The fundamental division of the rugby universe is the Earth’s equator.

Of the 10 so-called Tier 1 nations—those countries that care most about the sport and play it best—six lie in the northern hemisphere while four are in the southern half of the globe.

That rift, like college football’s divisions and their respective personalities, tends to inform every conversation about rugby style.

This weekend, however, the discussion took a southerly turn. For the first time in tournament history, southern hemisphere teams won all four of the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals. After two routs and two nailbiters, only New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina remain.

Scotland came closest to breaking up the southern party on Sunday afternoon in the final match of the round. Despite five Australian tries, it held a two-point lead here at Twickenham with one minute to go after Mark Bennett returned an interception for a try. But a last-minute penalty, which didn’t sit well with the Scots, sent Australia to the semis with a 35-34 victory.

It was hard to believe that Scotland had been winless during Europe’s Six Nations tournament last spring.

“We were one kick away from the semifinals of the World Cup and probably should have been [through],” Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw said, aggrieved by what he felt was a generous penalty call. “This Scotland team is different from the one that was in the Six Nations.”

Earlier in the day, Argentina scored the upset of the round by taking down a battered Ireland side 43-20. And on Saturday, South Africa edged past Wales, 23-19, before the All Blacks dismantled France 62-13, with the largest ever victory in a World Cup knockout game.

It was New Zealand’s 12th straight win in the tournament, dating back to 2011. As for France, a squad wracked by doubt and internal discontent, this tournament marked the first time since 1991 that Les Bleus failed to reach the semifinals.

“There’s a world between our two teams, it’s really striking,” France’s Frederic Michalak said of the All Blacks (above, pcitured). “And the gap keeps growing. Small teams are getting big and France will drift further and further away from the top nations if the trend continues.”

The upshot is that on the shores where rugby was invented, the World Cup will be decided by sides that came from half a world away. That fact has already prompted much hand-wringing in English and French rugby circles, although the history of the tournament suggests it might be an anomaly. In six of the seven previous World Cups, the semifinal lineup had featured two southern teams and two European nations.

After all, part of the semifinal lineup comes down to how the draw breaks down for the group stage of the tournament.

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen chalked up the southern hemisphere’s 2015 success to the quality and diversity of the rugby currently played in the annual Rugby Championship—the answer to Europe’s Six Nations competition.

“When you play South Africa, you have to be physical. When you play Australia, you come up against a highly skilled team who like to play running rugby and you have to be able to combat that. Then, you’ve got New Zealand who have a little bit of both,” Hansen said. “So, the competition creates a rugby player that can be multi-functional.”

He then threw out the common soccer argument that surfaces every time England stumbles on the international stage. The English Premier League, like England’s pro rugby competition, is among the most dynamic in the world, but Hansen believes the influx of foreign players holds back the growth of domestic talent. The same goes for the high-paying Top 14 league in France.

Whether or not the relatively young professional scene actually is holding back northern hemisphere sides—the game was played on an amateur basis until 1987—Hansen also proposed another, more basic factor: the southern countries simply have better weather.

“When you contrast that with the northern hemisphere, when you can be playing in snow and rain and freezing cold,” he said. “That is not conducive to playing running rugby.”

Scotland coach Vern Cotter, a New Zealander who made his name working in France, wasn’t so sure. “You can use that I suppose,” he said, surly from a heartbreaking defeat that finished in the October rain. “Is it cultural? Is it weather? Is it things you practice? I don’t know.”

One thing is certain at this World Cup: the solutions for winning in England this fall had to be imported from at least 7,000 miles away.

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