against Russia next Saturday.

It was revealed on Saturday that Botha has been given an ultimatum to prove his fitness or head home, as the Springboks get set for their final Pool D match against Samoa in Auckland on Friday.

Botha has been struggling with acute tendinous on his Achilles heel since the beginning of the tournament, and missed the game against Wales as a result, but returned for good performances in the big victories over Fiji and Namibia in the last fortnight.

But now, with the play-offs looming, coach Peter de Villiers has told his lock he needs to be fit before the play-offs or head home.

De Villiers said he wanted a fully-fit squad ahead of the game against Samoa, and had already decided to rest captain John Smit and play fiery hooker Bismarck du Plessis in his place

Victor Matfield will return to the side after a calf injury ruled him out of the last two games, and is likely to captain the side.

But Botha remains the main concern for the side as they move into play-off mode ahead of the Samoan game.

"Bakkies is a worry at the moment. I don't think Bakkies is where I want him to be, even though he may be where he wants to be," De Villiers explained.

"Then again, he is such a valuable player for the team, but a 90 percent fit Bakkies won't be good enough to play for the side, he needs to be 100 percent.

"He will be in doubt for Samoa. When he injured himself the other day, I really felt for the man because he worked hard to get fit again.

"In rugby when you aggravate your injury again, it takes longer to come back. We will make a decision on Bakkies, but we will be led by the medical team and by Bakkies himself.

"I can't say if we will decide to send him home, we can't keep any player here after this week if he isn't ready to go."

De Villiers said he needed to give Du Plessis a start so that the entire squad had started one game at the World Cup and the management would finalise the team on Saturday while the players were given time off until Sunday night.

"We will sit down today and we will know after today who will start this weekend, because what Samoa will offer, will cause us to make some changes," De Villiers said.

"One thing I can tell you today [Saturday] is that Bissie [Bismarck du Plessis] will also start. We need to give him that start so that he can feel comfortable in his mind and John [Smit] needs to rest.

"John had a tough time over the past few weeks. He went on like Duracell batteries, he just keeps on going. Not that he squeals, but I have to manage him too.

"Bismarck will also need some guys around him to enhance his talents and I think we have the right players there. We're looking forward to this game, but we're also looking forward to the challenge they bring us."

The Boks will begin their training for the game on Monday with the team announcement set for Tuesday.

"He [Botha] will always have a couple of niggles at his age, and with the way he plays, but I have no doubt he will be ready to play the next game," Erasmus said.

The big second row forward, who celebrated his 32nd birthday on Thursday when the Springboks secured an 87-0 victory over Namibia, left the field with signs of discomfort in the 50th minute.

Against Fiji last week, Botha did not return to the field after the half-time interval, which meant Willem Alberts had to cover at lock.

Erasmus confirmed that the South African medical team was keeping a close eye on the Achilles injury that prevented him from playing in the opening match against Wales.

"We were only going to bring him into the game in stages, so in his first game he only played one half, and this week a little longer," Erasmus said.

Meanwhile, the defending champions seemed to have recovered from the lock crisis they faced in the early stages of tournament, with Erasmus confident that both Victor Matfield and Johann Muller would be fit to play next week.

"We hope Victor Matfield and Johann Muller will all be ready for selection against Samoa," he said.

"The selectors and coach will decide if that is the right game to risk those guys but I am confident they will be ready."

Looking ahead to the knockout stages of the competition, Erasmus said both Ireland and Australia would be difficult teams to beat.

Australia suffered a shock 6-15 loss to Ireland last week, and were likely to finish top of their pool, setting up a probable quarterfinal between the Springboks and Wallabies in Wellington.

"In truth, we have to play Australia and New Zealand before we get to a Final," Erasmus said.

"Playing New Zealand at home is a hell of a task and obviously we play Australia in every Super Rugby and Tri-Nations, so we know each other very well."

For the defending champions, who steered clear of the All Blacks en route to the 2007 title, facing both southern hemisphere rivals would be seen as the definitive challenge.

"Wouldn't it be great to go that route and win the World Cup in New Zealand?" Erasmus said.

"That would be the ultimate because the team from 2007, who were fantastic, didn't face Australia and New Zealand.

"So if we want to go one better than them, I can't think of a better way, but obviously it will be a very tough road."

The Springboks scored twelve tries against Namibia in their 87-0 victory in Auckland on Thursday, with only two tries being credited to the forwards, and that is the way it should be according to Schalk Burger.

"The backline need to do their job and score the tries because the forwards have enough other jobs," the big flank quipped.

"Against Fiji, the forwards had their chance," Burger said.

"Gurthro (Steenkamp), Beast (Mtawarira) and Danie Rossouw scored, so I think we now have had our share."

"We don't score a lot of tries so it was time we left it for the backs to do their work for a change."

Wing Gio Aplon, centre Juan de Jongh and scrumhalf Francois Hougaard added two tries each on the night while the forwards won a penalty try because of their solid work in the scrum.

Their only other contribution to the score was a late five-pointer by the in-form lock Rossouw.

Burger said he was not concerned about the team's speedsters beating them to the race for the line.

"In fact, it is nice when you take your head out of a scrum or ruck and the backs score a try."

Burger said he was looking forward to some rest ahead of next week's crunch match against Samoa at Eden Park.

"It is always good to get a couple of days off," he said.

"It was a relatively short turnaround from our last match, so we will now have time to rest our bodies."

"With that said, we know that we can't switch off completely."

"It is in the middle of the competition and there is a big match ahead of us next week."

Getting a weekend away from the predominantly wet training fields will also give Burger a chance to recover fully from the cold he had leading up to their third match of the tournament.

"I didn't feel that good this week. I was a bit blocked up and, to be honest, I struggled to sing the national anthem because I lost my voice, but it should come back one of these days."

"You need good variation and it is also important for a loose trio to play well together and fit like a glove," said Spies.

"Sometimes you sit with injuries, and some other things you have to face, so you take it week by week and see how you can adapt to it."

Alberts earned the man of the match award for his performance in South Africa's 87-0 drubbing of Namibia on Thursday, while Brussow was on the field for only 12 minutes.

Spies said he thought different players brought different strengths to the side, but one thing they had in common was that each of them would be out to do his best.

"At this stage the loose-trios have played well, so now it is all about managing the team so that they peak at the right time," he said.

"Luckily we have a good group of players and some wonderful loose-forwards who can fill those gaps [should they open up though injury]."

On a personal level, Spies has shown improvement in every match he has played at the world spectacle.

In last week's game against Fiji, he showed glimpses of his old self as he attacked the gain-line while also putting his team on the front foot with some great long distance carries.

Against Namibia, where he was a force in the line-outs, he lifted his play another notch.
Like all professional athletes, however, Spies said he would never be fully satisfied with his performance.

"There is always room for improvement," he said.

"We set goals for ourselves and we were all very pleased with the results we had against Fiji and Namibia.

"It was important for us to build some momentum."

"I am very pleased with what we achieved today," De Villiers said. "We started off [being] loose, got our act together and when we stuck to our guns and played our match, we actually scored more points.

"It just shows you that it is a team game, and if individuals get ahead of themselves, sometimes the team will lose out."

South Africa's victory over their Southern African neighbours marked another milestone for the team as they bettered their biggest World Cup winning margin of 66 points - which was set against Uruguay in 2003.

It was a match of milestones, as South Africa also equalled their own record run of 10 unbeaten games at the World Cup and former IRB Player of the Year Bryan Habana set a new Springbok try-scoring record with his 39th career try.

De Villiers praised Bok skipper John Smit for ensuring the side lifted their game after a relatively unimpressive first half.

"Hats off to John for regrouping the team and getting things back on track," he said.

The Springboks kept a clean sheet after leaking only three points against Fiji last week, and have only conceded one try from three games - in their opening match against Wales in Wellington.

Pride in defence

De Villiers said his squad had placed a lot of emphasis on their defence - under defence specialist Jacques Nienaber - and that they now considered themselves to be among the best in that department.

"I said last week that we take pride in our defence and our try line," he said.

"We want to keep everyone out if we can, but we also understand that we can't always control those kinds of things.

"We work very hard on our systems defensively and in three games now we have showed that we are really up with the best."

The Bok coach, who has become far more tactful when addressing the media, would not accept that the mistakes his charges had made in the first half would have been capitalised on far more effectively by more formidable opponents.

"If it were another team we would have done things differently, so we can't assume that another team would have punished us, for we may not have made the same mistakes against another team," he said.

"You are talking about a perfect world and we are not in a perfect world, we are in New Zealand.

"We actually know that we are playing against the best in the whole world."

Bigger tests to come

Bok captain John Smit was also full of praise for his team, saying: "I am pretty happy with how the set-piece went and that along with our defence is what we've working the hardest on.

"There will be bigger tests coming in the future but it was a step."

The Namibians gave it a crack and held the Springboks to 31-0 at half-time before the effort told and their defensive line cracked wide open.

"Eighty-seven points is very disappointing and we expected to do better. They really punished us when we made mistakes," Namibian skipper Jacques Burger said.

"Unfortunately, we made the same mistakes as the other games. We just made too many mistakes and got punished for it."

South Africa moved to 14 points at the top of Pool D, eight ahead of Samoa and nine ahead of Wales, needing only one more point in their final group game against Samoa next week to clinch a berth in the Last Eight.

The Springboks have now notched up 153 points in their three games at the World Cup and are moving ominously into form ahead of a likely quarterfinal with Australia.

Murray refuses to play on Sundays, saying it would go against his religious principles that came to the fore when he was recovering from injury in 2005.

"Euan Murray is discounted because it's Sunday," Scotland coach Andy Robinson said of the tight-head prop.

"Euan is our best scrummager, but he's not playing in this game."

It is not the first time the Glasgow-born Murray has missed a key match, notably sitting out Scotland's Six Nations opener against France last season.

"I don't see why there have to be games on Sundays," Murray has complained. "I hope things will change in future."

Although he did turn out for the Scots on a Sunday in the 2008 Six Nations, Murray's faith has deepened to the degree where even his club contracts stipulate no play on the Sabbath.

"It's basically all or nothing, following Jesus. I don't believe in pick 'n' mix Christianity. I believe the bible is the word of God, so who am I to ignore something from it?" Murray said when first openly discussing his faith two years ago.

