Aug 18th, 2007 | RWC 2007 | 1 Comment
RWC 2007 Predictions 2 - Pool A
As I noted earlier, this pool has all the suspense of drying paint: South Africa and England will undoubtedly advance to the Quarter Finals. The only question remains as to which team edges out the other when the two rugby powerhouses meet on September 14th in Paris. This is a critical consideration as the loser will most certainly face Australia in the Quarter Finals with the winner taking on Wales. Both England and South Africa can handily defeat Wales, but of the two only South Africa has a real shot at defeating Australia.
After watching both England and South Africa struggle during the last few years, my money is on the Springboks to take England and the pool. Both teams have very similar, very pedestrian playing styles with very little in the way of offensive creativity. Look for the ‘Boks’ to dominate in the set pieces, especially the scrum. On defense, I think South Africa is simply more accustomed to holding the line during repeated attack sequences. While England is desperate to defend their 2003 victory, I think the mounting losses (especially to France last week) will not be enough to overcome South Africa whose players know that this may be the last chance their country has at winning the Rugby World Cup for some years to come as ‘transformation’ extends it’s reach to rugby’s highest level.
So, is there any excitement in the rest of Pool A? Let’s look at the rankings:
- South Africa, 4th place in the IRB World Rankings
- England, 7th place
- Samoa, 11th place
- Tonga, 14th place
- USA, 15th place
The bottom of the pool actually looks like a 3-team race, with a lot of exciting match-ups. The USA-Tonga match should be great with USA Rugby enjoying a good domestic re-building program at the moment and the Tongans simply using their raw speed and power to stay in the top-20. After England-South Africa, USA v. Tonga is perhaps the next best match to watch in this pool. While I think Samoa will defeat the USA handily, Tonga v. Samoa also has a lot of potential for sparks and some exciting ball.
Aug 18th, 2007 | RWC 2007 | 2 Comments
Looks like the Irish captain and inspirational center will miss the first pool match due to a sinus injury. While the team physicians expect him to be ready for the second pool match and certainly for the all-important test against Argentina, a prolonged down-time or repeat-injury would worsen Ireland’s chances of advancing to the Quarter Finals.
Jul 31st, 2007 | Test Rugby, RWC 2007 | 20 Comments
RWC 2007 Predictions 1 - Pool D
Well, hopefully you have all joined a 2007 RWC pool by now because I am really anxious to take your money ☺. However, to be a fair sportsman, let me start my RWC predictions with a quick look at Pool D. I chose to look at Pool D first because the RWC opener is a Pool D match, and this pool has the potential for an upset like Pool C (Pools A and B look pretty predictable, but I digress).
Pool D consists of the following teams:
- France, 3rd place in the IRB World Rankings
- Ireland, 5th place
- Argentina, 6th place
- Georgia, 17th place
- Namibia, 25th place
Let’s start at the bottom. Namibia or ‘the Welwitschias’ is the only the second African nation to ever appear in the RWC after first qualifying for the 1999 competition. The team has never won a RWC match and suffered a 142-0 crushing vs. Australia in the 2003 RWC. Their efforts lately have been sporadic at best, and little doubt remains that they will be at the bottom of Pool D.
The next obvious victim in this pool is Georgia who have only played in one RWC (2003). Although praised at that time for some good play vs. South Africa, it is likely they only win they will get at RWC 2007 will be against Namibia on September 26.
This just leaves Les Bleus (France), Los Pumas (Argentina) and the Irish to square off for the top 2 positions and advance to the Quarter Finals. At home, the two best teams on the planet are France and New Zealand, so I have a hard time believing that Ireland or Argentina will upset the highest ranked team in Europe. Look for France to come out undefeated on top of the Pool.
Now, the barn burner… Ireland or Argentina. They square off as the last and deciding match of the pool. I know there are a lot of Irish fans around the world, but my money is on Argentina.
Historically, Los Pumas have been strong and they showed a lot of spirit in RWC 2003. They tool a bit of a nosedive about 18 months ago (slipping to 9th place) but have since regained their 6th place spot just behind 5th-ranked Ireland. ARG v IRE is always an exciting match with each team taking one win in past RWC clashes; Argentina in 1999, Ireland in 2003. But, after a triumphant defeat of an inexperienced English side at Twickenham in 2006, a European sweep in May/June of Ireland (2 wins in 2 Tests) and Italy this past spring and Scrumhalf Agustin Pichot returning to captain the team in his 4th RWC appearance, I think the South Americans are ready to explode and start their push towards a spot in the finals in Aukland in 2011. Viva La Revolucion!
Jun 26th, 2007 | RWC 2007 | 2 Comments
We all know that New Zealand All Blacks have been the highest rated team in the oval planet since Wilco kicked England into the history books at the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final (well, since July 2004 to be exact).
Add to that their worldwide recognition of the Haka ritual (the subject of my next blog) to ruggers and non-ruggers alike and the All Blacks are favored by many to finally hoist the Webb Ellis Cup which has eluded them since the inception of the Rugby World Cup in 1987.
Contrary to popular belief, I think All Blacks PR machine may have gotten a little ahead of itself. These last few weeks have been very revealing for the All Blacks, despite back-to-back wins over Canada and South Africa. Let’s analyze each of these.
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Jun 25th, 2007 | Test Rugby, RWC 2007 | No Comments
Australian rugby officials are in an uproar over a recent decision by the Springboks to rest their top 21 players for the Tri-Nations test match in Sydney on July 7, 2007. Australia have gone so far as to suggest cancelling the match, though contractual obligations make that unlikely.
New Zealand, the other member of SANZAR (the partnership body of the South African Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and the Australian Rugby Union which jointly owns the rights to the Super 14 and Tri Nations) have joined Australia in their demand for an explanation and, presumably, a change in the roster. New Zealand Rugby Union chairman Jock Hobbs summed up their position very clearly.
“We’re talking about the integrity and meaningfulness of international rugby. It’s critical; it’s the very heart and soul of our game…”
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