Viator Viator Travel Blog

Only four months to the finals…

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of posts about the 2007 Rugby World Cup from Ian Frentz, who’s taking 10 weeks off work to follow the matches (every single match, apparently) live in France. In the run-up to the tournament, we’ve asked Ian for his tips and predictions. Click here for Ian’s picks in Pools C and D.

So who are the 20 countries in the 2007 Rugby World Cup tournament? Here’s the low-down on the tournament favorites, the minnows and the teams that might progress if they’re lucky.

The 20 countries are split into four pools where they’ll compete on a round-robin basis. The first two from each pool will advance to the quarter-finals from where it’s a sudden-death knock-out to progress to the semis and the final in St Denis on 20 October.

Rugby World Cup: Pool A

ENGLAND

• World Champions – 2003
• Current IRB ranking – 7th

England are the current world champions. And doesn’t every Englishman and their dog like to remind you of it? Mind you, they still harp on about winning the soccer World Cup back in 1966, so you know we’re going to hear about their 2003 World Cup win for at least another three or four decades.

So why are the current world champions languishing down in 7th spot on the IRB rankings? They haven’t won many games in the last four years. Personally, I think they just peaked at the right time for the 2003 World Cup.

Prediction: The guys that carried them through 2003 – Martin Johnson, Neil Back and Johnny Wilkinson – have either retired or been injured and their current side isn’t in quite the same class. Their form in the Six Nations for the last couple of years has been woeful, and the structure of the game in England is a disaster, where the rugby clubs always seem to be taking their national union to court, or vice versa. I’m predicting that they’ll squeak through to the quarter-finals (after Samoa gives them a scare in the pool games), and then they’ll dip out. If Johnny Wilkinson is playing he may land a drop-kick in the dying seconds to get them through to the semis.

SOUTH AFRICA

• World Champions – 1995
• Current IRB ranking – 5th

South Africa, the Springboks, when they play their A-game are a hard team to beat. The trouble is, sometimes they bring their B-game to the ground. They can be nigh invincible in their stadium cauldrons at Ellis Park or Loftus Verfield, but when they travel, if they aren’t surrounded by thousands of screaming South African fans, they sometimes lose their way.

The men from the veldt are formidable – their forwards have all the strength and ferocity of angry rhinos, and their backs all the speed and grace of cheetahs on the hunt. They have been world champions before back in 1995 so they know what it takes.

Prediction: The Springboks will go further this time than in 2003, when they got knocked out in the quarter-finals. The form of some of their players in the southern hemisphere Super 14 tournament has been fantastic, with superstars like Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana and Andre Pretorius playing extremely well. It will be interesting to watch their progress in the up-coming Tri-Nations tournament, when they lock horns with Australia and New Zealand. South Africa will make the World Cup semis and, depending on who they met there, could even end up in the final.

SAMOA

• Current IRB ranking – 10th

For the tiny nation of Samoa, as with many Pacific Island nations , rugby union is a way of life. Samoans play the game hard and fast – they didn’t call the famous Brian Lima ‘The Chiropractor’ for nothing. The men from Manu Samoa have competed at every Rugby World Cup since 1991, and have made the quarter finals in 1991, 1995 and 1999 – not bad for a nation of around 180,000 people.

Since the 2003 Rugby World Cup, Samoa (along with a few other ‘Tier Two’ rugby nations), have received support and financial assistance from the IRB which has recognized that in order to grow rugby around the world, some countries just outside the top eight need a hand to get to the next level. Under their coach – All Blacks’ legend Michael Jones – Samoa will be very competitive at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Prediction: The hardest thing for Samoa will be to get their squad all in one place to train together – the majority of the team play professionally in England, France, New Zealand and other nations. They can definitely upset other teams and the tussle between Samoa and England in the last Rugby World Cup was great. Their rugby sevens team has improved markedly, so hopefully their rugby fifteens team can do the same. If they can beat England in the pool games they’ll make the quarter-finals, and could go even further if they bring their brand of bone-crunching, body-jarring rugby to the playing field.

