Wales’ head of physical performance Huw Bennett says that Gareth Anscombe and Liam Williams are “recovering well” from injuries ahead of their Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Argentina.

Fly-half Anscombe suffered a groin problem during the warm-up when Wales tackled Georgia on Saturday and withdrew 45 minutes before kick-off.

Full-back Williams, meanwhile, was on crutches after taking a blow to his knee.

And Dan Biggar, who was called on to the bench against Georgia but not used, has been continuing his recovery from a strained pectoral muscle that prompted an early exit during Wales’ record 40-6 victory over Australia.

On Anscombe and Williams, Bennett said: “They are good, recovering well.

“Liam was noted on crutches after the game, but that was just precautionary. And Gareth, it was upsetting to make a last-minute call, but he is recovering well.

“As far as I am aware everyone is available for selection.”

Number eight Taulupe Faletau suffered a broken arm in the Georgia match and will take no further part in the tournament.

Wales, though, are happy with their back-row options, and scrum-half Kieran Hardy has joined the squad as a replacement, adding to resources in that position alongside Gareth Davies and Tomos Williams.

Bennett added: “Kieran was a big part of our group in the 54-man (training) squad in the camps.

“We have been keeping tabs on players on the short-list, making sure they are ready to go.

“Kieran is a great professional, so on that basis we are happy to see him coming into the group and he has got a great relationship with the players as well.

“It has been well-documented – losing Taulupe Faletau is massive for Wales. He is a big character and leads by example.

“After the (Georgia) game we were happy for the victory, but losing Taulupe put a sobering stamp on things.”

Wales face the Pumas in Marseille on Saturday. It will be the countries’ first World Cup meeting for 24 years.

“This is what it is all about,” Bennett said.

“We got together on May 25, we have commented on the dark places we’ve been to in training, and that tends to come up as a reminder in the changing rooms before a game

“It is doing the little things throughout the week. All the effort, all the sacrifices in the camps, all the little things count this week.”

Will Rowlands says it was Wales’ “minimum standard” to reach the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

Wales have arrived at the knockout phase for a fourth successive tournament. They went on to make the last four in 2011 and 2019.

Argentina await in Marseille on Saturday, when Wales will start as favourites following an impressive pool-stage performance that saw them collect 19 points from a possible 20 and secure a quarter-final place with a game to spare.

It is all a far cry from last season’s Six Nations, when Wales only avoided the wooden spoon by beating Italy in Rome.

“There has been a lot of confidence in the squad about what we want to do. A clear message from the coaches,” Wales lock Rowlands said.

“We train well during the week and try and deliver on the weekend. We are just playing to our strengths, and the results have been spot on for us so far.

“The performances can get better, but we are just excited now to kick on and get to the real meat of the competition next weekend.

“It feels really exciting, we want to keep going in the tournament. For us, it was the minimum standard to get to this stage.

“We were confident that if we played the right game-plan, got the right players going in the right direction, then we knew we could beat other teams. We have proved that.

“That Fiji game (opening fixture) was tough. They played really well and put us under a lot of pressure, but we got the result and we have played better and better since then.”

It is less than four years since Rowlands made his Test debut, but he has developed into a pivotal part of the Wales pack during an international career now closing in on 30 caps.

His leadership has also been to the fore, and combined with his performances it makes him undoubtedly one of the first names on Wales’ team-sheet.

Wales assistant coach and forwards specialist Jonathan Humphreys added: “He is a massive player for us.

“It is interesting to see his growth as a leader, and he drives a big part of the lineout defence.

“He is a big influence over this group, and he is a great character, he really is.

“To see him in terms of the effect he has on the game, in terms of the contacts and the physicality, he is a big player for us and he is turning into a big leader for us.”

Rowlands, meanwhile, even if he spends most of his time in close-quarter action, can readily appreciate the form of Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit.

Rees-Zammit has already scored five tries in the tournament, including a hat-trick against Georgia, to leave him one behind current pace-setter Damian Penaud.

“Give the ball to Zammo in a bit of space and you can almost stop running,” Rowlands said.

“Just let him run it in. He is electric and it is great to have him in the side.

“Zammo has probably been a bit frustrated the last few weeks with not getting the ball enough, but he was great (against Georgia).

“If we can get the ball to him more, then we know he will score more tries.”

Ireland hooker Ronan Kelleher admits a “do or die” Rugby World Cup quarter-final with New Zealand is the stuff of dreams but plans to treat the biggest game of his career like any other.

