France’s coaching staff have “no doubts” injured captain Antoine Dupont will be available to play in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup.

Scrum-half Dupont suffered a facial fracture on Thursday during his country’s 96-0 thrashing of Namibia.

The 26-year-old Toulouse player is due to report for training on Sunday, having undergone successful surgery.

Les Bleus assistant coach William Servat told a press conference on Tuesday: “Antoine is in great order today. The operation went very well, and he is resting.

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“He will return for training on Sunday. Friday and Saturday are our rest days, he will have the time to return in this period of time.

“I have no doubts about his ability to play in the quarter-final. I think it is reasonable to say that.”

France top Pool A following three successive victories and have a free weekend ahead of completing their group-stage fixtures on October 6 against Italy in Lyon.

The hosts are likely to face South Africa, Ireland or Scotland in the last eight of the tournament on the weekend of October 14-15 in Paris.

Uncapped Glasgow front-rower Johnny Matthews revealed he was stunned to get a call out of the blue on Saturday asking him to fly to France to join Scotland’s World Cup squad.

The 30-year-old was enjoying a day out in the Fife coastal town of Elie when assistant coach John Dalziel phoned to tell him his services were required after Stuart McInally suffered a neck injury and had to withdraw just over a week after the 33-year-old Edinburgh forward got his own late call-up to replace the concussed Dave Cherry.

Matthews – effectively the Scots’ sixth-choice hooker – rushed back to Glasgow to get himself organised and caught a flight to Nice on Sunday morning before being officially added to the squad.

“I’m buzzing to be here,” he said, speaking from the Scots’ training base in the south of France on Tuesday afternoon.

“I was very shocked to get the call but I’m obviously delighted and just looking to throw my hat into the ring to try to get some games while I’m here.

“I was in Elie with my wife and some good friends when I got the call from John. We were taking the dogs for a walk and when I saw John’s number pop up I knew he wasn’t phoning for a catch-up.

“He said ‘how quickly can you get to Nice?’ and now I’m here. It didn’t really feel real until I got here. It was a whirlwind 24 hours, trying to get packed, find my gumshield, get my boots and all the other stuff I needed.

“My boots were at (Glasgow’s home ground) Scotstoun, so I had to shoot there and get them to keep the place open. I then quickly packed and got on a 6am flight on Sunday morning.

“Once I finally got here and got the (Scotland World Cup) kit, that’s when it felt real. My wife flew out with me so she is loving it too.”

Liverpool-born Matthews – who qualifies for Scotland through his Blantyre-born mother – enjoyed an impressive season for Glasgow.

However, he knew it would be a tall order to make the initial squad, with George Turner, Ewan Ashman, Cherry, McInally and Fraser Brown all more established in the international fold.

Ultimately the misfortune of Cherry and McInally over the past few weeks, allied to an ACL injury sustained by Brown in May, paved the way for Matthews to land an unlikely crack at the biggest tournament in the game.

“My aim is to play for Glasgow, and if you do that, you’re always in contention for the Scotland squad I suppose,” he said when asked if the possibility of World Cup involvement had featured prominently in his thoughts.

“The more I played for Glasgow, the more my hopes got a little bit higher, but it’s a very hotly-contested position. There are five or six brilliant hookers in Scotland so I’m just happy to be here.

“I was hoping I had an outside chance of making it into the original training squad, but it’s a pretty settled group and there have been the same three, four or five hookers in the last x-amount of squads so I knew I’d have to do pretty well to get in.

“I was disappointed but it wasn’t a shock that I didn’t get in.”

With Matthews’ only international appearance to date coming for Scotland A against Chile in June 2022, he now has the chance to win his first full cap at a World Cup, with must-win pool games against Romania and Ireland to come over the next two weekends.

Asked if he ever thought his opportunity of playing for Scotland had passed him by, Matthews – a prolific try-scorer at club level – said: “You never say never – you just keep playing well for Glasgow, keep scoring and you’ve always got a chance I suppose.

“It’s a hotly-contested position but I’ll do all I can over the next few days and hopefully I can get in the (match-day) squad. Rugby is a pretty brutal and physical contact sport and hookers are at the coalface.

“I’m gutted for the boys who have missed out on the opportunity (due to injury) but at the same time you’ve got to look out for yourself and take the opportunity when it presents itself.”

