After Australia's great escape against Scotland, the semifinal lineup for the 2015 Rugby World Cup is complete, with not a single team from the northern hemisphere making it to the final four.
Even if the tournament is being held in the England and Wales, none of the teams from that part of the world were able to seal their place in the semifinals – the first that has happened in RWC history -- with South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina and Australia the final four teams left in this Rugby World Cup.
The Wallabies were the final team to book their spot in the semifinals, after their controversial win over Scotland on Sunday. Down by a couple of points with only a few minutes left, Australia were awarded a controversial penalty, with Bernard Foley duly converting to give them a one-point victory over the gallant Scots.
Scotland disputed the penalty award during and after the game, with replays showing the ball took a deflection of Nick Phipps before begin caught by Scotland's Jon Welsh in an offside position. While the Scotland players asked the referee to go to TMO (Television Match Official), Joubert stood by his decision, and Foley, who had a rough outing in terms of his kicking in the first half, converted to give the Aussies a 35-34 victory.
"It was disgraceful that he ran straight off the pitch at the end like that. The referee is not expected to make the right decision all the time. That's what the TMO system is in place for," former Scotland captain Gavin Hastings said on BBC Radio 5 Live. "This is the quarterfinal of a Rugby World Cup. This is the highest end of our sport and they have to get these decisions right."
However, according to the rules, the TMO can only be used for tries and suspicion of foul play, with Australia coach Michael Cheika believing such decisions are a part of the sport, even if his tune might have been different had the Wallabies been on the losing side under similar circumstances.
"As long as rugby's been around that's what it is," Cheika said. "That's the way it works. That's life.
"You've got to live with the ones you get and the ones you don't. You've still got to kick it when you get it. If you kick a goal to win a game with a minute to go it's usually an escape but, given we scored five tries, we deserve to be up there."
Next up for Australia is a semifinal against Argentina, who were just too good for Ireland. The tastier semifinal, though, should be the All Blacks vs South Africa.
2015 Rugby World Cup semifinal lineup: Saturday, 24 October: South Africa vs New Zealand.
Sunday, 25 October: Argentina vs Australia.