Andy Farrell’s men set up a mouthwatering last-eight showdown with the three-time champions by stretching their remarkable winning run to 17 games to top Pool B ahead of title holders South Africa.

Yet Ireland have never reached a World Cup semi-final and were stuffed 46-14 by the formidable All Blacks at the same stage four years ago in Japan.

Tournament debutant Kelleher won the first of his 25 international caps immediately after his country’s emphatic exit in Tokyo, having being selected for the 2020 Six Nations campaign by head coach Farrell.

“I suppose it is something you’d dream about, on the big stage, probably the biggest game of my career so far,” the 25-year-old said of facing the Kiwis.

“As we’ve chatted throughout the week with the lads, you have to take each game as it comes.

“You just have to play the game in front of you and for me personally it’ll be treated like another Test match, just make sure I get across all my detail and preparation and, if selected, make sure I’m able to do a job.

 

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“We know it’s going to be a massive challenge, a huge Test match but one we’re really looking forward to. It’s obviously do or die.”

 

Ireland have won three of four meetings against New Zealand during Farrell’s reign.

Kelleher was part of the team which defeated the All Blacks 29-20 in November 2021 before missing last summer’s 2-1 tour success through injury.

Overall, the Six Nations champions have been victorious in five of the past eight matches between the nations, including a historic first win in Chicago in 2016 under Joe Schmidt.

Kelleher was still a schoolboy back then and suggested the run of results has helped to diminish the aura around the All Blacks.

“Yeah, I suppose,” he said. “But obviously we know how good a team they are and particularly how they play in big tournaments.

“I’m just looking forward to this weekend, we know it’s going to be a massive challenge, a huge Test match, but one we’re really looking forward to.”

Kelleher is likely to provide back up for Leinster team-mate Dan Sheehan at Stade de France after performing that role in Saturday’s 36-14 success over Scotland.

His absence from last year’s series in New Zealand came amid a string of frustrating injury setbacks which he now hopes are behind him.

“It’s great to be back out there,” he said.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to get some time in each of the games so far, so I’ve been absolutely delighted with that.

“As far as contributing, it’s been absolutely great. It’s about keeping that momentum going forward and we’re happy with where we are at the moment.”

Marcus Smith has been completing sprint sessions with British Olympic great Daley Thompson in his effort to become one of the sport’s finest playmakers.

Smith has developed into England’s fastest player over short distances due to his searing acceleration, which has been on full display since his shift from fly-half to full-back at the World Cup.

The electric 24-year-old has made a series of influential cameos off the bench and also shone in his only start in the full-back position against Chile, producing a superb solo score as part of a two-try haul.

Smith reveals his pace is the result of sessions with Thompson, the two-time Olympic decathlon gold medallist, as he looks to emulate two famed New Zealand ringmasters.

“For the last five or six years I’ve been working hard on my speed,” Smith said.

“Guys like Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett have the ability to score not just 10-metre tries but from 50 or 60 metres out. That’s something that I’ve wanted to add to my game.

“Credit goes to people who I’ve worked with down in Brighton and Daley Thompson and the guys that I work with in America.

“They put a lot of effort into me and I’ve loved every minute training with those guys. It’s been a joy and it has definitely opened my eyes to sprinting and speed work.”

Starting Smith at full-back in Sunday’s quarter-final against Fiji is one possible change as England coach Steve Borthwick considers his response to a disappointing climax to Pool D against Samoa.

England scraped past the inspired Islanders 18-17 but it was a backwards step in the wake of three comprehensive victories.

Borthwick has more pressing concerns than whether to swap Freddie Steward for Smith in the number 15 jersey, however, after his creative axis of George Ford and Owen Farrell fired blanks within a poor team performance.

Ford is England’s form fly-half, producing man of the match displays against Argentina and Japan, but the less impressive Farrell is the squad’s captain.

If the experiment of reuniting the duo is to be abandoned, then one of them must be dropped to accommodate the other as chief conductor.

While deficiencies abounded against Samoa, in England’s favour for this weekend’s Marseille showdown is that Fiji have got progressively worse through the group stage, culminating in their shock defeat by Portugal on Sunday night.

But Fiji’s first-ever victory over the red rose at Twickenham in August remains fresh in English minds.

“Fiji were very impressive in the summer and we learnt a lot from that experience. Watching them over the last few weeks I have learnt a lot as well,” Smith said.

“They have got dangerous runners, they have got power across the field, but so do we.