"I might as well tear out that page then keep tearing out pages as and when it suits me. If I started out like that soon there would be nothing left. I want to live my life believing and doing the things he wants and the Sabbath day is a full day.”

"It's not a case of a couple of hours in church then playing rugby or going down the pub, it's the full day."

His absence against the vaunted Argentinean front row will be keenly missed, but Scotland scrum coach Massi Cuttitta has insisted that Murray's refusal to play will not affect the team's bid to make it three wins on the hoof.

"We have three hookers all at the same level and three tightheads — Murray, Geoff Cross and Moray Low — all as good as each other," Cuttitta, the former Italy prop, told Scottish media.

"They've all been doing well and have been working hard for the team. I'm happy with everyone. We just need consistency. It's all about getting the confidence and getting better. Hopefully we can take it on a little against Argentina.”

"I'd like the pack to do the same thing as they did against Georgia. They destroyed Georgia and Romania in the scrums. We took them on and were really strong. I thought the boys did well," he said.

Hooker Ross Ford said the Argentinean scrum, along with the French, was unique in world rugby.

"I haven't come across many countries that scrum the way they do," Ford said. "Their props do different things and their looseheads and tightheads have different ways of doing things.”

"They angle in and try and line up a three on two in the front row."

Argentina prop Martin Scelzo highlighted a battle of the forwards being crucial to the crunch game that will likely decide the Pool B runners-up.

"If we want to win the game, we have to win the forward battle. The key to the game will be there," Scelzo said.

"Scotland's forwards are very good and we will have to focus our attention on that part of the game."

Australian fans complained of being spat on and abused when the Wallabies slumped to a shock defeat against Ireland in Auckland last weekend, identifying New Zealanders, not travelling Irish fans, as the culprits.

Australia and New Zealand have always enjoyed a healthy level of sporting one-upmanship, but Snedden said it would be uncharacteristic if it had crossed the line into outright hostility.

"The overwhelming response here has been one of welcoming and supporting the visiting teams and their fans," the Rugby World Cup 2011 chief executive told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"If some visiting Wallaby fans have not been welcomed this way, we would be very disappointed as this would definitely be out of character with the way New Zealanders have looked after our visitors over the past two weeks."

An online poll conducted by the Sydney newspaper found 61 percent of 10 500 respondents felt threatened attending a game with New Zealand rugby supporters.

The home fans' rancour towards Australia has been partly fuelled by New Zealand-born Quade Cooper's presence in the Wallabies' team, particularly as he has a reputation for needling the All Blacks' revered skipper Richie McCaw.

The Wallabies are also seen as perhaps the main obstacle to the All Blacks' hopes of breaking a 24-year World Cup drought, explaining the unrestrained glee with which many New Zealanders greeted Australia's 15-6 loss to Ireland.

All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen admitted he was enjoying Australia's discomfort, but said the historic rivalry was tempered with respect.

"I mean we've gone to war and fought shoulder to shoulder," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"They're probably looked upon as the big brother and we're the little brother, we want to belt them, they want to belt us. So if they're suffering a bit at the moment, the little brother will be smiling and chuckling away won't he? So we'll enjoy that while we can," he said.

However, TVNZ presenter Alison Mau, an Australian who moved across the Tasman in the 1990s, said she had never seen such vitriol against her homeland.

"For the first time, I feel there might be a bit more to it that just good fun between mates. It worries me," she told the New Zealand Herald.

"The worst sledges (insults) are generally fuelled by alcohol and are both unprintable and not worth the ink."

She attributed the animosity to New Zealand's inferiority complex about Australia, which is both richer than its neighbour and has long enjoyed sporting ascendancy, including winning two Rugby World Cups to New Zealand's one.

"In economics and in sport, we - and I mean Kiwis - feel like the junior version and it doesn't sit well with us," she said.

"On top of that, the Aussies are second only to the Americans for supreme self-confidence, and that can wear thin after a while."

A survey published in the lead-up to the World Cup found Australia was the team New Zealanders least wanted to win the tournament if the All Blacks were eliminated.

The Wallabies polled 33.8 percent on the survey of 750 people, almost doubling the next least-popular nation South Africa's figure of 18.6.

The 2003 World Cup winner has found himself at the centre of controvery following the release of video footage which at one stage showed him being kissed on the head by an unidentified woman during the team's night out in Queenstown ahead of last week's 41-10 Pool B win against Georgia.

The images sparked a worldwide media furore because two months ago Tindall married Zara Phillips, granddaughter of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

Phillips, a former three-day event world champion equestrian rider, attended a charity dinner in Auckland Wednesday night and has been reported to be arriving in Dunedin in time for Saturday's match.

Tindall, 32, was rested from the Georgia match although England manager Martin Johnson insisted his omission was purely a matter of squad rotation and was in no way a disciplinary measure.

Asked if he'd been through a "challenging" time, Tindall, who made his Test debut 11 years ago, said: "Not really. I'm disappointed obviously, because you want to play every game.

"I'm disappointed I didn't get a run out last weekend but you get down and train and that's as simple as it is."

As for any effect the ensuing headlines had on his own game, the softly-spoken Tindall, in contrast to the image he presented on the videotape, added: "I hope it's fine."

England's press officers had warned journalists to stick to rugby questions only and when a television reporter tried to get a response from Johnson about the fall-out from the drinking session, the annoyed 2003 World Cup-winning captain cut him off by saying: "We've put it to bed, it's not an issue.

"I said to you last week what happened, the guys went out and had a drink.

"We've played a game since then and we are looking forward to another game this weekend so if you've got any questions about that we'd love to hear them and answer them for you," Johnson added.

Tindall, capped 73 times, was one of seven changes to last week's team made by Johnson.

Mark Cueto returned on the wing after being ruled out of both of England's two previous matches at this tournament, which started with a 13-9 win over Argentina, because of a back problem.

Meanwhile 2003 heroes Jonny Wilkinson and Steve Thompson were back at fly-half and hooker respectively, although Johnson insisted nothing could be read into his selection other than he'd picked the right team for this match.

In the pack, London Irish loosehead prop Alex Corbisiero is set to make his first start of the tournament, with Leicester duo Louis Deacon and Tom Croft also returning to the first team.

James Haskell remained at No.8 in the ongoing absence through a back injury of Nick Easter.

England are currently top of Pool B as they bid to reach a third successive World Cup final and have won all four of their previous Tests against Romania, including a record 134-0 thrashing of the Oaks at Twickenham 10 years ago.

But England's opening pool matches have seen them concede more than 20 penalties in total.

Former lock Johnson was fuming after the Georgia game but he said Thursday: "I always look fairly angry even on a good day. The good thing is there has been a lot of honesty from the players."

Romania coach Romeo Gontineac had made 11 changes to his side but Johnson insisted England were still in for a tough match: "We are seeing coaches manage their squads, it doesn't change our outlook."

England: 15 Ben Foden; 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Mike Tindall, 11 Mark Cueto; 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Ben Youngs; 8 James Haskell, 7 Lewis Moody (capt), 6 Tom Croft; 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Louis Deacon; 3 Dan Cole, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Alex Corbisiero
Replacements: Lee Mears, David Wilson, Simon Shaw, Tom Wood, Richard Wigglesworth, Toby Flood, Delon Armitage

This proud rugby nation has been besotted by the national team's 24 years of choking since winning the inaugural Webb Ellis Cup and no defeat probably sticks in the craw as much as France's stunning 20-18 triumph to bounce New Zealand out of the quarter-finals at the 2007 World Cup.

France have a habit of proving a thorn in All Black rugby and also deprived them of reaching the 1999 final with a 43-31 semi-final upset at Twickenham.

Never mind that New Zealand vanquished Les Bleus 29-9 to win the 1987 World Cup final at Eden Park, venue for this weekend's Pool A showdown.

Coach Graham Henry, who retained his job amid national uproar in the wake of the last World Cup demise, says his team hasn't revisited 2007, yet some of the 10 survivors from the last tournament said this week they had watched video of that match.

"I'm sure it provides edge and we'd be silly if we ignored that," Henry said on Thursday.

"A lot of the players who are playing on Saturday played in 2007 (World Cup) and they also remember 1999, so I'm sure it provides a lot of edge."

Henry said the defeat caused "a lot of pain for some people, they don't want to go through that pain again."

Although not a knockout game, victory will ensure top spot in Pool A and a likely quarter-final against either Argentina or Scotland and a considerable step up in intensity from earlier matches in the pool.

"This French side will be very difficult to beat. They are a big side, very physical, got a very mature pack and they have some outstanding talented backs, so they will be very difficult," Henry said.

The Eden Park game before a capacity 60,000 crowd will be a milestone for All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw, who will play his 100th Test match.

"He's a special player, a special man and inspirational to the country, not only inspirational to this rugby team but an inspiration to New Zealanders," Henry said.

"He's a world-class player, he's been the IRB World Player of the Year three times, which has never happened before."

McCaw is one of four key team changes with goalkicking fly-half Dan Carter, fullback Israel Dagg and scrum-half Piri Weepu bolstering the All Blacks.

Coach Marc Lievremont has been criticised for pitching scrum-half Morgan Parra in at fly-half for the first time for France.

Parra takes over from Francois Trinh-Duc who played at No.10 in the opening wins over Japan and Canada.

"I think that Francois Trinh-Duc after two matches when he was not at his best pays the price and on the other hand Morgan (Parra) has been quite effective," Lievremont said.

Thierry Dusautoir returns as captain in a back row along with Louis Picamoles and Julien Bonnaire with the experienced Imanol Harinordoquy on the bench.

Damien Traille continues at fullback with Aurelien Rougerie returning to the centre to make way for Maxime Medard on the wing. Former skipper Lionel Nallet returns alongside Pascal Pape in the second row.

Dimitri Szarzewski gets his first start in the tournament replacing William Servat at hooker.

"For us it is a great honour to play this match, which is not like any other. I hope that my players will bring to it all the passion they have and that they will make us proud of them," Lievremont said.

"The summit of it all would be to play the All Blacks again later in the World Cup final at Eden Park."

The French camp have hotly denied any suggestions that they are sending out an understrength team and insist they are bent on once again defeating the All Blacks.

"Just on an ethical level alone there is no way that would enter our minds (not winning) and I think it shows a lack of respect for the 22 players selected for Saturday," lock Pape said.

