And then there were four, and all of them from the Southern Hemisphere.
The joke doing the rounds, now that Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France have been sent packing, is that it was good of The Rugby Championship to come on tour for a couple of months.
New Zealand and Argentina are looking the most likely to reach the final but they must, respectively, get by South Africa and Australia first.
Here are the magic moments of the past few rugby-filled days, with a couple of tragic ones for fans of the Northern Hemisphere nations.
Try of the Week
There were lots of sublime tries to choose from, including one from Luke Fitzgerald, but we simply had to go for Julian Savea’s first of his remarkable hat-trick.
It is a real team try, with Ben Smith and Owen Franks making good carries before Dan Carter takes over. A feint, a dash, a fend-off with the right arm and flicked offload with the left. Savea just dotted the cherry.
Pass of the Week
It was always going to take a moment of magic to separate Wales and South Africa.
Springboks lock Duane Vermeulen provided it [go to 2:57 if the video does not automatically take you there].
Oh yes, he’s off to Toulon after the World Cup.
Most passionate fan of the week
Whenever he could be dragged away from his phone, it had to be Paulie.
Level 59 of Angry Birds and a try! Come on Ireland. #IREvARG pic.twitter.com/cHa9ynrF4H
— Jarlath Regan (@Jarlath) October 18, 2015
Tackle of the Week
Argentine lock Pablo Matera landed this crunching hit on Ian Madigan – and gave the crowd a good look at his snazzy boots – midway through the half.
Two others that stand out are the Juan Martin Hernandez hits on Robbie Henshaw that forced knock-ons.
Heroic failure of the Week
No-one gave Scotland a chance against the team going into this weekend as the form team.
Michael Cheika’s Australia had looked imperious and ruthless in equal measure, thus far, but were missing Israel Folau and David Pocock for their last eight encounter. Still, they should have had too much for Scotland.
Not so, as the likes of Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour had games to remember. The Scots led by two points with three minutes to go but referee Craig Joubert controversially pinged them and allowed Bernard Foley to hold his nerve and kick the winning penalty.
Life can be cruel sometimes.
Social media’s finest offerings
Ring the alarm.
Lads and ladies, if the second half starts badly @patmccarry is under orders to pull the fire alarm! #RWC2015 pic.twitter.com/ikPrZC2jl3
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 18, 2015
Silver lining.
Well, at least we've got TV3's adverts to look forward to. #IREvARG
— Colm Tobin (@colmtobin) October 18, 2015
Salt in wounds.
Australian newspaper rubs it in for Scotland by making #CraigJoubert man of the matchhttp://t.co/8EpOYq5UXA pic.twitter.com/RazIzc92uT
— Telegraph Rugby (@TelegraphRugby) October 19, 2015
Argentinian appreciation clip of the week
The Pumas stayed out on the Millennium Stadium pitch after the final whistle to celebrate with their countrymen, and women, in the stands.
Player that impressed us the most
Nicolas Sanchez was superb for Argentina – scoring 23 points and proving to be a world-class playmaker when it truly counted. Drew Mitchell got another crucial World Cup try and Wales’ Dan Lydiate made 24 tackles in a losing cause.
However, Julian Savea was the player that impressed, and frightened us most. His hat-trick against France has placed him on eight tries in this World Cup alone.
You can’t stop the bus!
Credit: World Rugby (YouTube)MasterCard is turning the world oval for Rugby World Cup 2015. For your chance to win tickets to one of the matches please visit pricelessIreland.ie
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