“We are going to prepare as well as we can to negate their threats and put our strengths on the park.”

Injured Ireland wings Mack Hansen and James Lowe are “making good strides” ahead of Saturday’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand, while James Ryan is seeing a specialist on a wrist issue.

As of Monday morning, no member of Andy Farrell’s 33-man squad had been ruled out of the clash with the All Blacks in Paris.

Ryan’s situation is expected to be come clearer in the next 24 hours, with Ireland hopeful the problem is not as bad as first feared.

Wing Keith Earls and centre Robbie Henshaw could be available to feature at Stade de France after missing out against Scotland on Saturday with hamstring injuries.

Team manager Mick Kearney said: “James Ryan is seeing a specialist and we’re hoping for better news than originally anticipated.

“Mack Hansen took a bang to his calf but is improving and both him and James Lowe are making good strides.

“Keith Earls and Robbie Henshaw are both in contention as they progress during the week and apart from that just some usual bumps and bruises after a physical Test match.”

Ireland secured their last-eight spot in emphatic fashion by topping Pool B thanks to a crushing 36-14 win over the eliminated Scots.

But that victory came at a cost as Hansen was forced off after returning from a head injury assessment before opening try scorer Lowe departed at half-time due to a bang in the eye.

Lock Ryan, who injured his other wrist in the 13-8 success over South Africa on September 23, then added to the list of concerns for head coach Farrell.

“We won’t have a definitive on James (Ryan) until after he sees the specialist but certainly there is more optimism around James than probably what was originally anticipated,” added Kearney.

“Within the next 24 hours we should have a clearer picture of where James is at.

“At this stage, no one ruled out for the match against New Zealand.”

Danny Care saved England from disaster against Samoa on Saturday after realising he had to back up his Alan Shearer-style try-scoring celebration.

Care stepped off the bench at Stade Pierre-Mauroy to race over for the 74th minute touchdown that was converted by Owen Farrell, snatching an 18-17 victory which was kind to Steve Borthwick’s side.

Upon racing over from a five metre-scrum, the veteran Harlequins scrum-half raised his left arm aloft and looked up to the stands, mimicking England and Newcastle football great Shearer.

Care then made a crucial intervention seconds from full-time when he made a try-saving tackle on wing Neria Fomai as Samoa staged a last-ditch assault on the line that fell metres short.

“It has been on my mind that I haven’t scored many tries for England, especially recently being out of the fold for a few years you never think you’re going to get another opportunity like that,” Care said.

“I decided that if I did do it, I’ll enjoy it and if you do decide to do an Alan Shearer celebration across the stadium you better make that tackle after!

“I don’t really remember the tackle – it was a blur – but I remember thinking you can’t celebrate like Alan Shearer and not make that tackle!

“The boys put their body on the line for 80 minutes so the least you can do when you’ve been on the bench is run back and try and tackle.

“Hopefully that shows a bit about what we’re about as a team. Even though it wasn’t a brilliant performance, we work hard for each other.”

Once again England found a way to win when the game was slipping away – no mean feat for a side that in recent times was prone to imploding when the pressure came on.

And although it propelled them into the quarter-finals as Pool D winners, it was a deflating performance coming in the wake of feelgood victories against Argentina, Japan and Chile.

Borthwick claimed the full-blooded encounter against an inspired Samoa was the ideal build-up to the knockout phase and Care agrees.

“If we had won that game by 20-30 points and scored a load of tries, would that be great prep for next week? I don’t think so,” Care said.

“In a way, now we’ve probably had the perfect game to prep for next week. It was scrappy, Samoa threw everything into every breakdown, we gave away too many penalties, we lost the ball too many times and we know why already.

“We know what not to do. I hope the fans believe in us that we will be better. We have to be or we’ll find ourselves on a plane home.

“A lot of hard work starts this week but we’re four from four, in a quarter final and we can get out there and get to the next stage.”

Louis Rees-Zammit is firmly in the frame to emulate his Wales colleague Josh Adams as top try-scorer at a Rugby World Cup.

But Gloucester wing Rees-Zammit says that team success is the “end goal” as Wales build towards a World Cup quarter-final against Argentina in Marseille next Saturday.

Rees-Zammit’s hat-trick during the 43-19 Pool C victory over Georgia took him to five in the tournament, one behind France star Damian Penaud.

Adams, meanwhile, led the way in Japan four years ago, claiming seven tries and finishing one short of equalling the record for most touchdowns during one World Cup that is jointly held by Jonah Lomu, Bryan Habana and Julian Savea.

