Ferrie Files - Talking Point: The dangers of disrespecting the efforts of predecessors; David Sole's bid for an image change; and plaudits for Georgia

Pool B will occupy much of the day with vital matches being played as Samoa and Japan vie for the right to have a crack at qualification on the final weekend before South Africa and Scotland contest a match that has strangely taken on more in the way of importance for the Springboks because of their defeat to the Japanese.

Victory in either of their last two matches will get Scotland through, leading to the sort of squad management by Vern Cotter that would doubtless have seen a missionary crucified in his own land, but seems to have been accepted by some of the same critics now that a New Zealander is making the calls.

It was by making a similarly bold decision eight years ago when he knew that the decisive match would be against an extremely confident Italy side that had thrashed Scotland at Murrayfield earlier that year, that Frank Hadden got a squad comprising played who had been whitewashed under his immediate predecessor and would be under his successor, into a World Cup quarter-final.

He consequently remains the last Scotland coach to do so, as well as the last to beat England and France. Time will tell whether any of those claims to fame will be overtaken in the course of this competition, but there is absolutely no excuse for Scotland now failing to get to the knockout stages this time around.

Getting through would mean a trip to Twickenham, but whether Vern Cotter and his squad would then get a crack at a first win over England for seven years may come down the outcome of the match which will attract the bulk of today’s attention, which in turn invites re-examination of some of the opprobrium levelled at former management.

The publication just ahead of this tournament of “The House of Lancaster,” a pacey, highly readable account of the life and times of the current England head coach, placed huge emphasis on the accepted wisdom that English rugby was a basket case at the end of the last World Cup and that radical work was needed to undo the damage done.

That book was by no means alone in making its case and there is absolutely no doubt that Stuart Lancaster, England’s current head coach, has done a great deal of good work in re-connecting their national squad with their supporters and creating a culture that ensures the players recognises the importance of representing their country within the greater scheme of things in this professional era.

However there has been a tendency in the tone of some of the retrospective analysis of Martin Johnson’s time in charge of the England squad, towards an inappropriate disrespect of his efforts, much of which is down to the foolish behaviour of a number of his senior players off the field.

However Johnno’s team not only qualified for the quarter-finals but was ultimately beaten by a French side that was shown little respect by the British media, yet which ultimately lost out to the hosts by a single point in a final where they and the All Blacks scored a try apiece.

A big day looms for a lot of people, then, not least those who have sought to denigrate respectable, if not necessarily glorious, past performances.

Of the six teams in action today only Japan can claim to have already broken new ground at this tournament compared with their predecessors which perhaps leaves them best placed because they can be relatively relaxed about what confronts them today.

Defeats for either their opponents Samoa or Scotland’s Springbok opponents would meanwhile be close to catastrophic for those sides. There are a lot of people with a great deal to prove on what I still hesitate to describe as ‘Super Saturday’.

GOOD DAY

For a bit of a change of image it would seem going by the message tweeted by David Sole, who led Scotland into action on its most glorious day at Murrayfield in 1990, famously walking rather than running onto the pitch and was also the national team’s captain through its most successful World Cup campaign.

Picking up on the ‘vibe’ from members of a team that many consider to have been weakened for today’s meeting with South Africa as Vern Cotter, their coach, keeps one eye on the potential qualification decider against Samoa the following week, this slightly surprising Twitter enthusiast had a message for the troops yesterday.

“Odd to see so many from the squad ‘prickly’ about selection for the @rugbyworldcup game against South Africa – just get on with it and win!” he tweeted.

Ah yes, I can just imagine the reaction had we told the soft-spoken prop that a player from yesteryear had offered such blunt advice to his men a quarter of a century ago.

Then again, having played a bit of cricket with this Scottish rugby grandee over the last year or two it has been very pleasant to get to know this much more mellow fellow than the purveyor of thousand mile stares who had the capacity to turn press conferences into very uncomfortable affairs all those years ago.

BAD DAY

For Stuart Lancaster, the England head coach, as the odds on him being sacked before the year is out have been slashed by punter pressure.

On the one hand this is no more than media fodder, however the claim issued by bookmaker Ladbrokes yesterday that odds of 10/1 on his departure before the end of 2015 after the defeat to Wales last Saturday have now been reduced to 5/4 because of the weight of money going on that outcome, indicate a loss of public confidence that could potentially affect the atmosphere at Twickenham if it is reflected in the messages coming from the grandstands.

There was, meanwhile, almost a hint of blood lust in the accompanying statement issued by Jessica Bridges, the Ladbrokes spokeswoman, that: "As far as punters are concerned it's when and not if Lancaster is sacked. Should England lose again on Saturday it won't be long before he's odds-on to go before New Year's Eve."

WHAT’S ON TODAY

The biggest round of pool matches at this or any World Cup with so much at stake in all three matches Japan v Samoa; Scotland v South Africa and England v Australia. It could be the day that lifts this tournament to a new level, but it could also be the one on which it fizzles out if the hosts are ejected.

And Another Thing

Once again there is a slightly lop-sided look to the weekend’s fixtures, yet there is just a chance of an upset in tomorrow’s matches.

The return of the inspirational Sergio Parisse for Italy always has the capacity to lift Italy to new heights so Ireland cannot afford to be complacent ahead of their outing in the Olympic Stadium and there is no suggestion that there will be going by the team that has been selected.

There is, too, something almost symbolic about Keith Earls’ switch to the emerald No.13 shirt as he aims to outstrip its most famous wearer Brian O’Driscoll with whom he is tried as Ireland’s top try scorer in World Cups.

Argentina have meanwhile mixed things up a little for their meeting with Tonga but should still have too much firepower for opponents who have had just four days turn-around since beating Namibia.

Scouting Report

When Waisake Naholo scored the All Blacks first try with his first touch of the ball against a Georgian side from which several senior players had been rested it was natural to fear that this might be the blow out that has so far been avoided in the course of this tournament.

Up to this point the evidence had been that the gulf between the leading sides in world rugby and the minnows had been closing but the decision of the Georgian management to rest a number of players as they looked towards their final pool match with Namibia in which they can clinch an automatic place at the next World Cup in Japan by finishing third in their pool offered serious cause for concern.

That being the case, the response was something of a relief for those who want to see the sport develop when Beka Tsiklauri claimed the equalising try within three minutes.

The All Blacks, as they were always likely to, reasserted themselves quickly with a brace of tries from the free-scoring Julian Savea and Dane Coles secured the bonus point for the world champions with only 23 minutes gone.

Yet with the magnificent Mamuka Gorgodze, the eastern European Sergio Parisse, marshalling his troops that was it for the first half as the Georgians more than held their own in generating self-respect for themselves and more than a little doubt among New Zealanders who must be wondering whether the route to the knockout stages has, as has been the case at previous World Cups, been a bit too easy for the All Blacks.

They eased further clear with a Kieran Read try early in the second half and in the dying stages Savea completed his hat-trick before Malakai Fekitoa claimed the seventh and last of their tries to round off a 43-10 victory.

However, for all that there is something slightly sentimental about giving the man-of-the-match award to a player on the losing side it somehow or another felt right that on this occasion it was given to the great Gorgodze, very much a case of an individual honour being used to recognise a collective effort.

Few teams have brought more to this tournament than this team which takes such pride in being made up entirely of homegrown players.

For all that they remain unbeaten just what the 2015 All Blacks will ultimately be seen as having contributed is yet to be seen.