We’re all aware that New Zealand have raced off into the sunset with the Webb Ellis trophy but how have they and the other teams fared on the Openside Rankings?

Not a massive change for the ranking leading and new world champions, New Zealand gaining a solitary point to stay top with 169 points. However the biggest change in ranking goes to surely the biggest surprise of the tournament with Wales gaining 9 points to go equal fourth along side France on 142 points. A well deserved elevation in ranking alongside a great world cup performance. Perhaps surprisingly another large increase in ranking of 8 points goes to South Africa who exited in the quarter-final. This strangely allows them to steal second place in the rankings back from Australia who dropped a point, largely due to their loss to Ireland in Pool stage. Runners-up France gained seven points to end up in equal fourth with Wales, with Ireland and Argentina also gaining large numbers of points but remaining where they were pre-tournament.

So Wales and, strangely, South Africa appear to be the biggest gainers out of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, otherwise it’s pretty much as you were. The Southern teams still have the top three spots, although three teams from the north, France, Wales and England are within 8 points of Australia in third place. The gap appears to be closing, but when will a northern team finally claim a spot in the top three? Keep checking the latest Openside Rankings to find out.

The last seven weeks had all been about building up to this game. Eighteen teams had fallen by the wayside, leaving the All Blacks on home soil to face Les Bleus. As rugby fans we could probably have not asked for more. The number one team in the world, according to both the Openside Flanker and the IRB, New Zealand, up against their old foes, France.

The game was always going to be a tight one, France had already showed their defensive tactics the previous week against Wales in the semi-final and New Zealand would have to keep it tight despite their explosive back line.

And that’s what we got, not a classic free-flowing game of rugby, but a grind-it-out style of match. Each group of forwards determined to exert their influence on the other before unleashing any back line moves. Strangely having been the New Zealand kicking saviour after Dan Carter’s exit from the tournament, Piri Weepu was not on form, missing a number of place kicks in the first half. Despite this New Zealand led at the half, 5-0, through a Tony Woodcock try. Perhaps the most important issue in the first half however what the injury to Aaron Cruden, New Zealands’s number 10, who was replaced by Stephen Donald, the fourth number 10 to be used by New Zealand in the World Cup.

Fortunately, Cruden’s injury was a non-issue as Donald played superbly, scoring a decisive penalty early in the second half to give the All Blacks an eight to nothing lead with 35 minutes to go. And then came probably the most nerve-racking 35 minutes of any All Blacks fan’s life as the French through everything at the All Blacks.

And within minutes of Donald’s penalty, the French captain, Thierry Dusautoir, crashed over the line to make the score 8 to 7 after Francois Trinh-Duc’s conversion. However the All Blacks hung on for the reminder of the half, with Trinh-Duc missing a long 50m penalty kick. Nail-biting is an understatement to describe the final few minutes of the game, but the All Blacks held on and became the new Rugby Union World Champions. Congratulations to them and hard luck to the French.

France

Maxime Medard, Vincent Clerc, Aurelien Rougerie, Maxime Mermoz, Alexis Palisson, Morgan Parra, Dimitri Yachvili, Jean-Baptiste Poux, William Servat, Nicolas Mas, Pascal Pape, Lionel Nallet, Thierry Dusautoir (c), Julien Bonnaire, Imanol Harinordoquy

New Zealand

Israel Dagg, Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Richard Kahui, Aaron Cruden, Piri Weepu, Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu, Owen Franks, Brad Thorn, Sam Whitelock, Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw (c), Kieran Read

The Bronze Final has always been a bit of an oddity, both teams are out of the tournament, players are probably at the end of a long season and looking forward to returning home, and everyone else’s attention is on the final. But in the infinite wisdom of the IRB, who can spot a money-making opportunity a mile away – just ask Alesana Tuilagi – we have the Bronze final between Australia and Wales on Friday night.

To the credit of the coaches and players, both teams appear to fielding their top players or at least those that remain standing after seven weeks of bruising international rugby. Both teams will be smarting after their respective losses, Wales will have been practicing penalty kicks and Australia, well, just about everything really, or may be how to avoid the All Blacks at the next world cup.

The Openside Predictor gives the match to the Australians but only by a four point margin, really not much in it. On paper this looks like a great game and would be the game to watch this weekend if it wasn’t for the fact that the other match will totally over-shadow this game.

If you’re at a loose end on Friday night it may just be worth tuning into this one.

Four years ago New Zealand was a nation in mourning. They had been favourites to lift the 2007 Rugby World Cup and yet some how they exited the tournament in the quarter-finals, some say because of bad refereeing, others due to lack of leadership in the dying minutes of the game. Whatever the reason, the stunned look on Dan Carter’s face as he sat on the sidelines whilst the game clock wound down reflected the emotions of the rugby-mad nation. Well here they are up against the old foe again, Les Blues. Despite the incredible trans-Tasman rivalry between New Zealand and Australia, a loss against Australia last weekend in the semi would have been a lot easier to take than a loss against the French next weekend. Surely not again, having beaten them once already in the tournament, seeing them lose to a brave Tongan team, surely there is no way the All Blacks will lose next weekend. Au contraire, mon ami. Rugby is a funny old game and the ball is oddly shaped for a reason. The rugby ball is designed to have a cruel bounce, sometimes popping up into your arms but at other times careering off at an impossible angle into your opponent’s. All the indicators say an easy All Black win, with the Openside Predictor stating a 36 to 13 romp for the men in black, but when you play with a rugby ball anything can happen, any team can win on any given Sunday.

New Zealand v France results since the Rugby World Cup 2007

This game had everything, refereeing controversy, missed kicks and a nail-biting finish. Unfortunately for Wales, it also had a losing team, who ironically scored the only try of the match through scrum-half Phillips. Red card or no red-card, Wales still had plenty of opportunity to win this game, with four missed kicks. France just hung on for dear-life.

New Zealand 20 Australia 6 (36 – 21)

Within the first few minutes of this game you could see this was not going to be Australia’s night. When Quade Cooper’s opening kickoff sailed into touch on the full, and Weepu’s kick from the ensuing scrum bounced into touch about 5 metres from the Australian goal-line, not many people would have put money on the Wallabies. The game continued in a similar vein with Australia’s game breakers seemingly unable to conjure anything up to break the All Blacks. New Zealand’s Nonu scored the only try of tha game and Weepu again turned in a good kicking performance with four penalties. Australia replied with a penalty from O’Connor and drop goal from Cooper.

1. Tony Woodcock
2. Keven Mealamu
3. Owen Franks
4. Samuel Whitelock
5. Brad Thorn
6. Jerome Kaino
7. Richie McCaw (c)
8. Kieran Read
9. Piri Weepu
10. Aaron Cruden
11. Richard Kahui
12. Ma’a Nonu
13. Conrad Smith
14. Cory Jane
15. Israel Dagg

Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Shane Williams, James Hook, Mike Phillips, Gethin Jenkins, Huw Bennett, Adam Jones, Luke Charteris, Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton (c), Toby Faletau