Rees-Zammit became the seventh Welshman to score three tries in a World Cup game after Adams, Glen Webbe, Ieuan Evans, Gareth Thomas, Scott Williams and Cory Allen.

It was another exhibition of the 22-year-old’s dazzling finishing skills and why he is among the biggest box-office attractions in world rugby.

“It (World Cup leading try-scorer) is something that is in the back of my head, but getting the wins is all that matters,” he said.

“I would love to be top try-scorer. As long as we win all the matches, that is the end goal. I am buzzing with the result – we are building nice momentum going into the quarter-finals.

“I am definitely a quicker player now. I am a lot fitter as well, which means I can repeat these things.

“I know Gats (Wales head coach Warren Gatland) has spoken about my training schedule.

“I haven’t missed training for a couple of months now, which is great. I am buzzing with the way I am playing at the minute – I am trying to do everything I can to help the team.”

Wales assistant coach and attack specialist Alex King fully acknowledges Rees-Zammit’s value ahead of a fourth successive World Cup quarter-final appearance.

Rees-Zammit was the only Wales back to start all four group games and he scored tries in three of those against Fiji, Portugal and Georgia.

King said: “We are lucky to have a player like Louis. It’s great for rugby to have these kind of stars with finishing power like that.

“He is a fantastic athlete, he is quick and his game has really come on in the last 12 months.

“It’s his mindset, his attitude, his professionalism, everything you need to be a top player.

“He is still very young, he has got 30-odd caps for Wales, he has been on a British and Irish Lions tour and he just wants to get better and better.

“We want to get the ball to Louis, but it is not as simple as just giving him the ball. Defences are very good.

“His attitude has been first class. He wants to get better and better every day he turns up to work. He was great (against Georgia) and I am looking forward to Marseille next week.”

Gregor Townsend is hopeful no Scotland players will decide to call time on their international careers in the wake of their demoralising World Cup pool-stage exit.

The Scots bowed out of the tournament on Saturday evening after a 36-14 thrashing at the hands of Ireland in Paris.

Former national team captains Stuart McInally and Stuart Hogg both announced earlier this year that they planned to retire after the World Cup to pursue other interests, although neither player ended up making an appearance at the showpiece in France.

Forwards WP Nel, 37, and Richie Gray, 34, are among those in the age range who may naturally be considering their futures, but Townsend would prefer to keep as many options in the fold as possible.

“I hope there are no retirements after this World Cup,” said the head coach as he reflected on the tournament on Sunday. “I think some of the older players in our squad have been some of our best performers.

“WP Nel is physically in the best shape of his life, he’s started more games for us this year than he ever has and he’s played really well.

“I thought Richie Gray was one our best players, if not the best, on the field on Saturday night. His physical ability is excellent, but also his desire to keep going at the opposition was great to see.

“So they are two of our older players and we obviously hope they are still available for the next couple of seasons.

“Whether it’s people retiring, or injury, or people not being selected because of form, we’ve got to have other players ready to go and we’ve seen that with our 33-man squad who have performed really well throughout the summer Tests and for some of them, against Romania and Tonga.”

As many supporters had feared when the draw was made back in 2020, Scotland’s tournament ultimately ended as a result of their inability to cope with defending champions South Africa and Ireland, who have been the world’s top-ranked side for the past year.

Nonetheless, Townsend feels his fifth-ranked team – who have competed well against France on three occasions this year – could have done better in both matches against the two heavyweights in their section.

“Have we reached the standards we have set for ourselves? No, we haven’t,” he said. “We played the number one and two teams in the world, and we do understand that that was always going to be difficult.

“We’ve lost to three teams over the last 14 games and those are the three teams ranked in the top three in the world. We would obviously have wanted to do better, not just making it closer but winning the games.

“We didn’t do that, so we look at ourselves and what we could have done differently. Could we have mixed up our game more? Could we and should we have finished off when we had those possessions? How could we have defended Ireland’s attacks better?

“We’ve lost to the top three teams in the world this year and they’re our only defeats. We know we have to do better and Ireland’s margin of victory was much bigger than France managed against us in the two games we lost against them.

“We know that, and it’s disappointing, and that’s the reality we have to work towards improving.”

Scotland have been the biggest victim so far of a draw that put the top five teams in the current world rankings in the same half of the tournament.

Another two of Ireland, France, South Africa and New Zealand will bite the dust in the quarter-finals next weekend.