Although he has not had the same intensive pre-season build-up that the rest of the Scotland players were subjected to, Matthews – who has thrived under Glasgow head coach Franco Smith – feels he is in good condition.

“I tried to keep myself in a shape that wasn’t round over the summer,” he smiled.

“I didn’t want to come into Franco’s pre-season unfit anyway. Anyone who has done one of them will tell you you can’t be unfit going into that.”

First-choice Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan is raring to go for the remainder of the Rugby World Cup after declaring his body is in “perfect” condition.

Question marks initially surrounded Sheehan’s participation in the tournament after he limped off with a foot issue during his country’s warm-up win over England on August 19.

The 25-year-old sat out bonus-point wins over Romania and Tonga before making his World Cup debut as a second-half replacement during Saturday evening’s memorable Pool B triumph over South Africa in Paris.

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Fit-again Sheehan is targeting further action when Ireland return to Stade de France on October 7 seeking to secure progression to the knockout stages in a “massive” clash with Scotland.

“For a first experience of a World Cup game, it doesn’t get much better, I don’t think, especially in a crowd like that,” he said, after his side were backed by tens of thousands of Irish fans against the Springboks.

“It’s definitely the best atmosphere I’ve played in. We fed off that a good bit.

“My body’s perfect now. I had a few weeks there where the medical staff did a great job to get me back in this time but I’ve no complaints at all now so I’ll be looking to get back into the squad.”

Victory over South Africa put Ireland in control of Pool B and propelled them to the cusp of the quarter-finals.

Yet Andy Farrell’s men, who are due to reconvene on Wednesday following a few days off, still have work to do to prevent a pool-stage exit.

Asked how much pressure beating the reigning champions takes off the Scotland match, Sheehan replied: “None. The job’s not done.

“We have a bit of luxury now that we have two weeks to lead up into the Scotland game but we can’t afford to take the foot off the gas at all.

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“The Scotland game is going to be massive. That’s obviously a massive win for us but nothing’s guaranteed at all so all eyes on Scotland now.”

The world’s number one team have won 16 matches in a row and suffered just two defeats in their last 30 outings.

Sheehan believes the remarkable run of results have helped enhance the unity in Ireland’s camp but insists Farrell’s squad must remain grounded.

“I think all of these big games bring you closer,” said the Leinster player, who is competing with provincial team-mate Ronan Kelleher and Ulster’s Rob Herring for a starting spot. “They add to the trust within the group.

“It definitely brings you tighter but you need to make sure you don’t get ahead of yourself and there’s a job to be done now against Scotland.

“We’ve huge confidence in our game plan and our approach to the games is really good. Our week’s prep has been on point for every game that we’ve won.

“We just double down on what we’re good at. We’re in a good place now and we just need to keep going.”

Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies says he is enjoying his rugby again during a World Cup campaign that has seen him produce record-breaking form.

Davies’ early touchdown in the 40-6 rout of Australia set a new World Cup best of eight tries for a scrum-half.

And it represents an impressive return to international rugby after he missed out on Wales’ South Africa tour last year, the 2022 autumn Tests and Six Nations campaign two months later.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland’s predecessor Wayne Pivac preferred players like Tomos Williams, Kieran Hardy and Dane Blacker in the scrum-half position.

And although Gatland was in charge for last season’s Six Nations, Williams, Hardy and Rhys Webb fought for the number nine shirt.

Crucially, though, a door opened for the 33-year-old when Gatland named Davies in the World Cup training squad, and he has not looked back.

He starred in the tournament warm-up victory over England and regained the number nine shirt for key Pool C wins against Fiji and Australia

“I love World Cups,” Davies said. “I love the build-up to them.

“It is the only time that we really get a full pre-season (with Wales). It has been a tough couple of months, but I have enjoyed it.

“Physically and mentally, I feel like I am in the best shape of my life. I am really enjoying my rugby again.

“We are all back to where we want to be under this management. We are fighting for each other, playing for each other and the environment is good, which is the main thing.

“We are enjoying our time off the pitch as well. We’ve got a good bunch of boys, and it shows.”

Davies, who made his Wales debut nine years ago and was the team’s starting scrum-half during the 2015 and 2019 tournaments, is once again excelling under Gatland’s direction.

