Jeremy Guscott (England) Predicted New Zealand would beat France in the final
Sean Fitzpatrick (New Zealand) Predicted New Zealand would beat South Africa in the final
James Hook (Wales) Predicted Wales would reach the semi-finals by beating England
Jason White (Scotland) Predicted Scotland would reach at least the semi-finals

1. Was the quality of rugby better than in 2003 or worse?

JG: Massively better for the smaller countries. The big guns were no better, in some cases worse

SF: The smaller nations better, the bigger nations worse

JH: The big guns and so-called underdogs were all better than four years ago

JW: Definitely better. The smaller nations are improving surprisingly fast

2. Which player impressed you most and why?

JG: Nili Latu of Tonga, a forward who regularly out-gassed three-quarters

SF: Schalk Burger is worth his weight in gold. Has a huge impact and an enormous work rate

JH: Bryan Habana, an awesome talent. There’s no obvious way to stop him

JW: Luke McAlister showed real quality, shifting effortlessly between 10 and 12

3. What dominated in 2007, defence or attack – or was it the kicking World Cup? Was a good tactical balance struck?
JG: Defence prevailed in the knockout stages with kicking a close second. Attack probably had the edge in the pools, but it went too far the other way in the past couple of weeks

SF: Defence is still the key ingredient and there was not enough ambition –almost as if teams were nervous to attack

JH: Defence just shades it. South Africa probe as well as they protect, but England reached the final without being particularly attack-oriented

JW: Defences have been so strong they’ve made teams need to kick to get decent field position. Generally, teams have looked to play the safe option

4. Which team outside the semi-finalists gets your vote, and what made them stand out?

JG: Fiji, simply for their victory over Wales in a must-win game for both teams. It was great for them and great for the world game

SF: Tonga stole Samoa’s thunder, gave South Africa a mighty fright and, with Nili Latu outstanding, had one of the best back rows in the tournament

JH: Fiji. They expressed themselves brilliantly with no hint of conservatism. They took full advantage of being an unknown quantity and teams underestimated them

JW: Tonga looked more consistent than in the past. We’ve always known they had outstanding individuals but this is an outstanding team

5. Do you want to see changes in the World Cup format – such as 16 teams and a Champions League-style round robin for the last eight – or keep 20 teams and the drama of a straight knockout system?

JG: Keep the format the same. If the tier two and three countries can get decent competition between now and 2011, the next tournament can be even better than this one

SF: Keep 20 teams and the knockout format. The pool stages were the best ever, but the seedings are a joke and meant that South Africa got to the final without a serious challenge

JH: Keep it at 20 – it’s working superbly as it is. This year’s upsets are the ultimate endorsement of the format. A round robin would be unfairly weighted in favour of the big countries

JW: Leave it at 20, with more investment from the IRB to make sure the gap between the haves and have-nots keeps shrinking. Teams such as Georgia need strength in depth now

6. Was there an outstanding team at the tournament in terms of overall talent, athleticism and skill level?

JG: Argentina were the team of the tournament, even if they didn’t have massive talent or athleticism. To top the most difficult pool was a brilliant achievement

SF: The All Blacks, in terms of athleticism and skill, with South Africa next. Argentina were real workers until they ran out of steam

JH: South Africa. They’ve got the whole package, great defence, great attack and a great points machine in Percy Montgomery. Didn’t even miss the injured Jean de Villiers

JW: New Zealand. They have everything, but it wasn’t enough. That just shows that teamwork, defence and spirit can get you surprisingly far. Look at England

7. Were the quarter-final exits of New Zealand and Australia good or bad – were they missed?

JG: It was good – no, make that brilliant. I can’t believe this question is being asked. Who came up with it? A Kiwi?

SF: I’d have loved to have seen more of the All Blacks and the semi-finals lacked quality without them. They were definitely missed in terms of promoting the game worldwide

JH: Those results were great for the World Cup. It’s the unexpected that makes a success of a tournament like this and nobody saw those upsets coming

JW: I’m not sure anyone outside those countries cared. They deserved to go home because they didn’t score enough points when it mattered

8. What change to the rules would you most like to see or are they best left alone?

JG: I’d like to see the number of replacements reduced. Rugby should be about attrition and fitness, and wearing your opponents down

SF: Leave them alone. The rules are fine just as long as they are consistently refereed

JH: From a back’s point of view, anything that makes quicker ball available more often

JW: We need to encourage attacking rugby by being stricter with those who try to slow the ball down at ruck time

9. Has the refereeing in 2007 been of a higher standard than 2003?

JG: In general, yes, with the northern hemisphere refs overall doing a better job than their southern counterparts

SF: No improvement. Referees have too much licence to referee the way they want to, rather than by the rules

JH: It’s impressed me. Wayne Barnes took a lot of stick over New Zealand v France but he made one mistake in an otherwise excellent game

JW: The players have had few complaints overall

10. Did coaching in France 2007 emerge in credit? Did we see enough variety and innovation, or do coaches need to raise their game?

JG: Marcelo Loffreda was clever in his tactics against France. I just wish coaching these days was more about developing players than winning at all costs

SF: The coaching was good, but the pressure to win one-off games makes coaches more conservative. I also hate rotation in selection because it devalues the jersey

JH: I don’t think coaches can win. If they go cautious, they’re criticised, and, as we’ve seen in Wales, if they try to explore they get it in the neck as well

JW: The coaches all went for the tactics they thought would win each game. They’ve not always been adventurous but that’s what happens in a pressure situation