Big push for the line

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of posts about the 2007 Rugby World Cup from Ian Frentz, who’s taking 10 weeks off work here at Viator to follow the matches (every single match) live in France.

In the run-up to the tournament, we’ve asked Ian for his tips and predictions. Last week he tipped winners in Pools A and B. This week he’s turning his attention to Pools C & D.

Rugby World Cup Picks: Pool C

NEW ZEALAND

• World Champions – 1987
• Current IRB ranking – 1st

What can you say about the mighty New Zealand All Blacks? Ranked number one in the world with a fearsome reputation that goes back to when the first player strapped the boots on in the 1800s. They have only won the Rugby World Cup once, and that was the inaugural tournament back in 1987. Always the raging favorite, they have an uncanny knack (some say it’s a curse) of stumbling at the final hurdle.

 

 

Rugby in New Zealand is a religion – part of the very DNA of every Kiwi, and when the All Blacks play they have 4 million rabid spectators backing them. A win is always expected, but when they don’t the natural order of the universe is thrown and the entire country goes into depression. I was inconsolable for a week when they were knocked out of the 2003 Rugby World Cup (it didn’t help that my wife is the biggest Wallaby fan to walk the earth). The coaching brains divided the country earlier this year, when they pulled 22 of New Zealand’s top players out of the Super 14s competition for a ‘Reconditioning Program’, so the likes of Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Carl Hayman could become stronger, fitter and faster.

 

 

Prediction: Pundits around the world have labeled them tournament favorites, as they have done in nearly every past world cup. The form they have shown over the last couple of years is phenomenal, with only one loss from twelve in 2006 (to South Africa, in Rustenburg). There is a small part of me that is convinced Richie McCaw will be lifting a small golden cup on the 20th October (but I don’t want to jinx the boys). They’ll breeze through the pool games, but once they get to the quarter-final stage, anything could happen. Ireland could get a lucky bounce of the ball, France could be inspired by the home fans, South Africa could be just too good. I’m crossing all my fingers and toes, and praying to the rugby gods for an All Black win.

 

 

SCOTLAND

• Current IRB ranking – 11th

 

When the crowd belts out ‘Flower of Scotland’ from the stands at Murrayfield it can lift the hair on the back of your neck, and the men in navy blue lift as well. Scotland has a long and proud rugby history, winning their first international game in 1871 against the old enemy England (the very first international test match between two countries). However, the last few seasons have been lean ones with Scotland struggling in the Six Nations tournament. Murrayfield is no longer the fortress it once was, with the Scottish Rugby Union struggling to fill the stadium for even its most premier matches.

 

 

Prediction: The bonnie highlands lads can count themselves lucky their Pool C draw, which some regard as the weakest pool (with the exception of the All Blacks). However, the Scots may be quaking in their rugby boots, as last time they met Italy (one of the Tier Two nations), earlier this year in the Six Nations tournament, they were soundly trounced by Italy. This was at Murrayfield and was highly embarrassing for the Scots. Whether they progress to the quarter-finals may hinge on the pool game against the Italians. If the Italians cause another upset it could be the end of the 2007 Rugby World Cup for the Scots.

 

 

ITALY

• Current IRB ranking – 9th

You would think that in Italy, where that round-ball game is so passionately followed, that rugby union wouldn’t get a look in. However, the popularity of rugby in Italy is steadily on the rise. Rugby union has been played in Italy, predominately in the north, since the late 1920s. Since they joined the premier northern-hemisphere competition in 2000 (when the Five Nations became the Six Nations) the national team has gone from strength to strength, and can upset their more fancied rivals.

 

 

The Azurri have played in all five previous Rugby World Cups, but have never quite made the quarter-finals.

 

 

Prediction: Italy’s crunch match will be against Scotland, and if they can win that and the lesser-fancied teams in their pool, then they will achieve the quarters for the first time. Their superstars like Ramiro Pez, Mauro Bergamasco and Alessandro Troncon play in the tough French club competition and will know what it takes to upset Scotland. Italy versus Scotland will be one of the tightest and hardest-fought matches of the tournament.