He scored five tries at the 2015 World Cup, then two more in Japan four years later – including an interception effort in a pool-stage win against Australia.

“Warren has got his way,” Davies added. “It works for me and it obviously works for everyone else in the squad. It gets us all going.

“The other coaches as well, Mike (Forshaw) with defence, Kingy (Alex King) in attack and Humphs (Jonathan Humphreys) with the forwards. We’ve had a lot of changes with coaches, and I think that’s made the difference, to be honest.”

Wales’ crushing success against Australia secured a quarter-final place – the fourth World Cup in a row for them to achieve that under Gatland – and has set up a potential last-eight appointment with Argentina in Marseille on October 14.

“I thought our win in 2019 against Australia in the World Cup was big, but this is right up there,” Davies said.

“Momentum is key, especially in World Cups. We had a good week’s training preparing for the game, and I thought it showed on the pitch.

“We obviously won’t look too far ahead of ourselves. We have got a few days off to recover, and then we will focus on Georgia the following weekend.

“We have still got a job to do against them first, and then we will start looking at the quarter-final draw.”

Tom Curry has been pushing himself through a punishing training regime to ensure he is ready to face Samoa in England’s final World Cup group match.

Curry has played less than three minutes of the tournament in France after being sent off in the opener for a dangerous tackle against Argentina, resulting in a two-match suspension.

It continued his challenging start to the Steve Borthwick era, having missed the entire Six Nations and build-up campaign to the World Cup because of injury.

Now poised to make his comeback against Samoa on October 7, the squad’s most influential player in defence has been defying the instructions of England’s fitness guru Aled Walters to perfect his conditioning.

“Tom is a unique player in that I don’t think I’ve ever come across anyone so fit, or so willing to work hard and put himself through pain,” scrum coach Tom Harrison said.

“He just seems to be able to enjoy it and keep going. There was a conditioning session the other day where he finished his reps and Aled Walters was shouting at him, ‘Get out, get out’. And he just carried on running.

“He just stayed in and carried on running. And when he did finally decide it was time for time for him to get out, he left the drill and Ellis Genge started hammering him for leaving the drill! And you just saw him getting so angry about it!

“He is in phenomenal shape. He has been brilliant. Unfortunately he was suspended, but he was brilliant by not going, ‘Oh I’m suspended for these two games’. Instead he went, ‘How can I help England win?’.

“And the work he was doing to help make training hard and difficult for the guys playing, and also the work he was doing with the back rows, to add his experience and his knowledge to our team meetings has been exceptional.”

Ireland fly-half Jack Crowley joked about spending his well-earned days off in Disneyland following the fairytale of sealing his country’s statement Rugby World Cup win against South Africa.

Test rookie Crowley capped a thrilling 13-8 victory over the reigning champions by calmly slotting a crucial late penalty after stepping off the bench to replace captain Johnny Sexton at Stade de France.

The 23-year-old was visiting Paris for the first time and had the chance to remain in the French capital for a brief escape from reality ahead of a turning his attention to a pivotal Pool B finale against Scotland on October 7.

Crowley, who expects the Scots to be “gunning” for Ireland, could not resist a light-hearted quip at the expense of his diminutive team-mate Craig Casey and some of the senior members of Andy Farrell’s squad, including 38-year-old Sexton, as he humorously imagined a group theme park visit.

“We have a few days off to recover because it has been a few intense weeks,” he said.

“(I’m going to) take it easy. Disneyland Paris! We have to get a pass for Craig though. There’s a few old-age pensioners as well. Yeah, maybe Disneyland, we’ll see.

“We go back in on Wednesday and the preparation begins for Scotland.

“I suppose they are going to grow throughout the competition, aren’t they?

“We have come against them in the Six Nations and they have been one the toughest competitors because of the way they play.

“Our eyes are firmly on them. I’m sure they will be gunning for us.”

Ireland led South Africa by just two points for the majority of a tense final quarter of Saturday’s epic encounter.

In front of massive Irish support, Crowley nailed a nerveless 77th-minute kick on the occasion of his eighth cap to alleviate mounting pressure before a heroic defensive effort secured success.

The Munster player revealed team-mate James Lowe was audibly counting down the seconds on the shot clock ahead of the conversion to eat into the time the Springboks would have to hit back.

