Rugby World Cup 2011- Team By Team Guide

Pool A

Canada

One of the stronger minnows who have improved since coming dead last in Pool B last time round, Canada will be aiming for 2 wins from Japan and Tonga. With many of their players playing their trade in the 2^nd division of English Rugby it’s a credit they reached the final of the Churchill Cup, which will serve as an important boost. Coach Kieran Cowley probably has them in their best form coming into a tournament and their squad is as good as it can get, but it’s likely that won’t be enough to see them do better than bottom.

France

Trying to evaluate France is folly for some - You never know what France team will show up for any given rugby international – but their undeniable class can take them anywhere (they have reached the last four in all but one World Cup) and once again they will be dangerous to ignore.

Many will point to their consistency problems –Such as losses to Italy in the  Nations – But they bring the best to these tournaments and have been showing good signs in their two warm up wins against Ireland, with the French coming back from eight points down to 13-8 ahead in five minutes.

Their forwards are a real handful to deal with, while Thierry Dusautoir and Imanol Harinordoquy (if kept fit) should prove a sturdy enough defence, all of this headed by the magnificent duo of Morgan Parra and Vincent Clerc. Their pool passage too is a good one, with New Zeland being the only team they are underdogs against and with 2 games to find form before that, it could be closer than others think. If this French side can keep their cool then anything is possible.

Japan

Despite being the smallest and probably most unsuccessful minnows in  tournament history (barring Namibia), Japan come here in good form, with wins over Tonga and Fiji handing them their inaugural title at the Pacific Nations cup with a 24-13 win over Fiji.

All Black Legend John Kirwan will be hopeful that they can Tonga and Canada, who both lie just below Japan in the IRB world rankings – Although just one win would greatly improve their record, with just the previous success on the board. Heavyweight pool mates France and New Zealand will be too good but 1 win might be on the way.

New Zealand

Every single time it’s the same situation. New Zeland have the best squad, a quality coach and are so far clear of the opposition the world cup should be theirs in a canter. But since the first inaugural tournament in 1987, it hasn’t happened.

Many reasons have been given – Among the popular “chokers” tag are the theories of peaking between tournaments or simply bad luck –But this time around home advantage along with the usually impeccable form sees them heavy favourites.

They are not unbeatable though – As defeats to South Africa and Austrlai in their last two Tri Nations games have showed – and the same teams, along with Northern Hemisphere stars England and France, will be aiming to wreck their hopes again.

Tonga

Tonga had their most successful World Cup yet in 2007 with two wins over the USA and Samoa earning a third in their pool behind eventual finalists South Africa and England – And fans of the Nations must be pretty gutted that they have been put into the same situation with France and New Zealand in the pool.

Known for being hard hitters, to the point it disrupts their discipline badly - they jointly hold the record for the most number of yellow cards (7) with France and red cards (3) with Canada according to Sky Sports - They will be a stern challenge for many and should be good for at least one, if not two wins this time around.

VERDICT: France and New Zealand are going through the Quarter - Finals but it's likely that both will be pushed hard by Tonga, who have solid prospects of two wins over Japan (with a full strength side) and Canada - Making a line of 64 points given by Bet365 look very fair given that they have scored 108 in their last 4 games and scored 84 in their Pool in France 2007.

Advice: 2 pts Tonga to score 65 or more points (4/5 Bet365)

Pool B

Argentina

Launched themselves onto the International Stage with a brilliant run in France started when they shocked the hosts in the opening game before a quarter final win against Scotland led a semi – final against eventual Champions South Africa, followed up with yet another win against France in the third place playoff.

You get the feeling that the same form hasn’t quite been reached since and their warm ups have left something to be desired results wise – They just didn’t gel against Wales despite two missed penalties and a slow start frrm the home team, while the loss of their utility back Juan Martín Hernández is a blow.  Despite that, they will take some beating and qualifying at the expense of Scotland is an entirely realistic aim if they can win that game, although they will need to improve to do so.

England

Whatever happens in New Zealand, the England Rugby team can claim to be one of the few English sporting teams to have a good pedigree in a World Cup. Since the inaugural tournament in 1987 England have reached three finals out of six including the victorious campaign in 2003, and have never been eliminated before the quarter-final stage (courtesy of ITV) and even better, come into this tournament off the back of a Six Nations win, with the one defeat against Ireland revered emphatically last time out.

To contrast, before 2007, England had been smashed twice by South Africa, beaten twice by France, and came third in the Six Nations behind Ireland and France – But Martin Johnston’s side has improved since then and a second win is not out of the question.

New talent has come in so the likes of Johnny Wilkinson don’t have to cope with carrying the team, while in Martin Johnson, they have the coach to take them all the way (while keeping their heads down) and importantly, to avoid a slip up against Argentina in their Pool.

Georgia

One of a few steady improvers among the minnows, Georgia have climbed into the top ranking spot for any Northern Hemisphere side that does not contest the Six Nations (1Six) and are improving still having Ireland a massive scare before registering victory over Namibia. The crunch game against Romania is surely their target although an underperforming Scotland would be no harder than Ireland 4 years ago and wins over Russia, USA, Canada and Romania during the past two years show their form, although a lack of top level experience will probably stop them from pulling off an upset.