 

 

ROMANIA

• Current IRB ranking – 15th

 

Romania, nicknamed The Oaks, is regarded as one of the top Tier Two nations in Europe. They play in the European Nations Cup, the next level of northern-hemisphere competition after the Six Nations, and they have always performed well. There are about 200 Romanians playing in the professional competitions of France and Italy. Rugby was introduced to Romania by students returning with from their studies in Paris, in the 1910s. During the communist regime rugby prospered – every international success was presented as a result of communist rule and ideology. With the decline of communism and the rise of professionalism in sport, the game suffered in Romania, with player numbers falling by 75% from its heyday in the 1980s. Over the last few years the decline of The Oaks has been stopped and the team has started to climb international rankings.

 

 

Prediction: The Oaks have played in every Rugby World Cup since 1987, and, with the exception of 1995, have always managed one win in the pool games. This time around it’ll be no different with one win over the easy-beat in their pool, Portugal (although Portugal have beaten Romania in the European Nations Cup), but they won’t get past the pool stages.

 

 

PORTUGAL

• Current IRB ranking – 21st

Congratulations to Portugal, who has made the Rugby World Cup for the first time ever! ‘Os Lobos’, or The Wolves, became the first totally amateur team to do so, by progressing through the qualifying rounds, and beating Uruguay to the final repechage spot by one point! Several players were subsequently arrested in the ensuing celebrations as a result of an altercation with local police. Happily, no charges were laid. Portugal has been playing rugby since 1935, and have since become fairly adept at the Sevens version of the game. In recent years Portugal, a Tier Three nation, has experienced unprecedented success and recorded some impressive results. Their 15-man team competes in the European Nations Cup, where they were surprise winners of the 2003-04 competition.

 

 

Prediction: Whilst Portugal has upset Romania in past games, it will be difficult to do in the atmosphere of a World Cup match. Portugal will struggle against Scotland and Italy, and the game against the All Blacks will be an outright slaughter. Welcome to the big time Wolves.

 

Rugby World Cup Picks: Pool D

FRANCE

• Current IRB ranking – 2nd

The mercurial French – are they a brilliant team that sometimes plays poorly, or an average team that occasionally plays a sublime free-running game? They say the French lift when they’re in earshot of their local village church bells, which is why they can play so well at home and so badly away.

 

 

Rugby was introduced to France in 1872, and first played in the Five Nations competition (now the Six Nations) way back in 1910. Not playing between 1932 and 1939, France joined again in 1947 and first won the competition in 1954. ‘Les Bleus’, or ‘Les Tricolores’, have competed at every Rugby World Cup since 1987. They have never won the competition, although they have made the finals twice, in 1987 and 1999.

 

 

Prediction: The French are in the toughest pool of all. Both Ireland and Argentina can beat the French on their home soil, and Argentina has been a bit of a bogey team for France in recent years. However, France is hosting the tournament and the massive home-crowd support should help them progress to the quarter-finals. From there they could lose in the quarters, or even go all the way and win the World Cup. In every stadium they play, you will hear the chant ‘Allez Les Bleus!’ drowning out the local church bells!

 

 

 

IRELAND

• Current IRB ranking – 4th

 

The men from Ireland could cause some upsets in the Rugby World Cup 2007. Traditionally, they have had one of the weaker home unions, being a regular recipient of the wooden spoon in the Six Nations tournaments. However, in the last few years, they have churned out some good results, and have made the transition to professionalism more successfully than other middle-ranking rugby powers. Their form in the Six Nations has improved and with it their IRB ranking.

 

The holy ground for rugby in Ireland is the famous Lansdowne Road stadium in Dublin. It was built in 1872 and is the oldest international rugby venue that is still used for the sport. In 1878 the ground hosted its first rugby test, with Ireland playing host to England. As far as the Rugby World Cup goes, the Irish have played in every one, and have progressed to the knock-out stage each time, but never further than the quarter-finals.