He described the physicality of a bruising contest as “through the walls”, while playing down his “nice easy penalty” on an evening when the opposition’s wayward goal-kicking proved costly.

Speaking of his key contribution, which came four seconds inside the permitted time, Crowley said: “(It was) pretty special.

“When you’re sitting on the bench looking up at the clock as the time is dwindling away, you see the magnitude grow larger.

“It was a proper Test match. The physicality was through the walls.

“When you’re coming on you’ve got to know the magnitude of the game and the responsibility.

“I got a nice easy penalty in front of the posts. If I’d missed that I think you’d be saying a different story to me. But that’s the gig.”

While Ireland have a weekend off, South Africa face Tonga on Sunday with work to do.

Crowley suggested the world’s top two teams could meet again in the final at the end of next month.

“They’re a World Cup-winning side because they disrupt team’s plans,” he said.

“They play rugby the way they want to play and that’s how they won a World Cup just by doing that.

“We knew since we played them in November last year (a 19-16 win for Ireland) just what a challenge this was going to be.

“You’ve got to trust your plan and as a coaching staff and players we all bought into it and thankfully in the end we got the result but it’s not easy.

“And I’m sure we won’t see the last of them in the competition.”

Kyle Sinckler admits his relief at winning a race against time to be fit for England’s World Cup having succeeded in convincing Steve Borthwick that his body would not let him down.

Sinckler tore the pectoral muscle in his chest during the build-up to the final warm-up Test against Fiji in August, plunging his participation in France 2023 into doubt.

It resulted in veteran Dan Cole rolling back the years to start the opener against Argentina at tighthead prop and, eight days later, Sinckler’s promise to his head coach was honoured when he was given the all clear to face Japan.

“For me there’s a massive amount of appreciation and gratitude to be back out there because it was kind of touch and go,” the 30-year-old Bristol front row said.

“The scan came back and it didn’t look great but I knew it would be fine. Fair play to the medical staff and Steve for trusting me and to say: ‘I know my body, I am going to be fine’.

“And thank you to my team who work for me off the field. They have really stepped up and helped me and I have been on recovery 24/7 since that game so I am just very grateful to be here and hopefully get to do my thing again.

“I was keen to play against Japan and then to get the start against Chile, that was pretty cool.

“I’m just grateful to be here – my second World Cup and my 13th or 12th year playing professional rugby.”

England’s reliance on Will Stuart early in August’s warm-up fixtures suggested that Sinckler was no longer undisputed first choice for the number three jersey – a position he has held since 2018.

His torn pec exacerbated the situation but, two games into his return, he is expected to start the final Pool D match against Samoa in Lille on October 7. And he will do so knowing the demands on the modern prop are greater than ever.

“The only thing that is not expected from me is to kick and take high balls! The role has changed since I first came on the scene,” Sinckler said.

“The way I played tighthead prop, a lot of people said: ‘You can’t do it that way,’ because of my ball-carrying, tips, chasing. I had to really work hard on my scrummaging because that didn’t come naturally.

“Now it’s: ‘We want you to make 10 carries, we want you to make 10 tackles, we want you to get two or three scrum penalties, we want you to be strong in the kick chase, we want you to hit the rucks’. The standard is high and that is what I expect of myself.”

Stuart McInally declared it “a privilege” to have been able to end his rugby career at the Rugby World Cup with Scotland as he confirmed he has now retired from the game.

The 33-year-old hooker has endured a roller-coaster of emotions since he first announced in April his plan to retire after the global showpiece to pursue a new career as an airline pilot.

McInally, who captained Scotland at the last World Cup, looked on course for a fairytale career swansong in France this autumn when he was named in the provisional 41-man training squad in May but he suffered the anguish of being cut from the group when Gregor Townsend named his final 33 in August.

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McInally then got called out to France as cover for the concussed Ewan Ashman in the first week of September but he returned home when his fellow hooker recovered.

There was another twist in the tale when Dave Cherry fell on the stairs at the team hotel and suffered a tournament-ending concussion a fortnight ago, just after McInally had flown back to Scotland, so the long-serving Edinburgh forward was summoned back out to officially join the squad.

Agonisingly, however, just over a week after being added to the fray – and without playing a match at the tournament – he suffered a neck injury in training on Wednesday and it was revealed on Sunday night that he had been forced to withdraw from the squad and would not be able to win his elusive 50th cap.