USA

• Current IRB ranking – 13th

The USA is regarded as a rugby minnow, but there are many who see the Eagles as the sleeping giant of the game. The potential for growth of rugby in the USA is huge. Since the advent of professionalism in 1995, the Eagles have made great strides in coaching, management and player development.

The USA has played in every Rugby World Cup, except for 1995 when they didn’t qualify, and won two games – in 1987 and 2003. Despite a lack of success in recent years, the USA was last country to win an Olympic gold medal for rugby union (there’s one for the Trivial Pursuit buffs). A rag-tag team of rugby players and American footballers beat France by 17 points to three at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Shortly after this, however, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) removed rugby union as an Olympic sport.

Prediction: The Eagles are in a tough pool. They will have a tough tussle against Tonga, and that game could go either way, but I can’t see them getting over any of the other countries in Pool A, and they won’t progress past the pool games. But that is just this year. One day soon this sleeping giant will wake – watch out when it does!

TONGA

• Current IRB ranking – 16th

Tonga, like its Pacific Island neighbors Samoa, has a proud rugby history. Nicknamed Ikale Tahi (Sea Eagles), they are never fiercer on the rugby paddock than when they line up against Samoa or Fiji, their traditional rivals. Nothing raises the hair on the back of your neck more than watching opposing teams perform their ritual war dances before kick-off!

Like their island neighbors, Tonga has a large number of their players plying their trade overseas, and are unable to train and play together regularly. As with Samoa and Fiji, the IRB has recently provided support to try and get Tonga to the next level so that they may be capable of upsetting a major rugby power, but only time will tell if this is effective.

Prediction: The Tongans qualified for the Rugby World Cup 2007 by becoming one of the repecharge winners in the qualifying stages for the tournament. They will have a hard road in front of them, and will give the USA a run for its money, but I doubt they will get past the pool stages of this tournament. One of the tournament highlights will be Tonga’s game against Samoa. Don’t miss the Tongan ‘Kailao’ versus the Samoan ‘Manu Siva Tau’ before kick-off – it’ll be a cracker!

Rugby World Cup: Pool B

AUSTRALIA

• World Champions – 1991, 1999
• Current IRB ranking – 3rd

The Wallabies are the only team to have lifted the William Webb Ellis Cup twice, once in 1991 and again in 1999. And they were just pipped at the post by England in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in extra time. They’re clearly pretty good at rugby. But over the last couple of years, their form seems to have dropped a bit: 2005 was a horror year for them, winning only one game from their final nine. Both the traditional power-house states of Australian rugby, Queensland and New South Wales, had a woeful Super 14 competition this year, finishing last and second-last respectively.

How they fare in this World Cup could largely depend on the coaches’ selections. Will they stick to the tried-and-true ageing superstars like George Gregan and Stephen Larkham, or will they go with younger talent like Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell and Cameron Shepherd? Their ability to win away from Australian soil is questionable, and lately, it just hasn’t happened for them.

Prediction: Never discount the men in green and gold – on their day, they can beat anyone. They will have the measure of Canada, Fiji and Japan in the pool games, but the crunch game will come down to Wales. They will meet in Cardiff at the Millennium Stadium and you can guarantee that the roof will be lifted by the voices of 80,000 singing Welshmen and women. That game will decide who they meet in the quarter-finals. I think they may even progress through to the semis, although my wife swears green and gold that they will go all the to the final. For the sake of my marriage, I hope they do well.

WALES

• Current IRB ranking – 8th

The Boyos from Wales have a passion for the game that’s almost unsurpassed. They live and breathe rugby, and when the national team is playing, you’ll find most Welshmen and women either in the crowd singing their lungs out, or glued to the TV cheering on the men in red.