 

 

Prediction: Many regard Ireland as the dark horse of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. If their superstars Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’Connell, Gordan D’Arcy and especially the mighty BOD (Brian O’Driscoll) are on song they are a formidable outfit. Their biggest hurdle will be getting past the pool games in the ‘Group of Death’, and making sure they do not get beaten by both France and Argentina. Once they reach the quarters, they could go all the way through the knock-out stages to the final. Here’s hoping the luck of the Irish is working for them.

 

 

ARGENTINA

• Current IRB ranking – 6th

‘Los Pumas’ are the top team in the Americas, which isn’t bad considering the game is still played on an amateur basis in Argentina. Most of their top players play professionally in the club competitions of France and England, and Argentina is currently the only IRB Tier One nation that has no regular competition, such as the Six Nations and the Tri Nations. Argentina has played in all five of the Rugby World Cups, with their best performance in 1999 when they reached the quarter-finals.

 

 

Rugby has been played in Argentina since 1873 and the team’s nickname – the Pumas – is believed to be the result of an error made by a newsman who followed the team during their first overseas tour to Southern Africa in 1965. Reporters were trying to devise a catchy nickname for the team, and one saw the picture of a jaguar on the UAR crest – he thought it was a puma. The mistake stuck and was eventually adopted by the Argentines themselves (although the UAR crest still depicts a jaguar).

 

 

Prediction: Argentina has the ability to beat anyone on their day. They should comfortably account for Georgia and Namibia in their pool games, and then it will come down to the crunch games against the French and the Irish. If they can upset one of them, then they are in with a good chance to progress to the knock-out stages. If Felipe Contepomi has his kicking boots on they could even go past the quarter-finals.

 

 

GEORGIA

• Current IRB ranking – 17th

Rugby union in the former Soviet state of Georgia is a relatively new sport. There were unsuccessful attempts to introduce the game into Georgia in the 1920s and 1940s. The Georgia Rugby Union was officially founded in 1964, but until the late 1980s it was part of the Soviet Union’s rugby federation.

 

 

The Lelos are currently considered a Tier Three rugby nation. They participate in the European Nations Cup, which they won in 2000-01. Rugby union then took off. The travel and opportunities to land lucrative contracts in France has made rugby union a glamorous pursuit in Georgia. This is a far cry from the early days when, lacking the resources of other major nations, they made scrum machines from old Soviet tractors. The bulk of the national squad is based in France, in the lower divisions.

 

 

Prediction: The Lelos have only played in one World Cup in 2003, and didn’t win a match. This time around, they have a chance to beat Namibia, but I reckon it will be a close game. Unfortunately, I cannot see them beating any of the other teams in their pool.

 

 

NAMIBIA

• Current IRB ranking – 24th

Namibia is the smallest of the minnow nations in the Rugby World Cup 2007. Even though rugby has been played in the country since 1916 when it was introduced by migrants from South Africa, the Namibia Rugby Union was formed in March 1990, when Namibia gained its independence. Prior to this the team played, as ‘South West Africa’, in South Africa’s domestic club competition, the Currie Cup.

 

 

Independence came too late for Namibia to qualify for Rugby World Cup 1991, and they didn’t qualify for the 1995 tournament. However, the team has become regular participants at the Rugby World Cup since their first appearance in 1999. Namibia has a tiny player base and, starved of frequent or strong competition, the team has deteriorated in recent years. Their record in the World Cups has been poor, and they haven’t managed a win.

 

 

Prediction: The Welwitschias, as the Namibians are nicknamed, are famous for their record defeat in the 2003 tournament, when Australia thrashed them 142-0 (ouch!). This led to questions about the presence of the minor teams at the tournament. Their grouping in the ‘Pool of Death’ means they have no chance of progressing through to the quarters, but expect them to give Georgians a run for their money.

–Ian Frentz

 

So what does Ian think about England’s chances? South Africa’s? Team USA? Keep on reading more Rugby World Cup 2007 picks from Ian.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 4:16 pm and is filed under Destinations, Europe, Travel Inspiration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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