Romania

Seemingly in decline, it was a massive boost to this Romania team just to get into the Rugby World Cup proper. Romania do have quite an impressive e qualification record for the tournament, having reached every single World Cup and have only one finished bottom of their pool. That could be set to change though, with pre-tournament loss to the Southern Kings franchise exposing serious flaws.

Bizarrely they  have been forced into a late change ahead of the competition after their wing Catalin Fercu – One of their most experienced and best players, who has 51 Test caps and made three appearances for during the 2007 World Cup - withdrew due to a fear of flying, which only adds to the mountain of problems facing them.

Scotland

A closer look through the history of Scotland’s appearances at the Rugby World Cup tells that Scotland have been second best only to the world’s ellite. On home turf in 1991 England won 9-Six thanks to a late Rob Andrew drop-goal; Scotland then lost the third/fourth play-off to the All Blacks.

In 1995 and 1999 Scotland fell foul of New Zealand at the quarter-final stage, before finalists Australia in 2003 having been locked at the break. Argentina was probably a missed chance based on the international status of the two sides, but Scotland’s has fallen a little of late.

That’s not meant to be a snipe at Scotland, who can take heart from a settled squad with “no surprises” according to the Press Association – and two wins in two warm up games is as good as they could have hoped for, even though their 10-6 win over Ireland was as lucky as it gets in International Rugby. Alistair Kellock and Chris Patterson make marquee appeal though hand the fact that they have won their last three Internationals, with a tight loss to England bringing no shame. They will still have a battle on just to get to the QF'S, with tries at a premium since going down all guns blazing to France in the Six Nations.

VERDICT: England are too short to back at 2-5 and all of the intrigue lies with the race for second place. I have to admit originally the suggestion was to back Argentina for over 115 points but their points scoring record of late seems dire and a cricket score against a declining Romania is likely to decide whether they reach that target. Should Scotland find some consistency -  They've won their last three International Tests - They may be able to edge into the Quarter finals. Another bet which makes appeal is Romania to score 40 or less - They just reached that target last time round but don't have the benefit of Portugal this time round.

Advice: 1 pt Scotland to qualify (10/11 Paddy Power), 3 pts Romania to score 40 or less points (5/6 Paddy Power) 


Pool C

Australia

Ranked comfortably the second best side in the world, Australia go into this Rugby World Cup confident of a big performance on what will essentially be home turf. With plenty of pace in the team, they’ll be just as likely to rack up some big points over the course of the tournament and in many ways could be the equal of the All Blacks.

Their form is progressive – A 59-12 thrashing of France reads well even if the French predictably didn’t turn up – and their Tri Nations win shows why they can win the World Cu, with a superb fight-back against South Africa from Six-0 down eclipsed by a 25–20 win over New Zealand which gave them their first Tri – Nations title in 10 years.

With fly-half Quade Cooper dubiously cleared of kneeing All Blacks captain Richie McCaw in the aftermath of the Brisbane epic, along with Will Genia enjoying a star role this season, the Aussies boast a powerful squad, despite their much maligned scrum in the Northern Hemisphere.

Ireland

Ireland have the capacity to produce huge displays, as shown when taking a Grand slam in 2009, and then denying England that honour only this year, but their chronic lack of composure and endless mistakes has left them lagging behind Europe in the past 2 years, let alone the southern hemisphere.

On the back of their 20-9 loss to England on Saturday - Ireland's fourth in their RWC 2011 warm-up matches, having lost to Scotland, France (twice) and England in August – They’re now 8^th in the IRB Rankings.

Pool C is one they “should” qualify from but make no mistakes, Italy won’t be pushovers and any slip ups (they did nearly lose to Georgia 4 years ago) are likely to be punished severely. Wth no wins in 4, tough times lie ahead for Ireland.

Italy

Italy have never yet progressed past the group stages but will fancy their chance hugely this time round. So often the whipping boys of the Six Nations, their progress under Nick Mallett – Who has absurdly been denied a contract extension, with Perpignan's coach Jacques Brunel likely to take over – looking to have finally peaked with a historic Six Nations victory over France, the first time they had conquered anyone other than Scotland or Wales in the Six Nations.

There has been a new improved feel t their play, with more passing, and less penalties conceded – for the first time in many a year – than anyone else in the Six Nations. Their pool is also manageable with Ireland looking vulnerable, Russia and the USA being inferior while only Australia looking far clear.  A place in the Quarter – finals is not beyond them. 

Russia

Russia’s first appearance in the World Cup is testament to their improving domestic game – Something that many other developing nations cannot boast of, with France and England being used as an outlet for most other minnows.

There are only 5 players in the squad who do not play in Russia; Melbourne Rebels lock Adam Byrnes, Northampton Saints wing Vasily Artemyev, Sale Sharks lock Andrey Ostrikov, Viatcheslav Grachev (France), and Konstantin Rachkov of Stade Phocéen in Marseille (France).

