Unless France defy logic and defeat New Zealand in Sunday's second semi-final, the World Cup will be the least successful from a European perspective of the four held since 1987.
For the first time in the tournament's history, none of the four home unions will be among the semi-finalists: Wales, who made the last four in 1987, England, who reached the penultimate stage in 1991 and 1995, and Scotland all fell to Southern Hemisphere opposition in the quarter-finals. Ireland have never got that far.
In this World Cup only France upheld European honour, albeit unconvincingly against Argentina. With five nations hosting 41 matches, it was widely held that it offered them the best chance of breaking the Southern Hemisphere's domination.
Last month's hope and hype have turned into this week's despair. The inquests have already started with the Wales coach Graham Henry calling for a pooling of resources to replicate the Southern Hemisphere's Super 12 series.
"English club rugby is pretty strong, though not as good as they like to think," said Henry, "but the game in Wales, Ireland and Scotland is far weaker. The unions should join forces to take the leading players out of their domestic leagues and create a tournament on the lines of the Super 12. We should overhaul our club system so that the leading players play matches of high intensity and skill every week, not every now and then."
The Harlequins' rugby coach Zinzan Brooke, the former All Black number eight, agreed. He said: "Neither Wales nor England showed enough composure on the ball in their quarter-finals and that proved to me that the club scene here is not working properly.
"Scotland look the best of the home championship countries, the most cohesive under pressure. England prepared for the World Cup by thrashing the United States and Canada while the three major Southern Hemisphere countries were playing each other. The Super 12 has made a difference there and the British club game undoubtedly needs another rung."
Bob Dwyer, the coach of the 1991 World Cup winners Australia who is now in charge of Bristol, argued English rugby already had its version of the Super 12: Allied Dunbar One. "I do not accept the contention that there is a gap between England and the three leading southern sides," he said.
"I disagree with Graham Henry. Over the last year, his policy has been to get the leading Wales players behind closed doors and persuade them to play their club rugby in Wales. He would have been better off encouraging them to either remain with or join Allied Dunbar clubs and the same goes for Ireland and Scotland: most of Brazil's soccer players are scattered around the world, but it hardly hinders them.
"Wales were better prepared than ever before this World Cup and Scotland did well against the All Blacks. Only Ireland disappointed and they, like Wales, have encouraged their players to return from England.
"When everyone talks about the Super 12, it should be remembered that in 1987, when New Zealand won the World Cup, and in 1991 it did not exist. You can sometimes search too hard for excuses."
New Zealand's influential outhalf Andrew Mehrtens will undergo a scan on his injured knee within the next 24 hours to assess the damage suffered against Scotland in Sunday's World Cup quarter-final.
