OPINION: Goodbye pragmatism, hello ambition. New Zealand, Australia, France and Wales, the four countries to qualify for the World Cup semifinals, all have one thing in common - they have embraced the running game rather than relying on boring the opposition to death.
South Africa, England and even Ireland take note. Sooner or later you will have to kick playing the percentage game to touch and follow the new world order, one where flair is not considered an offensive F-word.
Argentina deserve a little leeway here. Having been in the rugby wilderness for so long it's understandable that they will stick to their forward-oriented game and, now that they are about to join the Southern Hemisphere in the Four Nations, hopefully they take on board some of the good stuff the All Blacks and Wallabies offer and ignore the Springboks.
Peter de Villiers' men were simply awful. One of the best things you could say about them is that they were not quite as bad as England. It's hard to get excited about watching a team with such obvious talent in the backline kicking for territory and then relying on the boots of the two Steyns for points. No wonder Bryan Habana went through such a try drought. When he scored against Namibia last month he brought up his 39th try in tests, a South African record, but a more telling statistic is that it broke a try-scoring hiatus of over a year.
Martin Johnson's men have few redeeming qualities on the pitch or off. One of the few bright points of England's quarter-final defeat to France was the performance of Samoa-born centre Manu Tuilagi, but no sooner had Johnson sung his praises he was collared by police after jumping off a ferry into the Waitemata Harbour following a team visit to a Waiheke Island vineyard.
England played to their strengths of forward dominance and building pressure but they couldn't even fulfil that limited game plan. In desperation Johnson inserted first-five Toby Flood outside Jonny Wilkinson for the France match, thankfully at the expense of the woeful Mike Tindall, but it was too little too late.
Ireland provided plenty of spirit and a rousing pool victory over Australia. They were perhaps unlucky to come up against an inspired and supremely fit Wales, but age is wearying them and they can no longer rely on old warhorse Paul O'Connell and skipper Brian O'Driscoll.
Of the chosen four, the All Blacks have embraced the running game the most successfully. It got them into trouble in their quarter-final loss to France in Cardiff in 2007 because they were either too stubborn or too flustered to go to a plan B, but their game based around direct running, width and swarming interplay between forwards and backs can be unstoppable. They eventually subdued a tough Argentina and will like to think they are better for the experience.
The Wallabies rely on front-foot ball to give Will Genia and Quade Cooper a platform, with Kurtley Beale close to the most dangerous attacking fullback in the game. While their victory over the Springboks wasn't the most thrilling, it wasn't for wont of trying.
France are as unpredictable as ever and have a real talent in halfback Dimitri Yachvili, while Wales have been the revelation of the tournament. Their running game, centred around big second-five Jamie Roberts and wings Shane Williams and George North, has been a pleasure to watch and their forwards have been their unsung heroes. Their workrate in their quarter-final victory over Ireland got them over the line.
Common sense suggests it's no good aiming for the beautiful game at the expense of results - think Arsenal in the football premiership - but talented teams who put their faith in ambition and excitement more often than not get the best of both worlds.