In the team announced on Thursday, McCaw returns to lead the All Blacks in his 100th Test after a minor calf strain forced him to miss the 83-7 win over Japan in Hamilton.

Full-back Israel Dagg has recovered from an abdominal strain, while Piri Weepu returns at scrum-half for Andy Ellis.

Goalkicking fly-half Carter has recovered from a back complaint to further strengthen New Zealand.

"History shows the challenge. There have been a lot of World Cup games against France which have been of great interest to New Zealanders and French people and some of them have finished with difficult situations to handle," Henry said.

"This French side will be very difficult to beat. They are a big side, very physical, got a very mature pack and they have some outstanding talented backs, so they will be very difficult."

Henry said the painful loss to the French in the quarter-finals at the last 2007 World Cup has not been mentioned this week, but there would be an edge to the game.

"Quite frankly, France have got 642 Test caps in the starting XV and it looks a very strong team to me," he said.

"You people (media) wonder about the All Blacks selection, apparently I've been told occasionally, and now the boot's on the other foot... I just don't take any notice of it (France choosing a weaker team) quite frankly."

Referring to the shock 20-18 defeat to France at Cardiff four years ago, Henry said: "I'm sure it provides edge and we'd be silly if we ignored that.

"A lot of the players who are playing on Saturday played in 2007 (World Cup) and they remember 1999 (losing semi-final), so I'm sure it provides a lot of edge.

"Contrary to what's in the newspapers, we haven't visited 2007 yet, that's a wee bit premature, but certainly we will well before the finals (quarters and semis) start."

Henry said leaving out Mils Muliaina for Dagg was one of his most difficult selection decisions with Muliaina just two Tests away from playing 100 internationals for the All Blacks.

"Leaving him out was difficult and it only came after long discussions and a lot of emotion involved," coach Graham Henry said.

"We have a lot of respect for a guy with 98 Tests but we have to go with what we feel is our best team.

"It's difficult for Mils. He's been a high quality player for a long time for the All Blacks and so it's a difficult selection for him, but he'll get an opportunity and he's the type of character who will value that opportunity and show his ability.

"We are very conscious of what Mils has done for New Zealand rugby, we really appreciate that, and hopefully we can tick all the boxes before this tournament is finished."

All Blacks: 15 Israel Dagg; 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Richard Kahui; 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Piri Weepu; 8 Adam Thomson, 7 Richie McCaw (capt), 6 Jerome Kaino; 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brad Thorn; 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Anthony Boric, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Colin Slade, 22 Sonny Bill Williams.

No one is giving the 19th-ranked Namibians a hope in stemming the surging Bok tide at North Harbour on Thursday, but Gold said pride was at stake for the Welwitschias and it shapes as their 'final.'

The comparison between the two African neighbours is stark. The Springboks are two-time World Cup champions, while Namibia have yet to win a single RWC match and were hammered 49-25 by Fiji and 49-12 by Samoa at this tournament.

But Gold cautioned against tagging Namibia 'minnows' even though the Springboks lashed them with 15 tries in their only meeting in Cape Town four years ago which ended in a 105-13 frolic.

"A lot of these guys know our guys, they know us probably more intimately than a lot of people we get to play again in world rugby," Gold told reporters.

"Many of them play in South Africa, play club rugby in South Africa, some of them play provincial rugby and obviously (skipper) Jacques Burger plays in the (English) Premiership and he's well known in South Africa.

"These guys have a point to prove. Many of the Namibian guys are friends of our guys and pride is at stake here.

"Rugby's in their blood as much as it's in our blood and for them they'll want to come out and prove a point."

Support for Namibia

Burger said his team was receiving plenty of messages of support.

"It is partly like playing your brother. We are excited," said Burger, who plays for London's Saracens.

"I think people are very excited. We have had so many messages. They are very excited we are going up against the Boks. It is definitely nice because we all grew up with the Boks.

"A lot of people in South Africa have a soft spot for Namibia and will get behind us.

"You have that support every day and you can feel the support from the people. I definitely think we will do well."

Gold said the Springboks, bidding to equal their record of 10 consecutive RWC wins on Thursday, respect the Namibians and will have their focus on them and not who South Africa will be facing in the quarter-finals.

"You see it when teams get labelled with the so-called 'minnows' and for Namibia this could potentially be their final to want to pitch up and prove themselves against the Springboks," he said.

"From our point of view we realise that and we respect that in them and we know their coaches as well, we know their coaching structures are very good at the moment.

"So our focus at the moment has got to be on Namibia and give them the respect they deserve for this game."

Steenkamp, a strong scrummager, said on Wednesday he is delighted with the way referees are officiating scrum time at the tournament, although the Wallabies may disagree after their try-less 15-6 loss to Ireland last weekend.

"Ireland were spectacular at it and at the end of the day the dominant scrums should be rewarded and be able to launch attacks better and definitely the way it's been reffed at the moment is awesome," Steenkamp said.

"It's keeping the guys honest and ensuring the strongest scrum to dominate.

"We're looking forward to the way things have been reffed at the moment and it's making it awesome for the props because you know that if you are stronger than your opponent you're going to get the better call."

South Africa forwards coach Gary Gold said the teams with the stronger scrums were getting their rewards at the World Cup.

"A lot of people predicted that scrums were going to be a factor in this World Cup," he said.

"The teams that have scrummed well have been able to launch well from those scrum plays and it has seemed to have paid dividends for the teams who have stronger scrums."

Gold said he was encouraged by the refereeing performances at the tournament.

"For me across the board I think the referees have been really good in rewarding the stronger scrums," he said.

"The guys who have come out and wanted to scrum and have been legal at it have been rewarded accordingly."

Following Australia's shock loss to Ireland last weekend the draw has thrown up the possibility of a northern versus southern hemisphere final and there have been suggestions some teams may try to avoid harder paths to the final by losing games.

But that has gone down like a lead balloon with teams, particularly two-time World Cup winners South Africa and tournament favourites New Zealand.

"Absolutely, not even a question about it. It would be preposterous to even suggest anything otherwise," aghast Springboks forwards coach Gary Gold said.

"Every World Cup winner in the past has won every game that they have participated in the competition. That's a key significant factor to winning and we realise that.

"That's why the Springboks over the last number of World Cups have an 88 percent win record and under no circumstances would it even be considered that anything else other than winning all the way to the end is what's going to be required."

All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen was equally as adamant when the question was put to him on Wednesday.

"We'd get hung from the highest tree in New Zealand if we go out and try to lose a Test match. It's just not in our psyche," Hansen said.

"New Zealanders expect the All Blacks to go out and play the best they can, whoever it is."

In the absence of rested lock James Horwill, Genia will captain a side that has been tweaked by coach Robbie Deans to give most squad members a run-out after the first two matches (a 32-8 win over Italy and 15-6 loss to Ireland).

"We've got a big job ahead of us. The United States showed against Ireland that they are a totally committed opponent," said Genia.

"Our own performance against Ireland, which was not up to the high standards we set for ourselves, will only have offered the Americans further encouragement."

Genia added: "We just need to get out there and get it done, and that's pretty much the focus of the whole group. We're obviously disappointed with last week and want to go out there and make things right.

"It was one poor game. We made poor decisions and the result was we didn't come away with the good result.

"We worked on things to simplify the decision making."

There was no place in the starting XV for flank David Pocock, who is allowed a further game off to rest a problematic back.

James O'Connor joins Pocock on the sidelines with a hamstring strain, his place taken by the experienced Drew Mitchell.

Rob Horne comes in at centre for Pat McCabe, with flyhalf Quade Cooper taking over the kicking duties.

Up front, flanks Ben McCalman and Rocky Elsom, hooker Tafatu Polota-Nau and tighthead prop Ben Alexander are the only forwards to have played against Ireland.

Wycliff Palu will start at No.8, with Nathan Sharpe and Rob Simmons providing an all-new lock pairing.

"It's our second six-day turnaround in a row so we're looking to freshen things up a bit," said coach Deans, dismissing claims that the US team were a "tier-two nation".

"There's no such thing - they're playing in the World Cup," he said. "We are according the USA full respect by opting for the changes we have made in order to have a totally fresh and focused team."

Deans said he had not been "shocked" by the Ireland result.

"It was not an experience any of us enjoyed. The key for us now is to be the better for it, by heeding the lessons and acting on them," he said.

"We were poor in decision-making, discipline, around the contact, and without those three components at a World Cup you're kidding yourself.

"We're looking for a better perofmrance from our blokes.

"It's our third game in 13 days. That's challenging in itself but not an excuse. But we have to build on that and get some confidence."

Australia: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Anthony Fainga'a, 12 Rob Horne, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia (captain), 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Ben McCalman, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Dan Vickerman, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Pat McCabe.

Date: Friday, September 23
Venue: Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 20.30 (08.30 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
TMO: Tim Hayes (Wales)

"You want to do your part on the field. It's definitely not nice sitting on the bench," said du Plessis, who will be rested for Thursday's match against Namibia.

"If there is a guy who tells you it's nice sitting on the bench he would be lying. You want to play, you want to start, definitely, but you've got a job to do."

Du Plessis has been caught in a difficult situation as many Springboks fans believe he should be the starting hooker, but coach Peter de Villiers has stuck with captain Smit for the team's big matches.

It is never easy for good players to be watching the action from the sidelines.

Former Australia scrumhalf Chris Whitaker, who spent the best part of his career as a back-up to George Gregan, had the nickname 'Anthems' because his contribution to the Wallabies was mostly restricted to lining-up with his teammates before matches to sing the national anthem.

So what is the worst part for du Plessis about keeping the bench warm?

"The worst part is that warm-up because you're tight, you've had a hard week and then you have to warm yourself up and then sit for 60 minutes on the bench," he said.

"I don't want to be seen as an impact player. I want to be seen as a hooker."

Adding to Du Plessis' frustrations is the fact that he and Smit also both play for the Sharks, and have caused headaches for coach John Plumtree as well.

Plumtree rotated the pair where possible, with Smit also moving to prop to accommodate Du Plessis at times.

Smit has worn the No.2 jersey for South Africa's wins over Wales and Fiji and will also start against Namibia on Thursday.

"We had two really bruising encounters and from all of those, John is the only one standing, so you can see how valuable he is," De Villiers said on Tuesday.

The outspoken coach said it was important to manage his players' workload throughout the tournament but he could not give everyone a rest.