“The last draw was based on the rankings after the previous World Cup so I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen next time,” said Townsend.

“That was something we knew going into the World Cup, that we were going to play two top teams.

“Now the top four teams in the world are playing against each other in the quarter-finals and it probably isn’t great from a World Cup point of view that two of those teams are not going to be in the semi-finals.

“For me, they have been the four best teams by a long way in this tournament.”

Scarlets scrum-half Kieran Hardy has been called into Wales’ World Cup squad.

Number eight Taulupe Faletau was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament after suffering a broken arm during Wales’ 43-19 victory over Georgia on Saturday.

But Wales feel they have enough existing back-row options to cover Faletau’s absence and Hardy, who will join the squad in Versailles on Sunday night, will increase scrum-half resources alongside Gareth Davies and Tomos Williams.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland said: “We feel we have a number of options in the back row at the moment, so we’ve decided to call up Kieran to give us extra cover at scrum-half and to take some pressure off from a training perspective.”

Hardy was left out of Wales’ initial World Cup squad after Gatland opted to select only two scrum-halves in Davies and Williams.

Wales assistant coach Jonathan Humphreys admits Wales’ mood after topping their World Cup group with an unbeaten record has been tempered by injuries to Faletau and Gareth Anscombe.

Fly-half Anscombe withdrew 45 minutes before kick-off against Georgia in Nantes due to a groin injury.

In terms of replacing Faletau against quarter-final opponents Argentina next Saturday, Aaron Wainwright is likely to switch across the back-row from blindside flanker.

Full-back Liam Williams was on crutches after the Georgia game following a blow to his knee but, while he could miss training in the early part of this week, Wales are hopeful about his quarter-final prospects.

“It is a big loss, he is a true world-class player,” Wales forwards specialist Humphreys said of Faletau.

“He is great around the place, but in a tournament these things happen and we have been very lucky in terms of the amount of injuries that we’ve had.

“But it still doesn’t detract from the loss of him. We will have a look over the next 24-48 hours (about a replacement) and make a decision then.

“You can’t replace what Toby (Faletau) gives, in terms of his intelligence and what he does, how he always turns up at the right place and makes the right decision at the right time.

“There is a huge onus now on everybody else to bring more.

“We are delighted that we topped the group, but then when you have close members of the squad who have been injured you are clearly down about that. It affects the mood.

“It is a tough one for Toby, but hopefully Gareth won’t be too long. He felt something in the warm-up and (we) made the decision not to play him. We will know over the next 36 hours what his chances are.”

If Wainwright moves positions, the vacancy at blindside flanker could mean a recall for seasoned campaigner Dan Lydiate, while Exeter’s Christ Tshiunza is also an option, along with switching captain Jac Morgan from openside and handing Tommy Reffell the number seven shirt.

Humphreys added: “We are blessed with the options that we have, but it still doesn’t detract from fact that Toby has been a massive player for us. Whoever steps in I am sure will step up to the plate.

“I think Aaron has been exceptional and I and he know there is more in him.”

Anscombe’s injury meant a late call to the starting line-up for Sam Costelow, while Dan Biggar is continuing his recovery from a pectoral muscle strain and should feature in Marseille.

“There is no thinking, you just have to do what you’ve got to do for the best of the team,” Costelow said, following his sudden elevation from the bench.

“Those senior boys talking to me, just telling me to do my job and to relax, that was massive for me, especially as a young 10. I am just glad we got the job done.

“You can never switch off, especially in this pressured environment. You have got to be ready at all stages. I did my homework, I knew the role and luckily it went well.”

Ireland centre Stuart McCloskey revealed he had considered retiring from international rugby as he savoured the special memory of making a World Cup debut in front of his newborn son.

McCloskey came off the bench to replace the injured Mack Hansen in the first half of Saturday evening’s 36-14 win over Scotland in Paris to help his country set up a quarter-final clash with New Zealand.

The 31-year-old Ulster player has endured a stop-start Test career and been forced to wait for opportunities behind Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw.

 

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With Henshaw sidelined and Hansen needing to be withdrawn, he finally made his first appearance in France, an occasion made even more memorable by the presence of 11-day-old Kasper, who was carried on to the Stade de France pitch at full-time.

“I’d say you’ll look at those pictures in 20-odd years and it will be pretty cool,” said McCloskey, who required special permission to return home for the birth. “He was fast asleep, he seemed all right

“I got home last Monday and my wife gave birth on the Tuesday. It worked out really well and then I was obviously back into the camp at the end of the week, and it was an unfortunate injury to get me in, but it’s been a brilliant week.”

