By Henry Jacobs Whilst the ultimate prize at the Rugby World Cup is the William Webb Ellis trophy, the reality is that only a certain number of teams have a legitimate chance of claiming the title. In the 2015 showpiece, a rational mindset would view New Zealand at number one, through to Scotland in tenth position - prior to the commencement of the tournament - as the probable competitors for a place in the knock-out stage. That leaves a further ten sides, playing not to make up the numbers but for national pride and the love of rugby. As the group stage draws to a close a notable trait has been the marked improvement of these so-called ‘minnow’ nations. Japan’s opening round 34-32 upset of South Africa is the obvious example, with Eddie Jones’ side now in with a hypothetical chance of making a shock appearance in the quarter-finals. However across the board there has been consistently better performances by developing nations, further justifying the need for increased in