"I said I'm going to manage the players. I didn't say that every week everybody else would play. Along the line we'll have to manage John, too.

"We want to have 30 players fit for when we get to the proper tough games. We are really getting thin at the moment."

Tournament officials accepted an official apology from the team after centre Eliota Sapolu Fuimaono vented his anger on the social network following Samoa's loss to Wales.

World Cup organisers called the comments "inappropriate" but said there would be no sanctions.

"While RWCL (Rugby World Cup Limited) believed the nature of the comments to be inappropriate and have warned the Samoa Rugby Union regarding future social media conduct. RWCL has accepted an official apology and is satisfied with the proactive measures that the union has outlined to RWCL to address the matter," a statement said.

"There will be no further action and RWCL considers the matter to be closed."

Sapolu Fuimaono had been facing possible disciplinary action over his outburst over a timetable which gives bigger teams longer intervals between games to maximise weekend TV audiences.

The Gloucester player was incensed that Samoa had just three days to recover from their previous game while Wales had a week. Samoa led 10-6 at half-time but faded in the second half as Wales won 17-10.

"IRB, Stop exploiting my people. Please, all we ask is fairness. If they get a week, give us a week; it’s simple. #equality and #justice," Sapolu Fuimaono tweeted, referring to the International Rugby Board.

Later he added: "Ok, it's obvious the IRB are unjust. Wales get 7 days, we get 3. It’s unfair treatment...like slavery...like the holocaust...like apartheid. Give Wales 3 days off and give Samoa a week! We would kill them!”

"You can't get punished for speaking out against injustice. That would be unjust. Anyone can tackle a man. Try tackling injustice," he added.

The IRB had earlier defended its schedule and said the Twitter tirade was disappointing.

"We are aware of the comments and find the context of them disappointing," an IRB spokesman said.

The Welsh win over Samoa meant that they were now in pole position to take the second qualifying position from the tough Pool D behind defending champions South Africa.

Several of the "tier two" nations, like Canada, Georgia and Namibia, have also complained about the turn-around times between games, which they say discriminates against them.

The top teams from the Six Nations and Tri Nations tournaments in general have been accorded more time to recover between matches.

The IRB said the match schedule took into account fan appeal, the spread of matches across New Zealand and player welfare, as well as broadcast and commercial considerations.

"While it its unavoidable that some teams have a more compressed schedule than others, we have worked to ensure no team has two three-day periods in a row as well as minimising travel," the IRB spokesman said.

"There are five teams that have 14 rest days or less, down from seven in 2007 and eight in 2003."

Demands from broadcasters — who provide about 60 percent of the IRB's tournament revenue — were a major factor in the scheduling, as they piled-up facing small teams together with pressure to play major nations in prime weekend spots.

O'Connor underwent an MRI scan on Tuesday which showed a minor strain, and a team spokesman said the Wallabies had decided to err on the side of caution and exclude him from consideration for the match.

The 21-year-old utility back is expected to be fit for Australia's final first-round match against Russia.

Australia will announce its team on Wednesday. O'Connor's place is expected to be taken by wing Drew Mitchell, who if selected will start his first Test for the Wallabies since last November.

Wallaby flank David Pocock still has an outside chance of being fit for the match having made a "massive improvement" from a back injury that kept him out of the 15-6 defeat to Ireland.

The Wallabies have no specialist backup for Pocock and his continued absence would be disruptive to the squad, even taking into account the relatively modest standard of the remaining pool opponents: the Americans and Russia.

"If you'd seen him on match-day morning and you see him now, there's a massive improvement," assistant coach David Nucifora said on Tuesday.

"At this point we're hopeful but, obviously, if there's any doubt we won't risk any of our players making something that's relatively minor into something major."

Nucifora said the failings against Ireland were those of the team as a whole and that no individuals had been asked to accept responsibility.

"The good thing about rugby is in six or seven days you get to go out there and rectify things, so that's what they're looking forward to doing on Friday," he said.

"The players are just champing at the bit to get out there and get back on track."

"Namibia this week will be like a typical Currie Cup clash between guys that know each other and really go out to bruise each other," Habana said.

Habana was the player of the 2007 World Cup in France, scoring eight tries thanks to his blistering speed and devastating finishing, but his form has dropped off significantly in the last few years.

The prolific try-scorer has lost some of the pace that made him such an attacking threat and he will be eager to prove that he still has plenty to offer, as some have questioned whether he deserves his place in the first-choice team ahead of the electric Francois Hougaard who has impressed every time he has come on as a replacement.

The celebrated wing will make his comeback from a knee injury in the Springboks' third match of the tournament, and will be hoping that a game against the weakest opposition the Boks will face at the World Cup can help him rediscover his try-scoring form.

Habana said he remained open to the possibility of breaking Joost van der Westhuizen's try-scoring record, which he equalled against Italy in Witbank last year.

"If that 39th try comes, it comes, but if the Springboks win 150-0 without me scoring a try and I've contributed, I'm definitely still going to be very happy," he said.

"Whether that be about leadership, whether that be about scoring tries or making cross cover defence tackles it's about making a contribution," he explained.

Habana admitted to being disappointed that he was not part of the team that secured a 49-3 victory over Fiji last week. He said he was now more eager to make his contribution.

"It was probably the right decision not to get chosen last week and after training yesterday in front of an almost full stadium it feels good to be back again," he said.

"The rehabilitation time that you put in with the physios, the medical team and the conditioning guys and then getting onto the field and making sure you get involved in the game is pretty important," added Habana.

With only two matches remaining before the knock-out stages of the tournament, Habana said that gaining match fitness would be one of the personal goals he needed to achieve while there was still time.

"After only playing three games of international rugby prior to this it is not the best place to be, but I think your work on and off the field is pretty important," he said.

Parra was surprisingly picked ahead of established flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc by France coach Marc Lievremont on Tuesday in the side to face the All Blacks in their World Cup Pool A clash this weekend.

Parra started his previous 31 Internationals at scrumhalf, with two fleeting performances at flyhalf only in the last 10 days: 20 minutes in the second half against Japan, and 15 minutes against Canada.

"This is one of the biggest (tests of my career); it’s a big challenge," the 22-year-old Parra said. "(Carter is) the best in the world. I will try and match him, try and stand up to him."

With qualification for the quarterfinal practically assured for France, there is slightly less pressure on Parra.

"I will give it my best, and try and do something good," he said. "I have nothing to lose, I know that. I won't ask myself too many questions and will try to enjoy it."

Parra played club rugby at flyhalf when he was at Bourgoin, but that was three years ago, and he played only the odd match.

Only last week, Parra said he was struggling to see himself as a Number ten, despite his encouraging performance against Japan, when he went on to replace the injured David Skrela.

Skrela's injury forced him out of the squad, leaving France short of cover, and it meant that Parra was again on standby to play Number ten against Canada.

But going on against the tiring Japanese and Canadians was nothing compared to what awaits him on Saturday at Eden Park.

"I know today that the 15 minutes against Japan and the 20 minutes against Canada won't be enough," he said. "It will be something quite different against the All Blacks. I can't rely on my performances against Canada and Japan because this will be another level altogether."

Lievremont said Parra's attitude on the pitch weighed in his favour, compared to Trinh-Duc's lacklustre showing in both matches.

"In this position, we need a player who is strong in his mind, and Francois has been in doubt over the last two games," Lievremont said, adding that he sees no reason why two scrumhalves can't run the backs together.

Parra had been challenging Dimitri Yachvili for the starting scrumhalf role, and now finds himself in the strange position of playing alongside him.

"We have two excellent scrumhalves, we've seen that it's possible to pair them together," Lievremont said. "These two players deserve to start this match."

Although Parra scored 19 points, including five crisply struck penalties in Sunday's 46-19 win against Canada, the kicking duties will go to Yachvili at Eden Park.

Trinh-Duc accepted the decision gracefully and said he will do everything he can this week to assist Parra's build up.

"I will help Morgan," Trinh-Duc said. "We will discuss things and work together in training."

The Wallabies suffered a shock 15-6 defeat to Ireland last weekend and have left themselves in the position of having to win their two final pool matches, against the US and then Russia, to guarantee a berth in the quarterfinals.

"It's not pretty viewing and not the most enjoyable part of the job for the players or coaches to review those performances, but you get a lot out of it and that's important," assistant coach David Nucifora said of the post-match analysis following the Ireland game.

"It's quite straightforward really. What happened was there for everyone to see so now we know where we've got to get better."

Australia must now do what no team has done before and come back from a pool game loss to lift their third Webb Ellis Cup.

"You definitely have to move forward, get on and get ready to play this next game," former Wallaby hooker Nucifora said.

"That's the best thing with rugby, every six or seven days you get a chance to rectify things, so that's what they're looking forward to doing this Friday night," he added.

Nucifora allayed fears that the Australian scrum, much maligned in recent seasons and also under the cosh in the Ireland defeat, was to blame for that loss.

"Our scrum's gone well this year," he maintained. "We put the All Blacks and Springboks under a lot of pressure and dominated them in recent matches so it's not an issue for us."

However, he added: "The Irish scrummed well the other night, we scrummed inconsistently and what we have to fix is our consistency and our application to that."

Nucifora said he expected a highly committed US team to take to the field, the Americans having battled well in an opening 22-10 loss to the Irish before out-muscling Russia 13-6 for only their third ever World Cup win.

"Commitment... I thing they've shown that already. Physical commitment - they'll throw everything into us, into this match. They've done that in their first two games and you wouldn't expect anything less. It's going to be a tough match," he said.

Nucifora also played down potential differences in Northern and Southern hemisphere teams as the reason behind the defeat to the Irish.

"There are no surprises for any of us," he said, citing the November tours to Europe that Australia undertook, along with New Zealand and South Africa.

"We were outplayed on the night and we've got to move on from that. The guys are just chomping at the bit to get back out there and get back on track."

Nucifora also reported a clean bill of health for the squad except wing Digby Ioane, who has a broken thumb, and possibly openside flank David Pocock, sorely missed in the Ireland game.

"At this point we expect everyone bar Digby available for selection on Friday," he said.

"Obviously there's David Pocock; we'll see how he improves in the next day or two. At this point we're hopeful but if there's any doubt, we won't risk any of our players, making something that's relatively minor into something major."

Pocock, he said, had shown a "massive improvement" since the Ireland game day.

