Right now Australia and the Welsh teams sit atop Pool A with nine points a piece. A key win last Saturday night by Wales over England, which has six points in the standings, may give the Welsh all the momentum they need today to overcome Fiji.
But Wales lost three players to injury in the England match, and although Fiji has lost both of their games so far, it would be a mistake to count them out.
England plays Australia on Saturday nigh and whether Wales wins or loses today, the English have to beat the Aussies to avoid becoming the first host nation in Rugby World Cup history to fail to advance to the quarter finals.
Here’s look at the other pools:
Pool B: Scotland leads the way with 10 points and meets South African on Saturday. The Springboks lost their first game to Japan but came back strong against Samoa to pick up another bonus point for seven total. A win on Saturday would leap frog them over Scotland. Samoa and Japan each have four points; the United States none.
Pool C: There seems no doubt that New Zealand with nine points will win this pool. The Tonga-Argentina game on Sunday may decide who gets the runner-up spot to advance in the tournament. Each has five points now. Gerogia has four from their win over Tonga, and Namibia has no points.
Pool D: Ireland has a slim lead over France with 10 for the Irish and nine for the French. They meet on Sunday, Oct. 11, in the final day of pool play. France plays Canada in the other game today, and Ireland meets Italy on Sunday. Odds are in favor of both picking up four points for wins. An extra bonus point for scoring four tries in these games could be the difference — that and a win on Oct. 11.