McCloskey made his Ireland debut in 2016 but his cameo against the Scots was only his 15th cap.

Speaking of having to bide his time for opportunities, he said: “It was frustrating and it wasn’t.

“I always look back to what it was before last summer and I wasn’t involved at all and I was thinking about calling it a day with Ireland stuff and I came back in, played a load of games and finally became a part of the team I thought, so it’s nice.

“My goal was to get to a World Cup and I made that and whatever happens from now I’m fine with it.

“I know if you put me on the field I will perform well, but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. I’m not going to sit in the shadows and be angry about it.”

Ireland have no concerns about potentially thrusting Test rookie Jimmy O’Brien into a World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand as they anxiously wait on the availability of first-choice wings Mack Hansen and James Lowe.

Hansen was forced off for a head injury assessment in the first half of Saturday evening’s 36-14 win over Scotland before suffering a calf issue on his return.

Lowe departed at half-time due to a bang in the eye after claiming the first of his side’s six tries in Paris.

Versatile back O’Brien, who made his international debut last autumn, is the only member of Andy Farrell’s 33-man squad yet to feature in France and has started just four Tests across seven caps.

The 26-year-old may well be needed against the All Blacks as, in addition to the fitness concerns for Lowe and Hansen, veteran wing Keith Earls is nursing a slight hamstring problem.

Defence coach Simon Easterby said: “It’s probably a little too early to say either way but, if they get ruled out, Jimmy’s been waiting in the wings and did an incredible job last November to come in with a couple of late call-ups.

“There’s no issue with Jimmy if he gets an opportunity. Hopefully we’ll have a full deck to choose from come Tuesday or Wednesday.

“It’s mad when there’s a late kick-off, we’re getting used to them, but it takes a bit of time for injuries to settle and then for guys to get assessed.

“In the next 24 to 48 hours we’ll be able to get a better read on those guys, but everyone’s in good form today, which is nice.”

Centre Garry Ringrose and scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park were deployed as makeshift wide men in the second period at Stade de France as Ireland breezed into the knockout rounds while eliminating the Scots.

Earls was absent from the matchday 23 along with centre Robbie Henshaw, who also has a hamstring problem.

“It’s one of those things that at a push he could have been involved this weekend, and it was probably one of those we felt wasn’t the right time to risk him,” Easterby said of Earls.

“But we were really pleased it was flagged when it was and we had the opportunity to make the call early enough.

“Fingers crossed he’s fully fit for this week.

“They’ll both be running today, Earlsy and Robbie, and will sort of be progressing into training Monday or Tuesday.”

Lock James Ryan, who injured his other wrist after sustaining a similar issue against South Africa a fortnight ago, is another player being assessed.

Ireland are preparing to face the “standard bearers of the World Cup” after topping Pool B thanks to four consecutive wins.

Three-time champions New Zealand defeated Joe Schmidt’s Ireland 46-14 in the quarter-finals of the 2019 tournament in Japan.

The All Blacks have extensive inside knowledge of Farrell’s men due to Schmidt joining their coaching set-up ahead of Ireland’s series success in New Zealand last summer.

“I’m sure Joe’s influence certainly has increased in the past 12 months, but we’ve got to be excited about playing the standard bearers of the World Cup,” said Easterby.

“Certainly Joe will know plenty about what we’re about, the individuals within our group, but we’ll have an insight as well into what they might try and do as well.

“So I think it’s finely balanced and it’s an interesting sub-plot to the game itself.”

Ben Earl admits memories of August’s shock defeat by Fiji flashed through England’s minds against Samoa until they continued their recent knack of winning from positions of adversity.

England completed the World Cup group phase with a perfect record after edging Seilala Mapusua’s Islanders 18-17, but it took a converted 74th-minute touch down by Danny Care on top of a last-gasp try-saving tackle from the replacement scrum-half to dig out victory in Lille on Saturday.

Samoa played their best rugby in the second quarter and at one point led 17-8 to evoke memories of Fiji storming Twickenham in the build-up to the tournament.

But, as against Wales at home in that same series and Argentina at the start of the World Cup, England were able to forge a path out of the crisis – a strength previously missing from their game.

“We probably had glimpses of that Fiji match at Twickenham not long ago,” said Earl, whose team had already qualified for the quarter-finals as Pool D winners.