Ioane said his cast would come off "sometime this week".

"Fingers crossed, hopefully I'll make it for the quarters if we get there," he said. "After last week's game it's going to be hard this weekend against the US."

Read has taken no part in the World Cup so far and only resumed training this week for the first time since suffering a serious ankle injury in a Tri-Nations Test against Australia last month.

He has been the only player continuing to attend the All Blacks medical room after Richie McCaw, Mils Muliaina and Israel Dagg, who missed their last match against Japan with minor injuries, were cleared.

Dan Carter, who was also sidelined for the Japan match with a sore back, is still not 100 percent but is expected to start the grudge match against France who had twice knocked them out of the World Cup play-offs.

An automatic first-choice selection when fit, Read has found it difficult watching the World Cup from the sidelines so far.

"The ankle is coming on really well. I was out there today running on it, and doing a bit of scrum work and wrestling. It's just about getting some load back through it," he said at the end of a closed training session.

"It's not 100 percent yet although I'm working this week to try and get it right so come next week I can have a full training load," added the big loose forward.

Carter took only a limited part in training, but scrumhalf Andy Ellis said the ace playmaker was confident of being available to play the All Blacks' nemesis France.

"I keep asking him how he's doing and he keeps giving me the thumbs up," Ellis said.

"Today was sort of our big D (defence) day and he was in and out running the show but not getting fully involved. He's keeping an eye on things making sure he will be 100 percent for the weekend."

Wing Zac Guildford took a full part in training a day after he was publicly reprimanded by All Blacks management who revealed he had a drinking problem.

Guildford was the only All Black apart from the injured Read who hasn't been required for either of their first two matches.

The team’s management denied this was because of his drinking and senior All Blacks readily defended the 22-year-old.

"Essentially we back Zac 100 percent. It's been dealt with appropriately and he's stood up and put his hand up and I think that's great," said Read.

"Our culture is good and that's what makes a team. We're a pretty happy team at the moment and we've just got to make sure that we stay that way and enjoy the company because that reflects out on the field."

Peter Love, trustee of an organisation which administers Maori reserves, told Fairfax media that Maori culture was being "abused" and was especially unhappy with a wave of haka "flash mobs" surrounding the World Cup.

"I'm concerned our (Maori) culture is being abused by the overuse and inappropriateness of the haka when it is performed outside special occasions," Love told Fairfax, in comments reported on Tuesay.

"The haka in our culture is something which is regarded as special and should not be bastardised by sport. Peter de Villiers is dead right when he says it is losing its respect."

Love, whose uncle is a former New Zealand Maori Rugby Board chairman, added that haka flash mobs, including more than a dozen in recent weeks with one in Barcelona and another at the Sydney Opera House, were misguided.

"The haka is a challenge, not something which is performed as an expression of delight," he said.

"Who told those people they could do that? The haka is an orchestrated representation of our culture when it is used in an appropriate place, but it is being abused," added Love.

De Villiers courted controversy when he said the face-pulling, foot-stamping dance and chant performed before rugby games by New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa to intimidate opponents was becoming over-exposed.

"For me, about the World Cup especially, there is too many haka around," de Villiers told the Dominion Post newspaper. "It is unique, to me, and is losing its intensity, but that is only me.

"People are becoming so used to it. It is not a novelty any more and they don't respect it."

De Villiers' comments prompted an immediate response from the All Blacks, with centre Ma'a Nonu saying, "it's part of our history, our tradition.

"We're proud of it. I don't really care what he thinks," Nonu said.

The focus was on targeting the French strengths and shutting down Morgan Parra the scrumhalf who has been surprisingly selected to replace Francois Trinh-Duc at flyhalf.

The All Blacks have a score to settle with France who tipped them out of the quarterfinals 20-18 at Cardiff in 2007 and there's grim resolve not to let that happen again.

Training in secret at a rugby field surrounded by a high fence and with security guards posted outside, the All Blacks ran through moves they believe France will use and practised how to counter them.

For many of the survivors of the failed '07 campaign it was the first time they had revisited that game as they went over what went wrong in Cardiff and worked on not making the same mistakes again.

"We know we're going into a big battle," said scrumhalf Andy Ellis at the end of training.

France were scratchy in their two wins so far in New Zealand against Japan and Canada but the All Blacks were bracing for an intense clash, particularly in the forwards.

"It's going to be physical, a lot of intensity, a team like France play with a lot of passion and emotion," said Ellis.

"Their style of play maybe slightly different to what we're used to and we're adapating to that. We ran some of what we think they are going to bring to us. We ran it out there, it is slightly different.

"Part of the training was expect the unexpected. They're very skilful players, jinky steps, a lot of offloads and they're all the stuff we practised in training," he explained.

There was also a concentration on the skills Parra would bring to the pivotal No.10 slot, a position he has not played in for nearly three years.

"I won't let too much of that out, but (Parra is) very skilful, a very good pass as well," said Ellis.

Hooker Keven Mealamu, who like Ellis did not take the field for the last World Cup match against France, said memories of the loss had been put out of mind for four years until now.

He said: "For a lot of us pretty much haven't spoken about it since. But for us to move foward it's good to see where we went wrong and how we can improve. We went through scenarios - this is actually what happened out there.

"To actually go through it and say this is exactly what happened and this is how we could have approached it better and could have fixed it out there we'll be better for the experiences," added Mealamu.

The All Blacks have been training in Christchurch since Saturday while on a goodwill tour to the earthquake-stricken city which had to give up the seven World Cup matches.

The team will return to Auckland on Wednesday and the squad to play France will be named the following day.

Both sides have a maximum 10 points from winning their first two games and the winner on Saturday is virtually assured of topping Pool A.

Ireland's first victory over Australia on the World Cup stage has been rewarded with a two-place rise to sixth in the latest IRB World Rankings, lifting them above Celtic rivals Wales and Scotland.

The hard-fought 15-6 victory at Eden Park at the weekend, Ireland's first over Australia in five World Cup matches, regains two of the four places the Irish dropped after losing all four of their warm-up matches in August.

A bigger winning margin could have lifted Ireland to third, equalling their highest position since the IRB rankings were introduced in October 2003, but the defeat was enough to see Australia surrender second spot to South Africa.

Defending champions South Africa's 49-3 victory over Fiji in Pool D did not have any impact on either side's rating points, but the Wallabies lost four rankings points (from 88.84 to 84.84), allowing the Springboks to move back into second place - a place they briefly (for one week) held in mid-July, after the Wallabies' loss to Samoa.

Meanwhile, Pacific islanders, Fiji, climbed one place to 14th as a result of Tonga's defeat to Canada earlier in the week.

Tonga are the week's biggest fallers, dropping three places to 15th after the 20-25 loss to Canada in Whangarei last Wednesday and now lie only three-tenths above Georgia, the margin the European Nations Cup champions lost as a result of their 15-6 loss to Scotland the same day.

Canada's victory had provisionally lifted them to 12th, but Samoa's 10-17 loss to Wales resulted in another place gain to record their highest-ever ranking. The Canucks' subsequent 19-46 loss to France in their Pool A encounter in Napier on Sunday did not affect the rating of either side.

Samoa's first-ever loss to Wales in a World Cup saw them slip two places to 12th with Italy the other beneficiary despite not playing a match in the last seven days. The near one rating point gain was not enough to retain their sixth place after Ireland upset Australia.

The other nation on the rise are the United States following their 13-6 victory over Russia in New Plymouth. The Eagles' first win on the World Cup stage since 2003 lifts them one place to 17th, taking them above Romania.

Romania lost 43-8 to ninth-ranked Argentina on Saturday, but this had no impact on the rating points of either side. Russia were not as fortunate, their RWC debut defeat by USA resulting in a two-place fall to 21st with Namibia and Portugal the beneficiaries.

The participating nations of World Cup 2011 now no longer occupy the top 20 positions in the IRB World Rankings, but with nine matches over the next seven days there are sure to be plenty more rises and falls as the race for quarterfinal spots hots up.

Top 20 on the IRB rankings:
(Last week's position in brackets)
1(1) NEW ZEALAND 90.55
2(3) SOUTH AFRICA 86.71
3(2) AUSTRALIA 84.84
4(4) ENGLAND 83.99
5(5) FRANCE 83.78
6(8) IRELAND 82.50
7(6) WALES 80.73
8(7) SCOTLAND 79.12
9(9) ARGENTINA 77.30
10(11) ITALY 73.88
11(14) CANADA 73.74
12(10) SAMOA 73.59
13(13) JAPAN 71.95
14(15) FIJI 71.01
15(12) TONGA 70.30
16(16) GEORGIA 70.00
17(18) USA 66.38
18(17) ROMANIA 65.69
19(20) NAMIBIA 61.24
20(21) PORTUGAL 60.67

It's been an underwhelming year so far for John Smit's Springboks - losing half of their six internationals leading into the World Cup and coming a distant third in this season's Tri-Nations behind the Wallabies and All Blacks.

But there were signs in last Saturday's 49-3 dispatching of Fiji that it was the Boks of old as they build towards a likely quarterfinal showdown with the Wallabies.

"We were feeling the heat and put a heck of a lot of preparation into the Fiji game, and to be honest we are all a bit shocked that it went so well," utility back Francois Steyn said.

"For the whole team it has been an eye-opener to see what we can do. The belief is flooding back," he said.

South Africa have made five changes and welcome back wing Bryan Habana for their third Pool D game with their African neighbours.

Habana missed the Fiji romp with a knee injury and will have another crack at becoming the all-time Springbok record try-scorer, an achievement he currently shares with with Joost van der Westhuizen on 38 tries.

"Bryan brings a lot of energy to the team, he's a bundle of energetic spirit that we need there. I'm happy to give him a run again and see that he's over his injuries," coach Peter de Villiers said.

Many permutations

Francois Hougaard will start at scrumhalf with Fourie du Preez on the bench, while flanker Willem Alberts replaces Heinrich Brussow and prop CJ van der Linde gets his first start of the tournament at tighthead.

Locks Victor Matfield and Johann Muller, centre Jean de Villiers and flyhalf Butch James were not considered for the match.

The Springboks are expected to pile on the points against the Namibians, who they hammered 105-13 in their only meeting in Cape Town four years ago.

Skipper Smit, who will again become the most capped Springbok player when he wins his 109th cap, is backing up for his third game at the tournament.