The golden era for Welsh rugby was the 1970s, and it produced many talented players who have been regarded as the best in their position of all time. Their form dropped away in 1980s and ’90s, but over the last few years, the Welsh team has experienced a resurgence. They have played in every world cup, their best performance being a third place in 1987, but there were a couple of nail-biting games in the 2003 Rugby World Cup against New Zealand and England where they ran both teams very close. The game against the All Blacks was a thriller, the stadium was a sea of red and black, I was sitting next to a crazy Welsh friend who was going nuts, especially when Wales were in front at half time. I breathed a massive sigh of relief when the All Blacks got away with a win.

Prediction: Though they were the Six Nations champions in 2005, their form the last couple of years in the premier northern-hemisphere tournament hasn’t been great, mainly due to having some superstar players out through injury. In May and June this year, the Wales team are touring Australia, but they’ve sent a second-string team, allowing their top players to rest after a heavy domestic season in the lead up to the 2007 World Cup. If they can get their superstars like Stephen Jones, Gavin Henson and Gareth Thomas fighting fit they can give the tournament a real shake-up. They’ll make the quarter-finals, and even the semis, depending on how that crucial pool game against Australia goes. Go the Joneses!

FIJI

Better known for their natural ability and skill in the wide open spaces of rugby sevens (where they are world leaders), the burly boys from Fiji sometimes struggle with the 15-a-side version, where they come up against stronger and more structured defenses. Like Samoans and Tongans, Fijians play in the club competitions of France, England and other nations. And like their Pacific Island neighbors, the IRB has invested support and money hoping raise Fiji’s standing. Little things like having access to a gym and even rugby boots are a luxuries in the islands.

Fiji has played in most of the Rugby World Cups, except for 1995, when it didn’t qualify. The best results were in 1987 and 1999, when Fiji made the quarter-finals both times. On their recent end-of-year tour in 2006, whilst they lost all their games against their northern-hemisphere opponents, Fiji out-pointed each in the second half, playing scintillating, running rugby in the process.

Prediction: Having had a lubricated late-night conversation with the High Performance Manager for Fiji late last year, the word is that Fiji will give the tournament a real shake up. If they can get some of their overseas superstars, such as Rupeni Caucaunibuca, Nicky Little and Norman Ligairi, all fit and together in one place to train, they may upset one of the other favorites, Australia or Wales, in their pool. If they can play first-half running rugby like they play second-half running rugby, they may reach the quarters. And once you reach the quarters, anything can happen.

CANADA

The Canucks have been playing international rugby since the early 1930s, though they have played rugby as far back as the 1880s. However the rules Canada used back then were vastly different – the Canada Rugby Union legalized forward passing and made other changes that made Canadian rugby a totally different sport.

These days, the men in black and red compete regularly in the Churchill Cup, which is contested by Canada, the USA, England and three invited teams. They have participated in every Rugby World Cup, with 1991 their best performance when they reached the quarter-finals.

Prediction: The sheer size of Canada means that talent is scattered across the country, making the job of coaches and selectors very difficult. Their pool game against fellow minnows Japan could go either way, and they may get lucky against Fiji, but expect them to go down against both Wales and Australia. I can’t see them making the quarter-finals.

JAPAN

I have a soft spot for Japan, commonly known as the Cherry Blossoms. They are the strongest rugby team in Asia, dominating all the other countries in the region. Their style of rugby is agile and lightening quick, with gracious sportsmanship and a kamikaze attitude.

Japan has played in all five Rugby World Cups, for only one win, over Zimbabwe in 1991. They suffered their worst defeat in a World Cup at the hands of the All Blacks, going down 145 to 17 in 1995.

Prediction: The Cherry Blossoms will give it their all and may surprise Canada, but the other teams in their pool will be too strong. Watch out for their speedster Daisuke Ohata – he’s the world record holder for tries scored in test matches and a delight to watch with the ball and some room to move.

–Ian Frentz

Read more of Ian’s picks in Pools C & D in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.