If being settled counts for anything, France is well on its way to winning the Rugby World Cup.

While the seven other quarter-finalists grapple with a cross section of issues from injuries to infighting, the Tricolores are composed and quietly confident.

The French team to play Ireland was named - at least a day ahead of the other teams - and, true to his word, coach Bernard Laporte named the same XV that walloped Scotland 51-9.

Les Bleus have cruised through the pool rounds in fine fettle.

Their fellow quarter-finalists have had to battle - and with that has come selection wrangles and media scrutiny.

Scotland has felt the wrath of its press after a series of dismal performances culminating with a scrappy 22-20 pool win over Fiji.

Allegations of infighting and malcontent quickly followed and now the Scots have injury concerns over captain Brian Redpath and outstanding No.8 Simon Taylor who both skipped training.

Their foes at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, the Wallabies, have experienced some fire from local scribes as well as former Australian greats and coaches.

After an unimpressive 17-16 win over Ireland the knives predictably came out.

While lacking fluency out wide and firepower up front - few changes are expected for the match against Scotland.

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