"I think we certainly are making progress. In a World Cup, if you can keep winning and improving there's enough weeks for you to get into your perfect type of form," Smit said.

Much has been made this week of an impending quarterfinal with the Wallabies after their shock 15-6 loss to Ireland.

"That's the wonderful thing about a World Cup. There are so many permutations and people trying to guess the routes and pathways," Smit said.

"I think as a team if you try and think what might come, you often lose sight of where you need to be going in the next couple of minutes. Any team that wants to win a World Cup needs to beat whoever's in front of them in that next weekend," he pointed out.

Habana said Ireland's stunning victory has jolted the World Cup reckoning.

"It's great for the World Cup. It's shaken the whole thing up a little bit. It's made the whole thing more exciting going forward," he said.

"We now know that if we want to have any chance of getting to the top, we're going to have to beat some of the best teams in the world. It's going to be the same on the other side of the draw as well," he added.

The 19th-ranked Namibians, drawn largely from local amateur club rugby, know this will be a monumental challenge to stop the scoreboard from going into meltdown.

"I think it's going to be tough but, for us, it's a huge honour and privilege to play against the defending champions," centre Danie van Wyk said.

Flank Tinus du Plessis added: "It's going to be awesome. South Africa are our neighbours, so it's a bit of a grudge match."

The Bok coach surprised all and sundry at Tuesday's team announcement - ahead of Thursday's meeting with Namibia - by making just five changes to the starting line-up that dismantled Fiji in Wellington on Saturday.

De Villiers said he had selected the strongest available squad for the match and he defended his decision not to field a second-string side against the weakest team in South Africa's pool.

He explained: "Managing the players and changing the team every week is two different things. We are looking at giving everybody a chance on the tour. It is a different thing.

"If we are looking at all other scenarios, it is a different thing.

"I said that I was going to manage the players. I didn't say that everybody else will play."

One man still in the mix is record-breaking Springbok skipper John Smit who will extend his record of Test caps to 109 when he leads out the Men in Green & Gold - overtaking injured lock and long-time teammate Victor Matfield in the process.

"We had two bruising encounters and from that John (Smit) is the only one standing, so you can see how valuable he is," said De Villiers.

"Along the line, we will have to manage John too," he added. "We have to manage our players sensibly if we want to have 30 players fit when we get to the proper tough games."

Aside from retaining Smit at hooker - and bringing in Chiliboy Ralepelle as the reserve hooker, with Bismarck du Plessis getting a complete rest - De Villiers has handed first-ever World Cup starts to Willem Alberts (at flank), Francois Hougaard (at scrumhalf) and winger Gio Aplon.

Back in the mix is 2007 World Cup star Bryan Habana (on the left-wing), whilst veteran CJ van der Linde - who started the 2007 final at tighthead prop - finds himself back in that selfsame No.3 shirt for SA's third Pool D fixture.

De Villiers said his decision to bring back Habana, one of South African rugby's most loyal servants, had nothing to do with it being an ideal opportunity for the winger to better the all-time try-scoring record he shares with Joost van der Westhuizen.

Habana - who will start ahead of the in-form JP Pietersen - has not scored a Test try in over a year (since scoring against Italy in Witbank in June 2010) and will, no doubt, be hoping to pick up his 39th, and record-breaking, Test try when he takes to the field against the Namibians.

"Bryan brings something to the team. He's a bundle of energy that we need there, so I'm glad to give him a run again," said the Bok boss.

"I don't think you people understand the make-up of this team and what is really going on in this team.

"If you can find one player in this team that will put his personal interest above that of the team, then I'll personally send him home."

One man who certainly continues to put the team before his own interests is powerful Sharks back row forward Willem Alberts.

Having appeared off the bench against Wales and Fiji - at flank and lock, respectively - Alberts will start in the No.6 shirt (just his second ever Test start in Green & Gold) and also serve as second-row cover in the continued absence of Matfield and Johann Muller (both of whom have hamstring injuries).

"We are really getting thin [at lock] at this moment," admitted De Villiers.

"Injuries are really the biggest part of our stay here, so we just have to see what Willem can bring when he starts to, because we don't estimate what will happen going forward."

De Villiers resisted the temptation to field all his fringe players and made just five changes to the starting line-up for this Africa derby at the North Harbour Stadium.

The team will be captained by record-break hooker John Smit.

Wing Gio Aplon, scrumhalf Francois Hougaard, utility forward Willem Alberts and tighthead prop CJ van der Linde were all given their first starts of the tournament - while Bryan Habana was recalled from injury to resume in the No.11 jersey.

Four players were unavailable for selection due to injury.

The Bok mentor, De Villiers, opted to bring in some fresh legs in the hope of sustaining the team's momentum.

However, locks Victor Matfield and Johann Muller, centre Jean de Villiers and flyhalf Butch James were not considered for the match.

Scrumhalf Fourie du Preez and flank Heinrich Brüssow both dropped to the bench, while wings JP Pietersen and Odwa Ndungane and tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis were rested all together.

In one other change on the bench, Chiliboy Ralepelle was included in a matchday 22 for the first time when he was drafted in for Bismarck du Plessis, who is also rested.

South Africa: 15 Pat Lambie, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn , 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Willem Alberts, 5 Danie Rossouw, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Francois Louw, 19 Heinrich Brüssow, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Juan de Jongh.

Date: Thursday, September 22
Venue: North Harbour Stadium, Albany
Kick-off: 20.00 (08.00 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Tim Hayes (Wales)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)

Ireland's shock upset of in-form Australia looked to have blown the draw wide open with the odds now on northern and hemisphere teams being separated until the final on 23 October.

Teams refused to look too far ahead with about half the pool stage yet to be played. But Welsh assistant coach Shaun Edwards said Ireland had struck a blow for the northern sides.

"I thought Ireland sensed an opportunity... and they showed that we can also play rugby a little bit in the northern hemisphere, not just in the southern hemisphere," he said.

Rugby's heavyweights are understandably wary after a series of strong performances by the sport's lesser teams, including Canada's fighting loss to France on Sunday.

Edwards hoped that Ireland's win, coupled with the new challenge posed by the minnow teams, would make for a more open and watchable World Cup.

"Let's hope so because openness creates more and more interest," he said.

"It's not much fun watching a competition where you know who's going to win it.

"That's what will put people in front of their TV screens and get them turning up in their thousands (at games). I hope it's right because that creates more interest."

Quartefinals taking shape

The seven-week tournament takes a break on Monday before Italy play Russia on Tuesday, Tonga face Japan on Wednesday, South Africa take on Namibia on Thursday and Australia are against USA on Friday.

After this weekend's action, the likeliest quarter-finals see Ireland against Wales, England against France, New Zealand against Argentina and Australia against defending champions South Africa.

All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith said Ireland had set the blueprint for the tournament with their high-intensity, physical approach which muscled Australia out of the game.

"The physicality of their game was way up compared to what we've experienced so we've got to get that really quickly," Smith said.

"They've issued a blueprint for rugby in showing that nothing changes. If you win up front and you win the gain line and you win the collisions, then you're probably going to win the game.

Lots happening off the field

Meanwhile, All Blacks winger Zac Guildford admitted he had a problem with alcohol and apologised for drinking "excessively" after last month's Tri-Nations defeat to Australia.

A chastened Guildford told a press conference, organised to head off rumours about him, that he "had let myself down and let the team down... in making a few bad decisions off-field.

"I'm taking positive steps to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.

The All Blacks denied Guildford's drinking was behind his non-appearance at the World Cup so far, while centres Richard Kahui and Sonny Bill Williams have both been used on the wings.

A nightclub bouncer appeared in court charged with accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes after security footage of England centre Mike Tindall cosying up to a woman was posted on the Internet.

And South Africa coach Peter De Villiers lived up to his reputation for outspokenness by maintaining that New Zealand's pre-match "haka" war dance had been seen too often during the World Cup, diluting its impact.

"For me, about the World Cup especially, there is too many haka around," he told the Dominion Post newspaper. "It is unique, to me, and is losing its intensity, but that is only me.

"People are becoming so used to it. It is not a novelty any more and they don't respect it."

The comments sparked an angry reaction with All Blacks centre Ma'a Nonu leading the riposte.

"It's one man's opinion. We do it because we want to and it's part of our history, our tradition, we're proud of it. I don't really care what he thinks," Nonu said.

The Canucks had to rebound quickly from their opening hard-hitting 25-20 win over Tonga on Wednesday, but Crowley said it was not an excuse they would be offering up.

"It is what it is," said Crowley, the former New Zealand selector and All Blacks fullback, instead pinpointing the lack of professional players and regular high-level competition as the reasons behind the defeat.

"We've done our prep and we have full confidence in the medical staff.”

"We knew what it was going to be like when the draw came out. We busted backsides, but we're not putting it (the turnaround) out there as an excuse."

After holding France for the opening half-hour, Canada gifted three soft penalties in the run-in to half time and never quite recovered.

Two second half drop-goals by Ander Monro and a second penalty from James Pritchard kept the Canucks in the mix until fatigue took its toll, and finally yielded three tries in the closing quarter of an hour.

"It was very disappointing from our perspective," said Crowley. "We were nine points down at half time and lost 14 points in the last five minutes of the second half.”

"We had reasonable patches but we can't afford to do that that at this level.”

"We came here to win, not make up the numbers, and so we are very disappointed about that.”

"We have people giving us pats on the back, but if you accept that you won't improve.”

"The guys have played well but you're only as good as your last performance and our last performance was a loss."

Crowley added: "You can't question the emotion and commitment from our guys, but you can't just fall off in the last bit."

Captain and hooker Pat Riordan said the performance had given him heart.

"If nothing else we showed we can live with the top teams like that," he said.

"A lot of the guys are heartbroken. I think that shows the expectations we have for ourselves.”

"A lot of people are making a big deal about the turnaround for the tier-two teams. We came with the attitude, 'Who says you can't play two games in four days'."

The 34-year-old Munster flyhalf has been a fixture in the Ireland side for 11 years.

He came off the substitute’s bench to kick two crucial late penalties on Saturday as Ireland beat Australia 15-6 in Auckland to go top of Pool C at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

O'Gara's successful kicks further increased his Irish record to 1.039 points.

"It's massive, this is it for us. I'm done with Ireland in a few weeks," O'Gara told Ireland's RTE state television in an emotional interview.

