Rugby World Cup 2007 Preview
By Ian Birks
July 11 2007
This is not an in-depth critique of each team’s players and tactics; that would be far too time-consuming, not to mention difficult.Instead, this is a slightly padded out schedule of games to allow you to plan your diary, set your video, and book your quality-time in front of the TV, unless, of course, you are planning to be there in person.
The pools for this year's RWC competition look like this: Pool A England, SA, Samoa, USA, Tonga Pool B Australia, Wales Fiji, Canada, Japan Pool C NZ, Scotland, Italy, Romania, Portugal Pool D France, Ireland, Argentina, Georgia, Namibia I would expect pool winners to be South Africa, Australia, NZ and France (with Ireland pushing for contention for the top spot in Pool D) Second places likely to go to England and Wales. The last two quarterfinal places look pretty open with four teams competing for the last two slots; in Pool C, second place could go to Scotland or Italy. These teams obviously know each other quite well now and their game on neutral territory will be a real hum-dinger. Meanwhile, in Pool D both Ireland and Argentina will probably vie for second place behind France. These two don't meet until the last day of the pool stages on September 30, so the injury count and overall fitness will be huge factors for both of these squads. The first weekend of RWC action kicks off with France taking on Argentina. The French, as ever unpredictable will have their hands full against a much improved Argentine side who have recently chalked up wins against France in South America and, of course, England at Twickers. I would expect France to come out on top in this encounter, but it will be a very entertaining 80 minutes, no doubt. The other choice matches from this opening weekend will be the Springboks v Samoa on Sunday, with Wales / Canada worth a watch too. Wins on this, the first day of the tournament, though, should go to South Africa and the men from Wales. The rest of the games should be pretty much a foregone conclusion with wins for the AB's, Australia, England, Scotland and Ireland. 08 September (Sat) France v Argentina (D) in St Denis at 21:00 NZ v Italy (C) in Marseille at13:45 Australia v Japan (B) in Lyon at 15:45 England v USA (A) in Lens at 18:00 09 September (Sun) Wales v Canada (B) in Nantes at 14:00 SA v Samoa (A) in Paris at 16:00 Scotland v Portugal (C) in St Etienne at 18:00 Ireland v Namibia (D) in Bordeaux at 20:00 Games continue mid-week with two games on Tuesday and two on Wednesday. 11 September (Tues) USA v Tonga (A) in Montpellier at 14:00 Argentina v Georgia (D) in Lyon at 20:00 12 September (Wed) Japan v Fiji (B) in Toulouse at18:00 Italy v Romania ( C ) in Marseille at 20:00 There is a tough test for England in their second match of the tournament on Friday 14th as they square up to the Springboks - put this one in the diary. I am putting England down to lose this with SA looking strong in recent games against their southern hemisphere opposition in the 3N. The other big game of the weekend is Wales taking on the Australians in Cardiff. Wales have surprised the Aussies and NZ over recent years, a little home-spun Welsh magic in Cardiff might be all the difference they need. Perhaps a little self-belief will go along way, and besides, it would be good to see the Wallabies RWC campaign wobble a bit. Meanwhile, Sunday sees the South Seas clash between Samoa and Tonga and another SS team, Fiji playing Canada. 14 September (Fri) England v SA (A) in St Denis at 21:00 15 September (Sat) NZ v Portugal ( C ) in Lyon at 13:00 Wales v Australia (B) in Cardiff at15:00 Ireland v Georgia (D) in Bordeaux at 21:00 16 September (Sun) Fiji v Canada (B) in Cardiff at 14:00 Samoa v Tonga (A) in Montpellier at 16:00 France v Namibia (D) in Toulouse at 21:00 The competition gets a bit spread out as players rest up for the final push with one game per day from Tuesday through to Saturday. Scotland and Wales both have home territory advantage, but both should get through their respective games. Set your video, get some beers in for France - Ireland on Friday. Meanwhile, the relatively ‘unknown quantities' at this level, Romania and Portugal should put on a fair show against their 6N opposition, but really should not bother Scotland or Italy too much. Wales / Japan could also be interesting with the Welsh having only had five days to recover from the Aussie match on the 15th. The visiting Japan side may target this game as a potential upset for the home team. 18 September (Tues) Scotland v Romania ( C ) in Edinburgh at 21:00 19 September (Wed) Italy v Portugal ( C ) in Paris at 20:00 20 September (Thurs) Wales v Japan (B) in Cardiff at 21:00 21 September (Fri) France v Ireland (D) in St Denis at 21:00 Saturday's game with SA against Tonga might also be worth a view, but for me, the repeat of the RWC03 encounter between England and Samoa is a must. Australia against Fiji could be interesting, as could Scotland v NZ, especially as this is being played in Edinburgh. If there is to be an upset on Sunday, my money would be on Fiji. 22 September (Sat) SA v Tonga (A) in Lens at 14:00 England v Samoa (A) in Nantes at 16:00 Argentina v Namibia (D) in Marseille at 21:00 23 September (Sun) Australia v Fiji (B) in Montpellier at 14:30 Scotland v NZ ( C ) in Edinburgh at 17:00 There are more mid-week minnows-matches with probably Canada v Japan providing the best of the mid-week entertainment. 