“But the growth in the team is that we’ve learned how to find a way to win ugly. And we’ve shown that twice now in this tournament.

“What was most pleasing as someone who was on the pitch is that we never felt too stressed. We felt that there was going to be something that was going to break them.

“We said in the changing room that we know after this performance stuff is going to come out, that we’ve taken a step back, or whatever. But we don’t see it like that.

“The performance highlighted some holes in our game, but we knew they were there and we found a way to win ugly. Sometimes winning ugly is the most rewarding.

“That was always looking like a bit of a banana skin for us and and we’ve come away with the win and with four points.

“We’re four from four – and if someone had offered us that seven or eight weeks ago, we’d have snapped their hand off.”

Steve Borthwick has been given plenty to mull over for the quarter-final against likely opponents Fiji, not least whether the creative axis of George Ford and Owen Farrell should be retained in Marseille on Sunday.

In one significant lapse in concentration, Farrell saw the shot clock run down as he was taking a penalty, but otherwise it was an evening of personal triumph for England’s captain after his eight-point haul propelled him ahead of Jonny Wilkinson as the nation’s leading scorer with 1,186.

“As a player and as a friend, some of the knowledge and some of the standards Owen set for me as a young player coming through, I can safely say I wouldn’t be half the player I am if I hadn’t played with him for such a long time,” Earl said of his Saracens team-mate.

“Owen won’t want to shine too much light on it, but that accolade is huge. Some of the players on that list are among the greatest who ever played the game.”

Ireland captain Johnny Sexton is braced to face a wounded New Zealand side plotting revenge in a mouthwatering Rugby World Cup quarter-final.

Andy Farrell’s men have topped the Test rankings since securing a landmark tour success against the All Blacks last summer.

Ireland set up another meeting with the three-time world champions by dismantling Scotland 36-14 on Saturday evening in Paris to win Pool B ahead of South Africa.

 

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“They’ve already said it’s one that they want and when they’re hurting and they want to put it right, that’s the biggest challenge in rugby, to try and beat them when they’re in that frame of mind,” Sexton said of New Zealand.

“Two teams will both be under pressure for different reasons and it will be who copes with that the best and who can put their game out there on the biggest day when the pressure is on.

“We’ve played New Zealand plenty of times and they’ve come into some good form themselves over the last few weeks.

“It’s going to be a hell of a game and we just need to prepare right over the next few days and get the best performance we can out there.

“We need to be ready for it.”

Fly-half Sexton, who is due to retire after the tournament, prolonged his career by at least one more week by leading his country to a thumping Stade de France success which eliminated Scotland.

Ireland emphatically banished any fears of suffering their own early exit thanks to first-half tries from James Lowe and Iain Henderson, plus Hugo Keenan’s double, before Dan Sheehan and Garry Ringrose added to the Scots’ misery.

While Farrell’s side move on to a showdown with the All Blacks, the Springboks will take on hosts France in another tantalising last-eight clash.

 

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“We always knew most likely we’d play France or New Zealand,” said 38-year-old Sexton. “There’s no easy option there.

“All our focus was, ‘let’s win the pool’. You don’t pick and choose, you just do your best.

“We’re exactly where we wanted to be in terms of we won the pool and now we’re into the quarter-final.”

Ireland have injury concerns regarding wings Mack Hansen, Lowe and Keith Earls and lock James Ryan.

Head coach Farrell feels there is more to come from his in-form team and urged his players to embrace the upcoming challenge, describing it as “proper living”.

“I don’t think and neither do the team think that we’ve played our best rugby yet,” said the Englishman, following a 17th successive Test victory.

“We know where we want to go and want we’re trying to achieve. Will we ever get there? I don’t know.

“It’s days like next week that’s coming where we need to find out a little bit more about ourselves. These lads are certainly willing to do that.

“We’ll treat this week, I’m sure once we recover properly, with a spring in our step because if you can’t get excited about what’s coming…this is proper living now.

“This is exactly where you want to be and these boys have been waiting for opportunities, big games to show what they’ve learnt for a while now.

“It doesn’t get any bigger than next week so we’ll relish that.”

Jonathan Humphreys admits that Wales’ mood after topping their Rugby World Cup group with an unbeaten record has been tempered by injuries to Taulupe Faletau and Gareth Anscombe.

Number eight Faletau, who suffered a broken arm during Wales’ 43-19 victory over Georgia, is out of the tournament.

Fly-half Anscombe, meanwhile, withdrew 45 minutes before kick-off in Nantes due to a groin injury.

