Rugby World Cup Scheduling Scandal.

Throughout the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup I think I've made it clear that I am - at best - a fair weather fan.

Today's first quarter-final between Ireland and the Argentina - technically the third overall - began at 12:00 GMT (13:00 local).

Much as I would like to start my day with a pint and end it crying in my pyjamas at dusk this was at least an hour too early for me. So instead I sort of zipped through it on DVR.

One of the reasons I wasn't in a rush to watch it live is that I wasn't feeling confident about Ireland's chances.

As I think I've mentioned before they focus very heavily on a kicking and passing game rather then the physical, defensive elements of the game. I would describe this as being inspired by Gaelic Football but if you don't understand Rugby Union I'm not even going to attempt to explain Gaelic Football to you.

Argentina's "Pumas" are something of an interesting side. Although their players tend to be quite short they are also very muscular. I might even go so far as to describe them as being like Terrier dogs rather then Puma cats.

The Argentinians have learnt to adapt to their height disadvantage by perfecting what is known as the "Chop Tackle." This involves bringing a player down by tackling low at their ankles/shins rather then at their chest/waist area.

Japan could do well to learn from this example because although they are a small side I can't let the tournament pass without pointing out that their technical, ball handling skills are amongst some of the best out there.

In the run up to today's game Ireland lost Paul O'Connell who is not only their captain but also as their "lock" is also one of their most muscular players. The also lost Johnny Sexton who is their best kicker.

This made them extremely vulnerable to Argentina's style of play. And that is really what happened.

Argentina forced their way into a 17-0 lead by 13 minutes with 2 converted tries and a penalty. Ireland were able to bring themselves back in range with two tries and one conversion of their own along with a penalty. However lacking Sexton their kicking game was never effective.

Argentina though responded by stepping up a gear adding a further two converted tries giving them a 20-43 win.

There was a little controversy around the hour mark when Argentina's Herrera fouled during a ruck. As he'd previously been sin-binned there was an argument that he should have been sent off for persistent foul play.

However I think such a decision would not have been in the spirit of a game which only very recently introduced the concept of sendings off. Therefore it was right that only a penalty was awarded.

Today's second quarter-final - the fourth in total was between Australia and Scotland.

One of the safest bets of this tournament is a New Zealand v Australia final. This comes only second to New Zealand beating Namibia which was offered at 1/3000 meaning to win a dollar you would have to stake 3000 dollars.

In Rugby terms Scotland are considered a bit of a joke. One of the main reasons the 5 Nations tournament was expanded to the 6 Nations by the inclusion of Italy was to allow Scotland to see what it is like to win a Rugby match.

As such this game was meant to be Australia just battering the sh*t out of Scotland and possibly beating the winning margin record that was set by New Zealand yesterday.

Unfortunately the Aussies seemed seriously unbalanced psychologically suffering from that phenomenon know to sportsmen across the world as; "The Yips."

One of the things that may have knocked the Australians off balance is that the son of a former MP for the Liberal Party recently died tragically young in Venice, Italy. Hence the recent discovery of Italian art thief Sebastiano Magnanini in a canal in Islington, London, UK.

I know all this because according to my Welsh grandmother I am very distantly related to both this former MP and his son. Mind you she was on a bit of a mission to prove that all 7 billion people on this planet are, in some way, related.

I didn't bring up this little detail prior to the Australia v Wales game because my father didn't think that was the important part of the story until the Sunday, in the pub, when I was too drunk to remember all the details.

Another thing that could have explained the Aussie's yips is that with Ireland going out Scotland were the last team from the northern hemisphere left in the tournament.

For the image of the game it's best if we at least try and pretend that it's not just something people in the southern hemisphere do much better. After all they don't have to deal with persistent drizzle.

Australia's main problem though is that over the weekend the Scottish National Party (SNP) have been holding their autumn conference over the weekend, Although they're a minority party operating outside of normal conference season this has been on the news in the host nation a lot.

The "Economist" magazine marked the SNP conference with a piece pointing out the SNP's fascist roots.

For example the SNP have bucked the national devolution trend instead centralising power around the party while allowing the so-called "Cyber-nats" to threaten and intimidate opponents to the party on the Internet rather like the Sturmabteilung (SA/Brownshirts) did for Adolf Hitler.

The article went on to explain that the SNP have kept this hidden from voters by splurging English and Welsh taxpayers money on populist causes even though NHS waiting lists have still grown in Scotland. The Economist went on to liken this to the policies of "Peronists."

Later on in the print edition the magazine explained that "Peronists" as those inspired by Juan Peron - the Argentinian dictator made famous by the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and later Madonna film "Evita." The latest Peronist - Christina Fernandez de Kirchner - is facing re-election on October 25th (25/10/15).

I think we can all agree that this would make an Argentina v Scotland semi-final on October 25th distinctly saucy.

Regardless of the cause Australia started the game seriously out of sorts allowing Scotland to put through two early converted tries given them a 14-3 lead at one point. Australia were able to bring it back to 16-15 at half-time and seemed to recover in the second half establishing a 26-32 lead around the 70th minute.

F*cked off with it at this point I went out for a cigarette. Just as I returned it started raining in the Twickenham stadium. The Australians couldn't cope with this allowing Scotland a late converted try and a 34-32 lead.

Then with about a minute left on the clock Bernard Foley boshed over an Australian penalty kick giving them a 35-34 victory. Australia now go on to meet Argentina in the semi-final.

I'm tempted to go back to bed.

18:20 on 18/10/15 (UK date).