The latter named is the urrent Russia-only record points scorer while there’s a mix of youth and experience - Denis Antonov and Mikhail Sidorov are two of three forwards to have won less than five caps, the third being Novokuznetsk hooker Valeriy Tsnobiladze – while 2 further players will be making debuts. Exciting times indeed, whether Russia will struggle or not.

USA

After trips to 6 out of 7 World Cups, it’s time for the “Eagles” to build on their promise and stamp themselves as an up and coming nation. With Italy now fully fledged amounts the 6 Nations, Fiji and Samoa strong challenges in their own right, and the likes of Georgia making some quick progress, the USA are now falling behind in the rankings.

That doesn’t quite do them justice based on their good shows last time out – They pushed England, Tonga and Samoa very close in France – Although recent form includes losses to Japan, Canada, (twice), Tonga and Georgia – and they will be hard pushed to get out of this pool.

VERDICT: A very easy pool for Australia, which makes their tournament points total of 255 very tempting at just 5/6. The Wallabies scored 215 in their Pool games at the last World Cup but this time round Ireland seem like easier pickings and they should rack up a real cricket score against Russia, who have no World Cup experience. The presence of Russia should also help the USA get past the 5 try mark set to them by Bet365 - They ran in 4 the last time the two met and should get the other against Italy or maybe Ireland making a defensive mistake. 

Advice: 2 pts Australia to score 255 or more points (5/6 Paddy Power), 1 pt USA to score 5 or more tries (10/11 Bet365) 

Pool D

Fiji

The Fijians are specialists at Rugby Sevens but are building an impressive World Cup resume having made it to the last eight twice, including in 2007 when they edged an all-time classic 38-34 against Wales, while being practically the only team to scare South Africa  before they were beaten 35-20.

They will aim for the same again, plus a victory over Samoa but they do need to find some form – Two fairly convincing losses to Tonga along with defeats against Japan and pool opponents Samoa suggest that are likely to struggle, while a 60-14 defeat to New Zealand flatters them as a second string side was picked for the All Blacks. While they’ll present a tough challenge, they could be in for a tough time.

Namibia

The smallest nation here, it’s credit to Namibia that they are appearing at their fourth consecutive Rugby World Cup. Yet to win, and also on the end of one of the tournament’s biggest defeats (142 – 0 v Australia), the Welwitschas are likely to be run ragged again in the Group of death. 

Their form this time round is decent against nations of their own quality - beating Senegal, Ivory Coast and Tunisia with a lot to spare – is better than usual for them but in a deep pool which contains South Africa, Wales, Fiji and Samoa a win isn’t coming.

Samoa

Samoa have a real world cup pedigree for such a small Island despite failing to escape their pool at the last couple of tournaments, with a solitary win over the USA in France 4 years ago. Their form this year however hasn’t been great if you exclude the remarkable win over Australia, where Robbie Deans's decision to rest several big names backfired spectacularly as they scored two tries in each half to pull off their greatest Test match triumph. This time round, they should be able to get two wins and hopefully shock Wales again, although that could be easier said than done depding on what form they bring.

South Africa

The Springboks are chasing their third Rugby World Cup crown from just 5 attempts, which is astonishing when you consider the fact that they did not compete in the first two World Cups in 1987 and 1991 because of anti-apartheid boycotts and reached the last 4 in 1999 and then went down to the All Blacks in 2003, which was comfortably their worst campaign, and it’s clear they cannot be ruled out on any score.

They avoided any of their Tri – Nations counterparts on their way to winning the last World Cup but you would be foolish to think they could not beat New Zealand with any luck as a superb kicking display from Morne Steyn showed when they picked up their first win of the Tri Nations over the favourites, albeit a rather under strength New Zeland side.

The fact that the enigmatic Peter De Villers has decided to include 18 from winning squad for New Zealand shows he’s on the ball – and the fact he decided to rest most of his squad players for the Tri Nations means he has only one injury problem and fresh squad ready to go all the way. Make no mistake, the Springboks are ready to pounce n the latter stages.

Wales

Wales are one of a few northern hemisphere side who merely bring their best to qualify on reputation and their best form, but as with so many occasions before, they have the potential to blowout in a massive fashion.

Wins over Argentina and England bode well, along with only a 4 point defeat at Twickenham bode well, while they’ve kept within hailing distance of New Zealand in the past year or so. The mood in the camp seems to be that they can beat South Africa and while that’s too high flying, a similar attitude will see them progress at the expense of Samoa. If they allow mistakes to creep in again (namely second half collapses which blighted them during the Autumn Internationals


VERDICT: Qualification for South Africa is assured but there's no calling the scrap for second between Wales and Samoa. At their best the Welsh should come through but there's no value in quotes of 3/10 to qualify for an inexperienced squad and the best bet may be the Samoans to make more than 103 points. They made only 68 in the last World Cup but Namibia should provide easy fodder while they should get points on the board v Wales and then Fjii, while South Africa may be home and hosed by the last Pool game.

Advice: 1 pt Samoa to score more than 103 points (5/6 Paddy Power)