Time for Scots and Welsh to live up to the dream

This weekend, the tournament needs them breathing fire. Wales and Ireland, already through to the last eight, need to demonstrate against the might of New Zealand and Australia respectively that they won't necessarily be mere cannon fodder in the following week's quarter-finals.

Even more urgently, the Scots must dispel the image that they're the most ill-starred and disjointed camp in the entire competition by emphatically avoiding the humiliation of elimination by Fiji here tomorrow in the Aussie Stadium.

On that last count, don't hold your breath. Watching the Fijians go through their exotic but chaotic training routines here this week is to realise why Scotland should be too organised and disciplined for them in the pool decider but the islanders can scent real vulnerability and have the wondrous wing Rupeni Caucaunibuca back to exploit it after his punching ban.

The islanders will hardly have been able to credit the calamities of the Highlanders.

The Scots have twice been forced to change hotels, once thanks to the presence of a gang of Hell's Angels and this week because of a wedding party, prompting headlines like ' Fainthearts' and today's Sydney Morning Herald offering of 'Big Girls Blouses'.

The players sulked with the Scottish press, Gavin Kerr and Andrew Mower were lost to injury and Martin Leslie was chucked out for violent conduct. They embarrassed themselves by their twitching salute to Leslie during the playing of 'Flower of Scotland' then succumbed to a numbing record defeat by France.

This week, Bryan Redpath needed stitches in his toe after stubbing it when jumping out of bed. After all this 'Carry On Jocks' material, no wonder that when some of the squad went off to do their Harbour Bridge climb yesterday, the suspicion was that coach Ian McGeechan might have been pondering chucking himself off.

This will be the last stand of McGeechan's stellar international coaching career if they lose. His players also recognise the damage which could done to the uncertain future of the Scottish game.

Tom Smith, who will be winning his 50th cap, said: "It's the biggest game I've ever played in and we have to win. The repercussions for not doing so are vast."

At least Wales have already qualified, even if their cause is widely considered as lost as the Scots. You can also sense, after five straight wins, the dawning of some selfbelief. The fear, though, is that it could be utterly crushed by the All Blacks on Sunday in the Olympic Stadium.

New Zealand's Joe Rokocoko said: "They are a real passionate team but once their tail goes down, their whole game goes. It might take 20 minutes for the fight to get out of them, it may take 75 minutes . . ." The rest did not need to be said; one way or another, Wales, facing the strongest New Zealand line-up yet, must crack.

Like the Scots and Irish, Wales have been backed by wonderful, rousing support. In a way, the pressure is off their Kiwi coach Steve Hansen now he's overseen their turgid but committed progress into the last eight. What they don't have now, though, is a recent reference point, a really serious win, to inspire them.

Scotland beat the Springboks last summer while Ireland will go into battle against Australia in Melbourne tomorrow with their canny coach Eddie O'Sullivan still feeding off the thought of their historic 18-9 triumph over the Wallabies in the Lansdowne Road deluge last November. "If you have beaten a team before, you believe you can beat them again," is the simple message.

After trying out 54 players over four years and 41 Tests, Wallabies coach Eddie Jones may have fallen upon his "dream team" at last but O'Sullivan has the ammunition to provide the nightmare.

The Welsh can keep Max Boyce, the Scots can remember Gavin Hastings but the Irish have got Brian O'Driscoll, Keith Wood and dreams.