25 September (Tues) Canada v Japan (B) in Bordeaux at 18:00 Romania v Portugal ( C ) in Toulouse at 20:00 26 September (Wed) Georgia v Namibia (D) in Lens at 18:00 Samoa v USA (A) in St Etienne at 20:00 And so into the last weekend of pool games and for me probably the most entertaining three days of the tournament so far. Main games to watch: Ø England v Tonga - a real ‘banana skin', especially if England have picked up injuries in the earlier pool games, Ø Wales v Fiji, with the Welsh having to play this one away from their home venue and following a couple of potentially bruising encounters already, this one could be very entertaining, Ø Scotland v Italy, again in France - Italy would love to take this one in the run up to the 6N, Ø Ireland v Argentina, if you like your meat raw and your claret flowing freely. A big finish from either of these two might mean an appearance in the knock-out stages. 28 September (Fri) England v Tonga (A) in Paris at 21:00 29 September (Sat) NZ v Romania ( C ) in Toulouse at 13:00 Australia v Canada (B) in Bordeaux at 15:00 Wales v Fiji (B) in Nantes at 17:00 Scotland v Italy ( C ) in St Etienne at 21:00 30 September (Sun) France v Georgia (D) in Marseille at 15:00 Ireland v Argentina (D) in Paris at 17:00 SA v USA (A) in Montpellier at 20:00 So with the pool stages out of the way we are getting down to the nitty-gritty, let's look at the combinations of first and second placed teams and the possible quarter-final matches. (Before we go any further - I know there are lots of other permutations, but these are, in my considered opinion, the most likely outcomes - if you disagree, fine!) The format of the first round knockout stage is: 06 October (Sat) Winner Pool B Runner Up Pool A = QF1 Winner Pool C Runner Up Pool D = QF2 Winner Pool A Runner Up Pool B = QF3 Winner Pool D Runner Up Pool C = QF4 Again, purely personal point of view, there are two likely outcomes: Scenario 1 - (Shock head-line or what!!) England top Pool A This gives the following possible draw: Australia v South Africa New Zealand v France England v Wales Ireland v Scotland Aus / SA v NZ / Fra England / Wales v Ireland The only one I would tip to get into the semi's is Ireland given this line up. I would not like to call this one, not even to pick the finalists - you are on your own! Scenario 2 - England end as runner up in Pool A Slightly different, but probably easier to call the winners: Australia v England New Zealand v Ireland South Africa v Wales France v Scotland Australia v New Zealand South Africa v France Hmmm...... this is as far as I go - the old crystal ball grows cloudy .............. Of course, I could (and probably will be) completely wrong. The only things for certain at this stage are that the semi-finals will both be played in St. Denis on 13th and 14th October (that's Saturday and Sunday), with the third place play-off on Friday 19th and the grand finale on Saturday 20th October. Who will actually make through? Only time will tell. Just sit back, crack open a beer (or le vin rouge, if you are coming over all continental) and enjoy the show...... All runners and riders, dates, times and venues are below: Date Team 1 Team 2 Pool Venue KO 07 September 2007 France Argentina D St Denis 9:00 PM 08 September 2007 NZ Italy C Marseille 1:45 PM 08 September 2007 Australia Japan B Lyon 3:45 PM 08 September 2007 England USA A Lens 6:00 PM 09 September 2007 Wales Canada B Nantes 2:00 PM 09 September 2007 SA Samoa A Paris 4:00 PM 09 September 2007 Scotland Portugal C St Etienne 6:00 PM 09 September 2007 Ireland Namibia D Bordeaux 8:00 PM 11 September 2007 Argentina Georgia D Lyon 8:00 PM 12 September 2007 USA Tonga A Montpellier 2:00 PM 12 September 2007 Japan Fiji B Toulouse 6:00 PM 12 September 2007 Italy Romania C Marseille 8:00 PM 14 September 2007 England SA A St Denis 9:00 PM 15 September 2007 NZ Portugal C Lyon 1:00 PM 15 September 2007 Wales Australia B Cardiff 3:00 PM 15 September 2007 Ireland Georgia D Bordeaux 9:00 PM 16 September 2007 Fiji Canada B Cardiff 2:00 PM 16 September 2007 Samoa Tonga A Montpellier 4:00 PM 16 September 2007 France Namibia D Toulouse 9:00 PM 18 September 2007 Scotland Romania C Edinburgh 9:00 PM 19 September 2007 Italy Portugal C Paris 8:00 PM 20 September 2007 Wales Japan B Cardiff 9:00 PM 21 September 2007 France Ireland D St Denis 9:00 PM 22 September 2007 SA Tonga A Lens 2:00 PM 22 September 2007 England Samoa A Nantes 4:00 PM 22 September 2007 Argentina Namibia D Marseille 9:00 PM 23 September 2007 Australia Fiji B Montpellier 2:30 PM 23 September 2007 Scotland NZ C Edinburgh 5:00 PM 25 September 2007 Canada Japan B Bordeaux 6:00 PM 25 September 2007 Romania Portugal C Toulouse 8:00 PM 26 September 2007 Georgia Namibia D Lens 6:00 PM 26 September 2007 Samoa USA A St Etienne 8:00 PM 28 September 2007 England Tonga A Paris 9:00 PM 29 September 2007 NZ Romania C Toulouse 1:00 PM 29 September 2007 Australia Canada B Bordeaux 3:00 PM 29 September 2007 Wales Fiji B Nantes 5:00 PM 29 September 2007 Scotland Italy C St Etienne 9:00 PM 30 September 2007 France Georgia D Marseille 3:00 PM 30 September 2007 Ireland Argentina D Paris 5:00 PM 30 September 2007 SA USA A Montpellier 8:00 PM 06 October 2007 W Pool B RU Pool A QF1 Marseille 3:00 PM 06 October 2007 W Pool C RU Pool D QF2 Cardiff 9:00 PM 07 October 2007 W Pool A RU Pool B QF3 Marseille 3:00 PM 07 October 2007 W Pool D RU Pool C QF4 St Denis 9:00 PM 13 October 2007 W QF1 W QF2 SF1 St Denis 9:00 PM 14 October 2007 W QF3 W QF4 SF2 St Denis 9:00 PM 19 October 2007 Play-off 3rd place Paris 9:00 PM 20 October 2007 Final St Denis 9:00 PM