McInally, who won the first of his 49 caps in 2015, posted a message on Instagram on Monday evening confirming that his “rugby story is over”.

“When I was at school I had a dream: to play rugby for Scotland,” he wrote. “That dream came true and I’ve had the time of my life.

“As Luke Patience (the British Olympic sailor) once said to me ‘it’s the arena that holds all of your hopes and dreams, but also your worst fears and nightmares’. And he wasn’t joking.

“Like all sportspeople, my story contains a mixture of highs and lows. On reflection, the good times have, overwhelmingly, outweighed the struggles and I wouldn’t change my journey. It has shaped who I am today.

“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to my career. There are far too many to name and I am forever grateful.

“And lastly thank you to the supporters. Without you, my dream of captaining and Scotland singing the national anthem at a sold-out Scottish Gas Murrayfield doesn’t happen.

“It was a privilege to end my career being being part of the 2023 Scotland Rugby World Cup squad and, for now, my rugby story is over.

“It’s time to start the next one.”

McInally’s message concluded with the emojis of an aeroplane and a pilot.

Gareth Anscombe admits there is an element of relief after Wales avoided a fight to the finish in their quest for a Rugby World Cup quarter-final place.

Wales’ record-breaking 40-6 victory over Australia meant they got the job done early in Pool C.

They preserved their 100 per cent record with one game still remaining – against Georgia next week – leaving other teams, led by Fiji, to fret over reaching the knockout phase.

Had Wales lost, it would have been a different story and meant them being caught up in a nervous scramble for two available places.

“It is probably relief. I don’t like that saying that, but we knew there was a lot on it,” Wales fly-half Anscombe said.

“We knew if we didn’t win we would go into the last week not quite having control. It is really rewarding because we do so much hard work.

“We’ve got a tricky little number in Georgia to finish off, and we definitely won’t overlook them, but it is nice to be in control of the group.”

Anscombe went on for an injured Dan Biggar after just 12 minutes in Lyon, and he promptly took charge, kicking six penalties, a drop-goal and conversion.

His 23-point haul equalled Biggar’s record for most points by a Wales player in a World Cup match, although the 32-year-old would have set a new mark had he not missed a straightforward conversion following captain Jac Morgan’s late try.

“‘Biggsy’ reminded me that apparently the last kick was to beat his record, so I am hacked off I have only tied that,” Anscombe added.

“Dan is a great man and we get along so well, but he has given me a bit of stick about that!”

Biggar looks likely to miss the Georgia game because of a strained pectoral muscle, but there are no suggestions at this stage that he could be doubtful for a potential World Cup last-eight clash against Argentina in Marseille seven days later.

“We know how important Dan is for the group, particularly on and off the field with the energy he brings,” Anscombe said.

“It was just really important when I went on that I brought some control and steadied the ship like he does so well.

“We always talk about nailing our roles, and all I was thinking about was making sure I was accurate and bringing some control.

“What was great was that we kept the scoreboard ticking. We have to give a lot of credit to our forwards. We squeezed them at set-piece time, took the points on offer and kept the scoreboard ticking off the back of that.

“I felt like I was building quite nicely in the summer (training) camps, and then I broke my hand. I thought at one point it was my World Cup done.

“I owe a lot of thanks to the team behind the scenes here. The medical team did a fantastic job to get me back on the field, and the coaching staff backed me without much game-time.

“There is still so much to work on from a personal perspective, but it was so nice to spend some time in the big arena.”

John Dalziel is adamant new recruit Johnny Matthews will prove a perfectly able deputy after Scotland’s World Cup hooker curse continued with the departure of Stuart McInally from the squad.

It was announced on Sunday night – after the bonus-point 45-17 win over Tonga in Nice – that the 33-year-old Edinburgh forward was heading home from the tournament with a neck problem less than a fortnight after being called up when Dave Cherry departed the camp due to a concussion sustained when falling on stairs at the team hotel.

In addition to the travails of McInally and Cherry, Ewan Ashman was unable to be involved against South Africa after getting concussed in the build-up, while Fraser Brown – who was on the bench for four of the Six Nations games earlier this year – would almost certainly have come into contention if not for the ACL injury he suffered at the end of last season.

