Oct 8, 2007, 13:59 GMT
Paris - If someone had suggested one month ago that Argentina would make it to the Rugby World Cup semi-finals and Australia and New Zealand would not, that someone would almost certainly have been taken for a football fan.
New Zealand had been the most dominating rugby side in the world and had never not made it at least to the semi-finals, while the Wallabies are the only team to win the World Cup twice and the team did not appear to have lost any of its skill and power since losing the 2003 title to England in extra time.
Then there was the traditional domination of Southern Hemisphere teams over their Northern Hemisphere rivals, a domination that, it was widely believed, was only temporarily broken by England's 2003 World Cup title.
Australia and the All Blacks did nothing during the pool stage of the World Cup to suggest that the common wisdom was wrong. New Zealand crushed its opponents, scoring an average of nearly 90 points a match, while Australia also swept its pool, but less majestically.
In the meantime, Argentina surprised France, and the rugby world, by winning the opening match against the hosts and going on to sweep its pool matches, thanks to the best defence of the tournament and the foot and vision of fly half Juan Martin Hernandez.
The Pumas' upset of France and their finish atop Pool D was thought to doom the French, since they would now meet the invincible All Blacks, and far away from home, in Cardiff, Wales.
No one - not even the most die-hard France supporters - actually believed that Argentina's success would lead to New Zealand's loss. While France steadily improved from game to game, the All Blacks appeared to toy with their opponents.
Perhaps they'd simply had it too easy and the combination of over-confidence and the lack of hard competition led to New Zealand's 20-18 loss on Saturday.
The All Blacks' influence on the tournament had been so powerful that Scotland coach Frank Hadden on Monday said he now doubly regretted his team's 19-13 loss to the Pumas on Sunday.
'I was pleased that New Zealand got beaten because that opened the door for us and everybody else,' he said. 'It's another reason why it's a missed opportunity for us.'
England's win over Australia on Saturday was almost as surprising as the French victory over New Zealand. The team looked moribund in its 36-0 defeat to South Africa on September 14 and did not appear very impressive even in its victories.
The common wisdom now suggests that France will edge out their 'fraternal enemies' England, while South Africa will overwhelm Argentina to set up a corker of a final on October 20 at the Stade de France.
But don't bet on it. For one thing, the French may feel they have done the hard work in registering a victory that has galvanized the entire country, and therefore take the English lightly.
In addition, the hero of the 2003 England title, Jonny Wilkinson, has been inconsistent after his return from injury and may be heading for a big match.
Throughout the tournament, and despite their victory over France, many observers continued to underestimate Argentina and malign their emphasis on kicking.
But as the Pumas' number eight Gonzalo Longo Elia, who scored a vital try in the Scotland match, reminded journalists: 'We are individuals, but what makes us strong is our collectivity and solidarity. We have a good team spirit with lots of friendship. These are rugby values.'
Your Talkback on this Story