I have been a member of this forum for more than two decades.. So please indulge me when when I am say I am absolutely stoked with the Bok victory.

Im absolutely fine with SA winning. They deserved it. They played what was in front of them and defended like demons. du Toit was immense.

Well, it's been a few hours and I'd love to say I've moved on. But I haven't. I'm fucking gutted. I thought this shit was supposed to get easier after you have kids and approach 50 - apparently not.

We round out our retrospective with a final look at the other good games in Japan.

Welcome to the penultimate Episode, number 20, of our RWC retrospective, looking at the upset matches in the Land of the Rising Sun. The other, “classic”, matches follow shortly as we wrap up our wander through history with kick off in Paris just days away.

A quick summary of the pools and the important matches before the knock out stages

The build-up doesn’t stick in my mind like the screaming agonised panic leading into 2011. Which is a good thing. Sure there was nervousness but also the quiet confidence of the All Black fan.

RWC VIII in England was generally entertaining, a welcome change to the previous events hosted in Europe, and as a result there were some absolute belters of games.

I had been half-heartedly watching the delayed coverage of the overnight match between South Africa and Japan. I mean why bother? The Boks were going to win this by the length of the straight. Could stay in bed and catch up on results later.

History has a way of repeating itself. New Zealand v France in the Rugby World Cup Final. That was how the inaugural tournament culminated way way back in 1987. Rugby was so simple then. The All Blacks turned up, won most of the time, and did it again the next year.