"I've had a great time in this jersey but I want this to be the biggest time. It's a great team, a great bunch of lads and it means a lot to us."

O'Gara is one of only three players to have won more than 100 Ireland caps.

He has won the European Cup twice and is the tournament's record points-scorer.

Hook, 26, was withdrawn at half-time as Wales trailed 6-10 before they came storming back to win 17-10. Backrow forward Dan Lydiate also limped off early in the game and was to undergo a scan on a rolled ankle.

"They're going for scans. It's a little bit clearer what James has - he's done his AC (acromioclavicular) joint, whereas Dan has to go for a scan today and we'll know more after that," said assistant coach Shaun Edwards.

"We're still in the dark about Dan whereas with James it's a little bit easier to detect what it is."

Edwards said Hook, who underwent shoulder surgery last year, had suffered grade one or two damage to the joint, which "usually means two or three weeks" on the sidelines.

The projection means Hook will miss next week's game against Namibia and could also be out for their final Pool D clash against Fiji - as well as a possible quarter-final expected on October 8.

Ireland's stunning win over Australia on Saturday has re-distributed the cards with the likelihood they will top Pool C pushing Australia into the same half as the All Blacks and South Africa.

A loss at Eden Park to the tournament favourites would mean that France would end up alongside their traditional Six Nations rivals instead in the other half.

"Our objective is to qualify [for the last eight], and to win all our matches," he said.

"How can anyone even think we would prepare for a match against New Zealand with the idea that we might throw it in the back of our minds."

"Anyway, if we play against the All Blacks, the way we played our first two games, then the matter will be quickly resolved and it will be second place for us."

The French have two wins under their belt - against Japan and Canada - a maximum 10 points and the 93 points they have scored is the second best in the tournament behind the All Blacks.

But Lievremont is far from pleased with the way things have gone so far saying that "there are still too many mistakes being made."

"I am only too aware of the weaknesses my team have shown in the first two games and we need to do better," he said.

"We will do our best to get fully prepared to take on these guys [All Blacks], who are just excellent."

"There is no doubt that the All Blacks will be fully determined to win and to win well. I have no doubt about that."

Revenge on the cards

Spurring on the New Zealanders will be the knowledge that the last time these two teams met in a World Cup match, France, then under Bernard Laporte, pulled off a stunning win 20-18 in Cardiff in a quarterfinal tie.

Lievremont himself was a flank in the French team that blasted away the All Blacks 43-31 in the 1999 World Cup semifinals before losing to Australia in the Final.

So he knows that there will be no mercy shown at Eden park before a packed 60 000 crowd on Saturday.

There was good news for the French in that there were no new injuries to report from the 46-19 win over Canada in Napier on Sunday, apart from a bad gash under the left eye of prop Jean-Baptiste Poux, which needed stitches, and an ankle sprain for hooker William Servat.

Tight-head prop Nicolas Mas though is still recovering from a pulled hamstring and flyhalf replacement, replacement hooker Guilhem Guirado required stitches above his left eyebrow and wing Vincent Clerc bruised his left thigh

All of the players are expected to be fit for selection for the decisive Pool A match against New Zealand on Saturday.

The uncapped Jan-Marc Doussain, was not due to arrive in Auckland until later Monday.

Doussain replaces the veteran David Skrela who was ruled out of the tournament after picking up a bad shoulder injury in the 47-21 win over Japan.

Lievremont said of Doussain it would be "difficult to select him this weekend, even impossible," meaning another start at No.10 for Francois Trinh-Duc.

For the scrumhalf position Morgan Parra did his chances of playing against New Zealand a world of good with a superb place-kicking display against Canada, but Lievremont said he was also considering Dimitri Yachvili.

The French team to take on the All Blacks will be announced early Tuesday.

The eye-rolling, foot-stomping Maori challenge, entitled "Ka Mate", has been performed before Test matches by the All Blacks since 1905, becoming an integral part of the international rugby landscape.

But during the tournament, groups using social media such as Facebook to organise themselves have performed so-called "flash haka" displays in parks, shopping centres and streets across New Zealand.

International teams in the country for the World Cup have also been greeted by numerous haka at official functions and school visits.

De Villiers said New Zealanders risked over-exposing the Haka as they host this year's tournament, diminishing its significance.

"For me, about the World Cup especially, there is too many Haka [performances] around," he said.

"It is unique, to me, and is losing its intensity, but that is only me.

"People are becoming so used to it. It is not a novelty any more and they don't respect it."

One of the flash Haka performances, at an Auckland shopping mall earlier this month, has attracted more than a million hits on file-sharing site YouTube.

'Total overkill'

Maori historian Malcolm Mulholland said it was a wonderful way to display New Zealand's indigenous culture to the world

"They are organised by Maori, exhibit Maori culture, are being done in a modern way and get crowds to stop what they're doing and appreciate an aspect of Maori culture," he said.

However, there were signs of Haka-fatigue elsewhere, with online commentator 'John' backing De Villiers' stance in remarks posted on New Zealand's 3News website.

"It's an interesting little dance but, man, it's total overkill," he wrote.

"You can't cross the road without someone doing a Haka. Its just getting to be a bit of a yawn."

The Haka is traditionally only performed by men and British pop group The Spice Girls were labelled culturally insensitive in 1997 when they did an impromptu version during a concert in Bali.

A New Zealand bakery chain also came under fire for a 2007 commercial featuring animated gingerbread men with squeaky voices doing the Haka.

Opposing teams have tried various methods of responding to the All Blacks' challenge, sometimes serving only to spur on the New Zealanders with a perceived slight to the Haka.

In 1989, Ireland captain Willie Anderson linked arms with his teammates at Lansdowne Road and led them forward so they were within eye-ball-to-eyeball with the All Blacks, going on to lose 6-23.

Australia turned their backs to the Haka during a 1996 Bledisloe Cup clash in Wellington and were downed 6-43.

In recent years, the International Rugby Board has ruled that the team facing the Haka must stay at least 10 metres from the half-way line.

"It is a better performance, I don't know a about breakthrough," Smit said after Saturday's match.

"I think it was a game that we really wanted to do well in. They are one of the tough teams in the pool and showed that they wanted to attack, so I would rather say it was a step in the right direction."

It took the Springboks 25 minutes to get the upper-hand in the contest.

The turning point came when loosehead prop Gurthrö Steenkamp dived over in the corner for the first of six tries the defending champions scored in the match.

Smit praised his players for surviving the initial pressure they were placed under by a very passionate Fijian outfit.

"The first half was pretty brutal, they basically came out there on a mission, certainly from a breakdown point of view.

"Fortunately the boys stuck to it and it was good to see how the guys matched fire with fire and were pretty accurate; numbers wise, the decision making was good and it was a step in the right direction."

'A good stepping stone'

Asked to compare his team's showing to this week to the narrow 17-16 victory they secured over Wales in their previous match, the Bok skipper said that the control his men had - with or without possession - was one of the most telling differences.

He said that they would not have scored high marks for their previous performance.

"The nice thing about this week, compared to last week, is that we got closer to how we prepared the week before the game.

"It is a good stepping stone to where we needed to go and to improve from last week. A lot of guys put some valuable time out there and some guys really put their hands up."

Prior to the match the Springboks were only given an outside chance to retain the title they won in 2007.

The victory had brought back a lot of confidence in the team's abilities although Smit said that proving their critics wrong was not the main motivating factor behind the more credible performance.

"If it was perceived that way it may help, but the intention was to get better every single weekend.

"We were aware that we came into the tournament pretty undercooked from a rugby game time point of view so it was important for us to progress today.

"Week two is a little bit too early to be deciding who is making a marker, it is not really when you win a World Cup."

The Springboks' next match is against Namibia at the North Harbour stadium in Auckland on Thursday.

"It is not often that I can sit after a physical game like that and report no injuries from the game," said Roberts.

"We are quite happy, from the sideline it was quite a physical game and, apart from the normal bumps and bruises, we got away clean which is nice from an injury perspective."

There were, however, concerns that lock Bakkies Botha had been replaced because of the Achilles (foot) injury he had been suffering from prior to the match.

Roberts denied that the second-rower was forced to leave the field.

"The plan with Bakkies was always for him to play 40 minutes, we were always going to make the sub and bring Willem (Alberts) on after half time," he said.

Matfield recovering well

As for wing Bryan Habana (knee), lock Victor Matfield (hamstring), flyhalf Butch James (hip flexor), centre Jean de Villiers (rib) and Johann Muller (hamstring), Roberts said that an assessment would be made at Tuesday's training session.

He did give an update on Victor Matfield's recovery.

"Victor has done really well, He did a lot of intensive rehabilitation last week and that is what he really needed to do.

"We are very happy with his progress, obviously it is a very long tournament and we want to make sure that he is at his best for that." Early indications are that all players that are carrying injuries will not be risked for Thursday's match against Namibia.

South Africa are expected to give players who have not yet taken part in the tournament a chance in their so-called dirt track match at the North Harbour stadium in Auckland.

"He got fined for kicking, but because it turned out to be a try it was all good," said Muir.

More renowned for his unique ability to secure turnover possession from the breakdown, Brussow timed a chip kick to perfection to set up a try for fullback Frans Steyn.

"That will be one of the tries of the World Cup, for sure," a delighted Steyn said after the match.

The Free State bread fetcher was also over the moon when asked to comment on that moment of brilliance, although with him it was more evident that the physicality of the match had taken its toll.

"I think I was actually very lucky," said Brussow.

"Frans had already beaten the guy on the outside and I could throw the pass, but I was afraid that it would be too long in the air so I thought the kick would be the better option."

In a match against a side known for their expansive approach, Brussow's influence at the tackle area became even more important for the defending champions as nothing makes him smile more than an isolated player that has just been brought to ground by one of his team mates.

Brussow insisted that the final score did not really tell the whole story of what happened on the field.

"I don't know what it looked like from the side, but on the field it was tough and they came at us all the time with some pretty big forwards and backs."

He added that the match lived up to all expectations.

"There was an emphasis during the week that we had to win the physical battle early in the game and it was really tough.

"Their (Fiji's) passion is to play hard and to try and dominate you so we knew we had to pitch up physically."

The fact that there were thousands of passionate Fijian fans in the stadium didn't make matters any easier as the South Pacific Islanders remained passionate despite finding it almost impossible to get though the Springbok defence.

