As each week passes, we come one step closer to the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Each team competing should be almost fully prepared, though there still are plenty of issues to iron out before rugby’s biggest international tournament begins.

Eight teams will be in action Saturday, and all have the opportunity to address questions that hang over their changing rooms.

Three sides, in particular, must address uncertainty at the fly-half position, while others must prove consistency against higher opposition.

France

Sports sometimes can be cruel. With the World Cup right around the corner, French fly-half Romain Ntamack has been ruled out after tearing his ACL playing against Scotland last weekend.

His absence leaves a huge gulf in the French backline and puts question marks over a team that was considered the tournament favorite not long ago.

Antoine Hastoy, Matthieu Jalibert or Thomas Ramos will slot in to cover the vacancy, but none of them have much experience starting at 10 for their nation. Hastoy will give it a go this weekend as he attempts to translate his form for La Rochelle onto the international stage.

Fiji

Fiji is made up of entertainers. It’s as simple as that. 

In their last three matches, they’ve dropped over 30 points on Samoa, Tonga and Japan, winning all three contests comfortably.

There’s genuine cause to be excited about this team and a real chance of them making the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2007.

To do so, they’ll likely have to beat at least two of Wales, Australia and Georgia. This is more than achievable, given the wobbly form of the first two.

However, they first must show they can go toe to toe with the big boys.

That means bringing the fire when they face France on Saturday, unleashing their scintillating style of free-flowing rugby against a defense known for being one of the best in the world.

England

As the latest Owen Farrell high-tackle saga rages on, Steve Borthwick has a dilemma developing at fly-half, which doesn’t seem to be disappearing.

Farrell is, for the moment, England’s first choice at 10, the team captain and an undeniably impactful presence, on and off the field.

However, now that World Rugby has lodged an appeal on the rescinded red card, Farrell’s availability in the coming weeks is in question.

That leaves the door open for George Ford and Marcus Smith to step in and show they’re not just viable understudies, but capable of leading the team to victory in place of Farrell.

Ford will have the chance to show off this Saturday when he starts against Ireland.

Ireland

Warm-up fixtures are not always the most exciting, especially when teams put out second-string talent to rest their starters.

So far, Ireland has followed that mold, opting to give fringe players a shot, rather than risk the main stars picking up an injury before the World Cup.

With that being said, Andy Farrell has selected an almost-full-strength Ireland side to face England, indicating that the time for playing games is over.

This means the big question facing Ireland is its match readiness. Will they pick up where they left off in March, rekindling their Grand Slam winning form, or will they look off the pace and show signs of lacking that same cutting edge?

Wales 

Wales really has two questions to answer when facing South Africa on Saturday. 

The first is who should captain the team once the World Cup begins. The second is who should start at center.

The first question feels like it already has an answer, as flanker Jac Morgan is set to captain Wales for the second time in three games. His performance against England in Cardiff was filled with gusto and passion, which makes him a shoo-in for the role.

The matter of Wales’ center partnership is slightly more complex. 

Johnny Williams and Mason Grady have been picked to partner in the midfield, setting up a third Wales center pairing in as many games.

If these two show their class, they could temporarily bring an end to a selection headache which has plagued Warren Gatland.

Boks on Welsh challenge: "We are expecting a tough game" - more here: https://t.co/8Ksu3kIXL7 🪨#StrongerTogether #Springboks pic.twitter.com/0cayt4lQXp

— Springboks (@Springboks) August 18, 2023

South Africa 

With Handre Pollard rules out of the World Cup through injury, South Africa is facing a similar challenge to that of France, as the team's first-choice fly-half is absent.

They, too, will have to show they can compete with Manie Libbok or Damian Willemse, orchestrating things on the field.

Libbok seems to be the favorite to take up that mantle, after leading South Africa to all its wins in the Rugby Championship in the past month.

However, the Stormers star still has less than 10 international caps, which is a huge downfall from the immensely experienced Pollard.

Against Wales, Libbok must show that he can put the team on his shoulders when the going gets tough.

Italy

Over the last two seasons, Italy has shown signs of progress, developing a lethal attacking game when exercised clinically.

The main problem is that their accuracy is so sparse, they very rarely reach the potential their game could elicit.

Handling errors and waves of unexplainable stupidity has plagued the team and means they still have a dire win record this season.

When they take on Romania this weekend, they not only will need to win - as they are the unquestionable favorites - but do so convincingly, showing the rugby world they can deliver a complete performance that isn’t riddled with mistakes and moments of madness.

Romania 

Nobody expects Romania to beat Italy, so the Romanians' task simply is to make the game as competitive as possible.

Only last week, they were trounced 56-6 by an enlivened Georgia, which found it too easy to cut through gaps and offload to their heart’s content.

Romania was poor at defending around the fringes and, therefore, must tighten up its defensive structure around the ruck, if they are to compete with Italy.

They can accept getting beaten out wide, especially when faced with a dangerous Italian backline, but cannot justify letting the Azzurri through the middle.

If they can plug a few holes in their defense, maybe the game will be closer than people think.