First-choice George Turner is the only hooker who has stayed injury-free throughout the World Cup training camp and tournament itself, meaning coaches have had to draw on their depth of options for the specialised position.

“When we were picking the hookers initially, there were a lot of names in consideration,” said forwards coach Dalziel on Monday afternoon. “We were unlucky to lose Fraser Brown to injury prior to the tournament.

“We’ve never really had a campaign where we don’t use four hookers plus, it’s a position that’s right in the firing line, there’s a lot of injuries that come with it because of the scrummage and set-piece requirements.

“There’s been a bit of change there, with Rambo (McInally) disappointed to miss out (on the initial 33-man squad) and then he got a lifeline and thought it was going to happen for him.

“He added a huge amount while he was with us but it’s unfortunate that he’s got to go home again.

“It’s been a bit of a merry-go-round for Rambo and we’re disappointed to see him go.”

Matthews’ only previous outing with the national team came for Scotland A against Chile in June 2022. The Liverpool-born 30-year-old – whose mother was born in Glasgow – would effectively have been sixth in the pecking order if all other options were fit.

But after flying in to join up with the squad in Nice over the weekend, he now finds himself up to third behind Turner and Ashman and in contention to win his first full cap in Saturday’s World Cup pool match against Romania in Lille.

“It’s a huge opportunity for Johnny, who was another one in great form for Glasgow last season and was unfortunate to miss out on selection,” said Dalziel.

“We all know the speed and physicality Johnny brings, it’s probably his point of difference. Glasgow had an extended off-season but they were working hard away from it and they’ve been back in for pre-season.

“By all accounts, he’s been training really well. As a hooker, a specialised position, he’s always working on his craft anyway so he’s arrived in good condition and he’ll be a good addition to the group.”

Dalziel also reported that Jamie Ritchie suffered no ill effects overnight following the dangerous high tackle he was on the receiving end of from Tonga wing Afusipa Taumoepeau.

The Scotland captain was forced off in the first half off after taking a bang to the head and is now in his 12-day concussion stand-down period, meaning he will miss the Romania game and only be allowed to return to training on the eve of the potentially-critical match against Ireland in Paris on Saturday week.

“It was pretty nasty in terms of the head collision but in terms of after that and post-game, he’s been OK,” said Dalziel. “He’s not had any dramatic extra symptoms with it.

“You’ve got to take full care with anything to do with the head so he’ll just be managed along with the protocols. He’s up and about and his family are here so he’ll get a day off to chill.”

Dalziel was pleased to see the rest of the squad come through a bruising encounter intact.

“There are a couple of sore bodies this morning, it was a pretty physical game – as we knew it would be – but it’s miraculous how everybody rocks up and looks fine today and gets food into them,” he said.

“Credit to the conditioners as well, the boys were all in the pool nice and early doing their recovery. Apart from a couple of bumps and bruises, the majority of the group are OK and good to go.”

Sunday’s match was Scotland’s first for a full fortnight after their opener against the Springboks and Dalziel was delighted to see them return to action with a seven-try victory to get their tournament up and running.

“It’s been a really weird World Cup for us,” he said. “That first week seemed very busy and hectic. We felt a huge part of it building up to the first game against South Africa and then there was a real lull after that.

“Two weeks of just training and having the appropriate time off so we didn’t feel we were really part of the tournament, to be honest.

“You have to sit on those bad memories (against South Africa) and you’re just desperate to get back out there again so it was brilliant to get back out there and score some points and get that bonus point and get back on track.”

Captain Johnny Sexton insists Ireland are not thinking about anything beyond Scotland as they seek to avoid complacency following previous World Cup failures.

Andy Farrell’s men are within touching distance of the quarter-finals and a likely clash with either hosts France or three-time winners New Zealand.

Yet, despite defeating defending champions South Africa in Paris to register a third consecutive Pool B victory, rugby’s top-ranked nation could still be denied a spot in the knock-out stages by the Scots.

Experienced fly-half Sexton, who has suffered last-eight exits at his previous three World Cups, admits his side cannot get ahead of themselves.

“We are not talking about being champions, we are talking about the next game,” he said on the back of the 13-8 win over the Springboks.

“Now it’s all about Scotland. We’re not thinking about anything beyond that.

“Scotland are an excellent team. I think that they would be frustrated about how they played against South Africa (an 18-3 loss on September 10).