"It seemed like they were never going to give up, at one stage I spoke to some of the guys on the field and they looked as tired as I was, but luckily we stuck to our game and that will is very good for us from a confidence perspective."

Displaying the same feisty streak that has sometimes landed the Australian Number ten in hot water, 76-year-old Millie Cooper issued some blunt advice to her grandson's critics - "build a bridge and get over it".

Controversy around Cooper since he arrived in New Zealand for the World Cup has threatened to eclipse the 23-year-old's on-field exploits, with the player dubbing himself "public enemy number one" on his Twitter account.

But Millie Cooper said the player, who grew up in New Zealand and has Maori heritage, was a "lovely" boy who had plenty of time for children and the elderly.

"He's not a whakahihi [arrogant] boy, you know, he loves children and he loves the old people, he's got patience to be with young and old," she told the New Zealand Herald.

She also defended Cooper over the incident which triggered Farr-Jones' "boofhead" jibe, when he kneed All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw in the head during last month's Tri-Nations decider.

"They said Quadey kneed Richie McCaw's head. They see the bad part but they didn't see who was pushing him... build a bridge and get over it," she said.

The septuagenarian, who still lives in the North Island where Cooper was raised, added: "It seems there's a bit of jealousy both here and over in Aussie, but as long as his teammates get on well, bugger the rest."

Farr-Jones predicted Cooper's constant needling of McCaw could backfire if the Wallabies meet the All Blacks in next month's World Cup Final.

The New Zealand public have also taken offence at his treatment of their revered skipper, booing his every touch of the ball during the tournament.

He has been labelled a "cheap shot merchant" in the New Zealand media and the kiwi roots of a player whose team probably represents the main threat to the All Blacks' title chances have only fuelled the enmity towards him.

The Dominion Post newspaper ran an article detailing "five reasons to dislike Quade Cooper" on Friday, citing "he's a New Zealander playing in a yellow [Australian] jersey" among the list.

Ewen McKenzie, Cooper's coach at Australian Super Rugby franchise the Reds, said he was not surprised attention was focused on the playmaker, who helped his side win its first southern hemisphere provincial title this year.

"I don't see it as a concerning thing," McKenzie told Australian news agency AAP on Thursday.

"He intrigues people, which is the best way to put it. People are trying to find faults because he's an enigma."

McKenzie likened Cooper to Australian legend David Campese, another electrifying player who polarised opinion.

"I came through the Campese era and people liked to tear him down but he too had the X-factor and, in the amateur days, he brought a lot of people through the gates to watch him play," he said.

Tournament organisers said that he had been cited for dangerous tackling and dangerous charging during his side's 13-6 win over Russia in a Pool C match on Thursday.

"The team has been informed and the case will be heard by the Independent Judicial Officer Jeff Blackett [England]," a statement said.

The hearing will take place in Auckland at a time and date to be confirmed.

The competition's first citing resulted in England lock Courtney Lawes being suspended for two matches.

Gatland was pleased with the way his side played against South Africa in the opener, despite losing 16-17 and he resisted calls to move James Hook from fullback to flyhalf.

The only change to the match-day 22 is the return of prop Gethin Jenkins to the bench taking the place of Ryan Bevington.

Wales are the first team to pick an unchanged side at the 2011 World Cup and Gatland only used one replacement during the match against the Springboks with Bradley Davies coming on for Alyn Wyn Jones at lock.

"I think it's the first time since 2006 that Wales have named an unchanged team. It's a message of confidence in terms of the way we performed last week," Gatland said.

"We've got everyone fit and hopefully we can build on last week."

Turning to his retention of Hook in the No.15 shirt, Gatland said that he was more than happy with the way the inexperienced Rhys Priestland had played against the Springboks.

"Rhys ran when it was on, he kicked into space well, he's given our centres some early ball and some options to attack from. Having reviewed the game, we were very comfortable with the game he played," he said.

Gatland said that Wales would obviously be playing close attention to rampaging Samoa winger Alesana Tuilagi, who scored three tries against Namibia in the Samoans impressive opener.

"We have to match his physicality," he said.

"A lot of the guys know Tuilagi from [English club] Leicester and what he does there. He's not unfamiliar to a lot of players in the northern hemisphere and it's no surprise to us that he's made an impact early on in this competition."

Wales: 15 James Hook, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Sam Warburton (captain), 7 Toby Faletau, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Bradley Davies, 19 Andy Powell, 20 Tavis Knoyle, 21 Scott Williams, 22 Leigh Halfpenny.

Date: Sunday, September 18
Venue: Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Kick-off: 15.30 (03.30 GMT)
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Jérôme Garces (France)
TMO: Giulio De Santis (Italy)

The openside flank was one of nine changes announced by England manager Martin Johnson on Friday to the team that beat the Pumas 13-9 in their Pool B clash at Dunedin's Otago Stadium last Saturday.

Moody missed the Argentina match with knee ligament damage suffered in England's opening warm-up win over Wales at Twickenham last month, having also missed this season's victorious Six Nations campaign with a knee problem.

He took the place of James Haskell, now on the bench, in the back row.

"It's good to have Lewis back," Johnson told reporters on Friday. "It's a chance for a lot of guys to come and play.

"It was always the plan that people would have to play and give them a chance in the second half of the pool and hopefully beyond."

Other changes up front saw Tom Wood set for a World Cup debut at blindside flank instead of Tom Croft.

Johnson, himself a former lock, selected a new second row combination of Simon Shaw and Tom Palmer, the pair replacing Courtney Lawes, suspended for two matches for kneeing Argentina's Mario Ledesma, and Louis Deacon.

"Courtney is out for a couple of weeks, but we'd have played the other two locks anyway," explained Johnson, who confirmed England would not be appealing Lawes's ban.

Meanwhile in the front row, Matt Stevens, a replacement against Argentina for Andrew Sheridan, whose World Cup has since been ended by a shoulder injury, will start at loosehead prop with Dylan Hartley replacing 2003 World Cup-winner Steve Thompson at hooker.

In the backs, former New Zealand Rugby League international Shontayne Hape came in for Mike Tindall, England's captain against Argentina.

Johnson stressed Tindall's absence had nothing to do with the lurid tabloid headlines back in Britain concerning the 2003 World Cup winner after a team night out in Queenstown.

Toby Flood replaced Jonny Wilkinson, who missed five of his eight goal-kicks against Argentina, at flyhalf while Flood's Leicester team-mate Ben Youngs, who came off the bench to score the only try of the Pumas match, was alongside him at scrum-half.

"We are excited about getting back to Dunedin," said Johnson, England's 2003 World Cup-winning captain.

"It was a great game last week, great atmosphere, an intense World Cup match, a real tough battle.

"It was almost like you were in sudden-death already. That's great, that's what you want, to be battle-hardened as you go through."

This line-up meant there was still no place in the side for wing Mark Cueto, a member of the England side that lost the 2007 World Cup against South Africa, after he was left out of the team to play Argentina after struggling with a back injury.

"It gives us a chance for our back three [Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and Delon Armitage] to get a bit more game time together," Johnson explained.

"I'm sure Mark is pretty frustrated he's not had a shot yet but every day he can train and get more training time under his belt, the better it is."

Johnson added a decision on a replacement player for Sheridan would be taken after Sunday's match.

Georgia began their World Cup with a 6-15 loss to Scotland on Wednesday.

England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Delon Armitage, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (captain), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Matt Stevens.
Replacements: 16 Steve Thompson, 17 Alex Corbisiero, 18 Tom Croft, 19 James Haskell, 20 Joe Simpson, 21 Jonny Wilkinson, 22 Matt Banahan.

Date: Sunday, September 18
Venue: Otago Stadium, Dunedin
Kick-off: 18.00 (06.00 GMT)
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Steve Walsh (Australia), Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Flank Francois Louw was on Friday drafted into the Springbok match-day 22 for the Pool D match against the Pacific Islanders.

He replaces Johann Muller, who had been struggling with hamstring tightness.

Muller was assessed by the Springbok medical team on Friday and the decision was taken not to risk aggravating the injury.

Louw made the last of his seven Test appearances in the final Tri-Nations match of 2010 season.

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers said that Willem Alberts would act as lock cover on the bench, and that they had planned for such an eventuality.

"It's not an ideal situation, but that's tournament rugby," said De Villiers.

"We knew this was a possibility from earlier in the week so we have made our plans.

"It's a long tournament and we have to be sensible and there was no point risking making Johann's injury worse."

South Africa - revised: 15 Pat Lambie, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Danie Rossouw, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Francois Louw, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 François Hougaard, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Juan de Jongh.

Date: Saturday, September 17
Venue: Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 18.00 (06.00 GMT)
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
TMO: Matt Goddard (Australia)

"Something I was told as a youngster is that everyone's ankles are similar sizes, so you'll find I'll be going for their ankles," said Lambie, the youngest player in the South African squad.

The 20-year-old was named in the Bok team on Wednesday as they go in search of their second victory at the World Cup in Wellington, New Zealand, after clinching a nail-biting 17-16 win over Wales last week.

Lambie made his Springbok debut on last season's year-end tour against Ireland, and has since played seven Test matches.

He was part of the Springbok side on the receiving end of a 40-7 Tri-Nations thrashing by the All Blacks in July, at the same stadium where they will lock horns with Fiji.

Lambie said his first run at the Cake-Tin, where he started at flyhalf, had given him a better idea of what international rugby was all about.

"I think the opportunity to play here in the Tri-Nations against the All Blacks was a really big learning experience for me," he said.

Lambie was also included in the team which defeated New Zealand in Port Elizabeth last month, when he started at fullback but had to leave the match in the 22nd minute because of a shoulder injury.

The Sharks' pivot said he had fully recovered from the injury and could not wait to get back on the field.

"I'm really pleased with the progress that I have made with my shoulder and the medical staff are happy as well," Lambie said.

"I was actually given the all-clear last week, so I've been raring to go for a couple of weeks now and I'm really glad that I'm in the team this weekend."

While he had not been hampered by sleepless nights, Lambie, when prompted at a media conference, agreed he felt the similar unbridled excitement, on the eve of his World Cup debut, which children experienced the night before Christmas.

"It does feel a little bit like that. It is a dream come true to be here, firstly, and secondly to get the opportunity to play is something very special," he said.