The scrum, despite its historic reputation, is a work in progress, and the cliche of the Latin hot-headed temperament bears more than a grain of truth.
Australia
Grade: B+
How long will the Les Kiss honeymoon last? Probably not past next Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup match in New Zealand, but right now the Wallabies have a degree of hope, which was probably last seen downunder alongside the Tasmanian devil.
Claiming the Springboks’ scalp in Perth was a significant win for Kiss’ team, and they are loaded with game-breakers in their back division, even before the return of Mark Nawaqanitawase to union from league. How different might the World Cup draw look if they beat their great rivals New Zealand in the group stage.
The biggest question mark remains at first five-eighths. Ben Donaldson was decent against South Africa but does not feel like a World Cup No 10.
The Wallabies beat the Springboks in Perth. Photo / Getty Images
England
Grade: B-
Such a streaky team. Five straight losses in 2024, then 11 straight wins in 2025. Now another six straight losses in 2026 before back-to-back victories at least steadied a listing ship.
Certainly there are the components of a very good team. Their scrum is second only to South Africa’s. They possess a stack of athletic forwards. Fin Smith is coming of age as a test first five-eighths, while Tommy Freeman (he is not a centre!) and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso would rank in the upper echelon of wing pairings in world rugby.
Problem positions revolve around centre (it was ever thus), fullback until George Furbank can maintain his fitness, and hooker behind Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie. However, this is the deepest England squad – in most positions – since 2003.
Yet England’s deepest flaw is in the glue that is supposed to bind these components together. Under duress, they are prone to crumbling, whether that was the first 20 minutes at Ellis Park or the last 20 in Santiago del Estero. There are numerous other examples.
Even after the review of England’s worst Six Nations, England head coach Steve Borthwick seems no closer to getting a handle on their discipline. Their ability to finish chances also remains a continuing concern.
You would hope some of these issues would be rectified within 12 months. Borthwick’s attempt to create a new leadership group reflects this, while historically England believe cohesion can be fostered during the pre-World Cup training camp. Taking the Denis Norden “It’ll be all right on the night” approach is a risky one, which would make that prospective quarter-final meeting with Australia look dicey.
France
Grade: A-
It seems astonishing that a country of France’s resources has not progressed past the quarter-final stage since 2011, when they were in full-blown mutiny. Anything less than reaching the semi-final or maybe even the final will surely spell the guillotine for Fabien Galthié, who would stand accused of squandering a golden generation.
Still, they have not yet lost their lustre. Back-to-back Six Nations titles confirm France as the pre-eminent force in the Northern Hemisphere and they came close to defeating New Zealand in July without a string of their A-listers. In Antoine Dupont and Louis Bielle-Biarrey they have two of the best players on the planet.
As with Argentina, their scrum is not as formidable as their reputation suggests, which is a problem when you are on the same side of the draw as South Africa.
Ireland
Grade: B+
Speaking of countries who chronically underachieve at World Cup level, come on down Ireland. The good news is that with the newly included round of 16 stage, Ireland are practically guaranteed to register a first knockout victory against Georgia, their likely opponents at that stage, before a probable meeting with familiar World Cup foes Argentina in the quarter-final.
Their performances in the Nations Championships, including a heavy loss to New Zealand, certainly were not convincing, but head coach Andy Farrell at least added a youthful injection to the rump of the 2021 Lions squad.
It is still likely that Ireland will have a Dad’s Army feel to them by the time they reach Australia, but in Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Beirne, Caelan Doris and Jamison Gibson-Park there is still plenty of class to call upon.
All Blacks lock Patrick Tuipulotu scores against Ireland. Photo / Photosport
Italy
Grade: C-
Gonzalo Quesada’s side are confounding. In the space of six months, they defeated Australia, Scotland and – for the first time in their history – England at home. All that progress looks to have been wiped out by a loss to Wales in the Six Nations followed by three heavy defeats in the Nations Championship to Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
They lost some key players to injury in that sequence, but on paper their squad is well rounded. Tommaso Menoncello and Ignacio Brex are my favourite test centre pairing and their scrum has improved enormously since the last World Cup.
Unfortunately, first five-eighths Paolo Garbisi seems to have regressed since he first burst on to the scene and Alessandro Fusco does not look like the answer at halfback.
New Zealand
Grade: A-
The All Blacks may have lost the Rugby Greatest Rivalry Series to the Springboks, but they will be buoyed by their performances on South African soil, particularly in their 33-16 victory at Ellis Park. The Boks exposed vulnerabilities at New Zealand’s set piece but they will do that to most teams.
Just as importantly, Dave Rennie’s side punctured South Africa’s aura of invincibility with their attacking brilliance, outscoring the Springboks in tries.
Certainly there will be no fear factor whenever the sides meet at the World Cup, particularly if the All Blacks continue to improve under Rennie, who succeeded Scott Robertson in March. The 8-9-10-12 combination of Ardie Savea, Cam Roigard, Reuben Love and Jordie Barrett has impressed and Will Jordan must be leading the charge for this year’s World Player of the Year.
Will Jordan scores a try against the Springboks. Photo / Photosport
Scotland
Grade: B+
Scotland can lay claim to having the best Nations Championship campaign out of all the Northern Hemisphere teams, beating Argentina and Fiji while pushing the Springboks hard in Pretoria. Rassie Erasmus later said they provided a tougher test than England, calling them a top-three side.
Mischief-making or not, Scotland are improving after a wretched loss to Italy. They responded by knocking over England and France at Murrayfield in the Six Nations, even if they could not end their Dublin hoodoo.
A sign of their growing strength in depth is that several of their Lions backs – Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham, Huw Jones and Duhan van der Merwe – are far from guaranteed a first-team place anymore. Scott Cummings and Gregor Brown have come on hugely, giving the Scottish pack a nasty edge it has lacked for a long time.
If only Gregor Townsend could wrap first five-eighths Finn Russell in cotton wool for the next 12 months.
South Africa
Grade: A+
Losses to New Zealand and Australia have dented their momentum, but the Springboks remain red-hot favourites for a “three-peat”.
First five-eighths Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is yet to discover his best form following injury but that aside, there are very few weaknesses in Rassie Erasmus’ squad. Perhaps the spine of the team is ageing in Malcolm Marx, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi and Damian De Allende, but then in comes the new wave of talent in Cameron Hanekom, Paul de Villiers and Zachary Porthen. The rich keep getting richer.
The All Blacks and Wallabies used slick handling to bypass the aggressive blitz defence, but the Boks know they can squeeze the life out of any team with their scrum and maul. In my eyes, their biggest vulnerability is hubris. Could Erasmus be tempted to throw a pool game to gain access to the easier half of the draw? You know he will have been cooking up the 2027 sequel to the 7-1 bench, but might he end up being too clever for his own good?
Wales
Grade: D+
The good news is they have rebounded from rock bottom, enjoying back-to-back wins over Italy and Fiji in Cardiff. The bad news is head coach Steve Tandy still has a lot of ground to make up in the next 12 months, as their heavy defeats against Argentina and South Africa demonstrated.
Let’s look for positives. Halfback Tomos Williams can be a game-changer. The very early signs are that Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan can raise their game to a new level coming into the Gallagher Prem alongside back-rower Aaron Wainwright.
Wales will also be conscious of their last pool-stage encounter against England. More than anything, Wales will need their share of luck with injuries because in certain positions their depth is painfully skinny.