“It’s all geared up towards that game now and making sure that we do what’s required to try and win the pool.

“But we can’t look beyond the next game. This competition will hurt you, that’s the biggest lesson we can take from the last few World Cups.”

Ireland return to Stade de France on October 7 to take on Gregor Townsend’s side after upsetting South Africa.

Head coach Farrell believes the narrow win from a bruising encounter with the reigning champions is ideal preparation for future challenges.

“Let’s be honest, it’s wonderful to win, but there was not much in it between two good sides,” said Farrell.

“I think the best thing about it for us is we get to feel the intensity of a big game within this World Cup and know what that feels like for further down the line.

“How we are able to be a little bit more composed, be a little bit more accurate and play our game a little bit more. It’s invaluable to be able to learn those lessons with a win.

“But what I would say is when you love defending as much as we did within that game, it stands us in good stead as far as our want and our fight for the rest of competition.”

Warren Gatland has hailed Wales’ ability to keep “punching above our weight” after clinching a place in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

It maintains Gatland’s 100 per record of reaching the last-eight in four World Cup campaigns as Wales head coach.

And the achievement is further underlined by where Wales were just six months ago on and off the pitch.

They finished fifth in the Six Nations, with a solitary win being against Italy, while Welsh professional rugby was engulfed by financial issues and contractual uncertainty for many players.

That scenario almost led to Gatland’s squad going on strike in protest over the situation just days before Wales faced England in Cardiff.

Now, though, they find themselves at the business end of a World Cup, having progressed from Pool C with one game to spare and seemingly on course for a quarter-final clash against Argentina in Marseille on October 14.

“There were a lot of things going on before the Six Nations,” Gatland said, following a record 40-6 victory over Australia that confirmed Wales’ progression to the knockout phase.

“Contract issues and the players getting offered them, and then just understanding the frustrations from them in terms of security, future, families and stuff.

“I probably didn’t realise at the time the impact that had on the coaching staff and probably even myself.

“I had to sit back and let things unfold until after the Six Nations, when you can get a squad together.

“We have been together for four months now. You know you can put the detail, preparation and hard work in that we always pride ourselves on.

“We are such a small nation as a tier one nation in terms of playing numbers, and we are proud that our success has been based on hard work and punching above our weight.

“Everyone has made a lot of sacrifices in the last four months, and the message from me beforehand was ‘you get what you deserve in life’ from putting that hard work and effort in.

“We have been through some pain and tough times. We have pushed some players right to the edge, and they have fronted up.

“We have got a brilliant balance in this group in terms of taking the mickey out of each other and some real banter, which is brilliant.

“But when they are asked to front up and perform at training, they get their heads on and they knuckle down.”

Wales were World Cup semi-finalists in 2011 – the first time for 24 years – and 2019, with that achievement now having an outstanding chance of being repeated.

Among Wales’ many successes in the tournament so far has been co-captain Jac Morgan’s form and leadership, which he highlighted through an immense display against Australia.

It evokes memories of New Zealand in 2011 when a 22-year-old Sam Warburton was handed the captaincy reins and delivered magnificently. At 23, flanker Morgan is so far ticking every box.

Gatland added: “He is still a young man, and I threw him in at the deep end. He has been absolutely outstanding.

“I have a huge amount of admiration for him. He is definitely a player who leads from the front, and he did exactly that (against Australia). It was a brilliant performance from him.”

Gregor Townsend admitted Scotland will have to “do it the hard way” if they are to reach the World Cup quarter-finals but the head coach is hoping the renewed clarity of their situation in Pool B can help his team in their quest to progress.

After Ireland’s narrow victory over South Africa on Saturday and the Scots’ bonus-point 45-17 win over Tonga on Sunday, the picture has become slightly clearer for everyone in a lop-sided section containing three of the top five teams in the world rankings.

From Scotland’s perspective, they now know they will have to get a bonus-point win over Romania in Lille on Saturday and then ensure they defeat Ireland in Paris the following weekend with a bonus point or win by more than seven points to deny the Irish a losing bonus.

Townsend is pleased that his team emerged from the past weekend with five points and still with a fighting chance of qualifying.

“It keeps us on track,” he said. “The South Africa-Ireland game could have gone either way, it was a close Test match.

“But the fact South Africa picked up a bonus point means now it’s a straight shoot-out between us and Ireland.