No decision has yet been made on a squad replacement for Faletau, although Aaron Wainwright is likely to switch across the back-row from blindside flanker for next Saturday’s quarter-final in Marseille.

And full-back Liam Williams was on crutches after the Georgia game following a blow to his knee, but while he could miss training in the early part of this week Wales are hopeful about his quarter-final prospects.

“It is a big loss, he is a true world-class player,” Wales assistant coach and forwards specialist Humphreys said, of Faletau.

“He is great around the place, but in a tournament these things happen and we have been very lucky in terms of the amount of injuries that we’ve had.

“But it still doesn’t detract from the loss of him. We will have a look over the next 24-48 hours (about a replacement) and make a decision then.

“You can’t replace what Toby (Faletau) gives, in terms of his intelligence and what he does, how he always turns up at the right place and makes the right decision at the right time.

“There is a huge onus now on everybody else to bring more.

“We are delighted that we topped the group, but then when you have close members of the squad who have been injured you are clearly down about that. It affects the mood.

“It is a tough one for Toby, but hopefully Gareth won’t be too long. He felt something in the warm-up and (we) made the decision not to play him. We will know over the next 36 hours what his chances are.”

If Wainwright moves positions, the vacancy at blindside flanker could mean a recall for seasoned campaigner Dan Lydiate, while Exeter’s Christ Tshiunza is also an option, along with switching captain Jac Morgan from openside and handing Tommy Reffell the number seven shirt.

Humphreys added: “We are blessed with the options that we have, but it still doesn’t detract from fact that Toby has been a massive player for us. Whoever steps in I am sure will step up to the plate.

“I think Aaron has been exceptional, and I and he know there is more in him.”

Anscombe’s injury meant a late call to the starting line-up for Sam Costelow, while Dan Biggar is continuing his recovery from a pectoral muscle strain and should feature in Marseille.

“There is no thinking, you just have to do what you’ve got to do for the best of the team,” Costelow said, following his sudden elevation from the bench.

“Those senior boys talking to me, just telling me to do my job and to relax, that was massive for me, especially as a young 10. I am just glad we got the job done.

“You can never switch off, especially in this pressured environment. You have got to be ready at all stages. I did my homework, I knew the role and luckily it went well.”

Sione Tuipulotu was despondent as he faced up to the realisation that he and his Scotland team-mates are flying home after suffering pool-stage elimination from the World Cup.

The Scots arrived in France at the start of September with high expectations after climbing to fifth in the world on the back of a string of impressive results and performances.

However, they were ultimately unable to overcome the challenge of being grouped alongside defending champions South Africa and the world’s top-ranked side, Ireland, in a top-heavy Pool B.

After bouncing back from their 18-3 defeat to the Boks with heavy wins over Tonga and Romania, the Scots’ bid to reach the quarter-final was killed off by a 36-14 blitzing from the rampant Irish in Paris on Saturday night.

“I’m very disappointed,” said centre Tuipulotu. “We’re out of the tournament now and it feels like all our hard work and stuff like that has come to an end.

“I know there’s more rugby to be played after this World Cup but you’re in a World Cup to win it and now we’re out of it. I’m really gutted. We had a big travelling support, so apologies to them.

“We wanted to do better in the tournament but we ran into two pretty good teams in our pool and ultimately just got beaten by better teams.”

As he tried to process the disappointment of his first World Cup coming to an end, Tuipuloto, 26, admitted it was difficult to think about the future.

“I’m very upset and I don’t really know how to deal with it,” he said. “We’ve got a good team with good blokes in our changing room. But it’s just frustrating to be saying the same type of messages after tournaments like these.

“I suppose there’s another tournament and another tournament after that and maybe the right thing to say now is ‘we’ll be better in the next tournament’ but right now I’m just feeling gutted.”

Rory Darge admitted Ireland – who scored after 63 seconds and were 26-0 up at half-time – showed Scotland why they are the top-ranked side on the planet at Stade de France.

The Irish stopped the Scots getting any reward for the sustained pressure they exerted in the first quarter of the match and then took most of the chances that came their way at the other end.

“They are the number one team in the world and they showed it,” said flanker Darge. “We could have been better in a lot of things, taken our chances when we had a lot of ball in their 22 at the start of the game.

“Once they get in behind with some of those carries, they are very, very good. They withheld a lot of what we threw at them in that first 20.

“Obviously the scoreline is what it is and that’s off the back of them being brutally clinical and we weren’t.”

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