The 2007 Rugby World Cup marks a real evolution in rugby. The English forwards pushed their team into the final, the Springboks athletes trashed their opponents’ defense thanks to their power. The pool games could have hinted that this power, typical of Southern Hemisphere rugby, was the key for success. But New Zealand’s and Australia’s elimination proved muscle wasn’t everything.

2007 is the year of “realrugby”. Kicking is getting more important than running with the ball – which is the essence of rugby. Those who who don’t carry kicking in their culture have been frightened by this evolution. France preferred copying their opponents instead of claiming their difference.

Fiji could have beaten South Africa if only they had a pack. Instead, Argentina made their way to the Semi-finals discreetly, but surely.

Is it the ephemeral “in” thing? The Irish press (Irish Independent) was wondering lately about “The end of rugby as we know it”, and how the audience can still be attracted by a game with no show. In an interview to the website Sports.fr, French fullback Clement Poitrenaud points out the specificity of the rugby audience: “If you win 5-6, they’ll boo you, if you loose 32-33, you’ll get a standing ovation… At an international level, it’s lots of tactics, like a chess game. It worked against New Zealand, not against England.”