“If South Africa pick five points up against Tonga – which they might do, they might not – that would mean they will likely get to 15 points.

“So we are competing with Ireland to get to 14 points, unless either of us pick up bonus points in our game against them.

“Ireland are already on 14 points, so we have to get to 10 points (by beating Romania on Saturday) to make sure it becomes a straight shoot-out between us and them, and if we were to win that game by more than seven points we get through to the quarter-final. It’s as straightforward as that.

“We know it’s going to be a difficult challenge against the number one team in the world. We’re going to have to do it the hard way to get out of this group but we believe in our players.”

Finn Russell admitted Ireland’s win over the Boks has made things slightly more difficult for Scotland because they will have to beat the Irish by more than seven points – as opposed to simply beating them by any score – but the stand-off does not feel it has changed things significantly for his side.

“Ideally for us South Africa would have won but we know what we need to do now,” he said. “We knew what we had to do against Tonga, and going into the Romania game we know what we need to get to have that final game against Ireland in Paris.

“I don’t think it’s changed too much for us because after (losing to) South Africa, we were always going to have to go and beat Ireland. We knew at the start this was potentially a situation we could be in.”

The Scots scored seven tries against Tonga – all from different players – but Russell feels they will have to be far more clinical going forward, particularly against the Irish.

“Seven different try-scorers is great but I think we left five or six chances out there potentially,” he said.

“It’s great we’re getting balls out wide, the backs scored a few tries, we got a driving maul try which is really pleasing as well but there were times when we got to five metres from the line and we’ve got to do a lot better there.

“It’s good the boys are scoring but I think we need to be a lot better and a lot harder on ourselves in training and in games.

“It doesn’t matter if there’s one guy that scores seven tries or seven individuals, it’s a team effort. But we need to up it. If we want to progress in this tournament we need to be a lot better than that.”

Jonathan Humphreys says Wales are looking no further ahead than next opponents Georgia as their Rugby World Cup campaign continues to gather impressive momentum.

A record 40-6 victory over Eddie Jones’ Australia confirmed a quarter-final place one game inside the distance.

Wales will top the pool if they defeat Georgia in Nantes next week, before a last-eight clash potentially against Argentina in Marseille.

But while Wales have reached the tournament’s business end for a fourth successive World Cup, assistant coach Humphreys underlined that there are no thoughts beyond Georgia.

“We need to fully concentrate on Georgia. We know we are in the quarter-finals, but Georgia is a massive game for us,” Humphreys said.

“We want to keep momentum going and we don’t want to fall off the standards we are setting. We will just focus on them.

“We want to finish top of our group. It was only a few short months ago that Georgia beat us at the (Principality) stadium.

“We will be treating them with massive respect. Like we said in the changing rooms afterwards, our focus after a couple of days off will turn directly to Georgia.

“For us, the next thing is to finish top of our group, and then the quarter-final becomes the massive part for us. Literally, that’s it – I think it is dangerous to be thinking anything other than that.”

Georgia beat Wales 13-12 during last year’s autumn Tests, and Humphreys added: “They deserved it, they were excellent on the day.

“It is not about revenge or anything like that. It’s about making sure we’re at our best to win the game and top our group.”

Wales are a team transformed from the Six Nations earlier this year, when only Italy finished below them.

Significant momentum has been generated, a Welsh rugby nation believes again and there is every chance that a semi-final appearance will be Wales’ minimum World Cup return.

“He (Wales head coach Warren Gatland) has just taken us back to the DNA of this team – be fit, work hard.

“We believe that we work harder than anybody else, and that is a powerful tool. We are becoming a very tough team to beat.

“You see the team spirit here, you see everyone walking around with their families and kids. We are a very united group.

“In our meeting room yesterday where we have food, there was a big family event going on with all our kids, families and wives.

“You could hear them all laughing and joking and having a good time. We reiterate we do this for them – that’s what it is about. Right down to the bones, it is incorporated in everything we do.

“It was definitely a memory to cherish yesterday. Leaving the hotel with all the families clapping you on the bus, and then just seeing the excitement and seas of red as you are going in on the bus.

“It has been like that everywhere we’ve been. When you see a (fans) village in the middle of the city just full of people in red singing the national anthem, it is awesome, a great feeling.”