POOL A: Canada (14th), France (4th), Japan (13th), New Zealand (1st), Tonga (15th)
POOL B: Argentina (8th), England (5th), Georgia (16th), Romania (17th), Scotland (9th)
POOL C: Ireland (6th), USA (18th), Russia (19th), Australia (2nd), Italy (11th)
POOL D: Fiji (12th) Namibia (20th), Samoa (10th), South Africa (3rd), Wales (7th)
The world rankings could be affected in the next week or so leading into the Cup as teams are finishing up warm-up matches around the world. For example, USA v Japan today could allow a team to move up a notch in ranking. European clubs are also slated to play this weekend which could alter some of the top rankings, most notably Wales which may be able to climb a few spots.
Regardless of what happens in these tune-up matches, the World Cup Pools are solidified. I will be in New Zealand for 3 weeks and have tickets for as many as 13 matches, all occurring in pool play. Some of the more interesting matches I will be attending are:
POOL D: Wales vs Namibia; Samoa vs Namibia (No, not a fan of Namibia but wanted to catch a Wales match and a Samoa match)
POOL C: USA vs Russia; Australia vs Ireland; USA vs Ireland (U.S.A., U.S.A! Oh and even though I am 1/4 irish I cant help but love the Wallabies!)
POOL B: Argentina vs Scotland (Don't cry for me Argentina, just beat the bloody Scots!)
POOL A: Canada vs Tonga; New Zealand vs Japan; France vs Canada; New Zealand vs France; Tonga vs Japan (really looking forward to New Zealand vs France, maybe its due to my french heritage, but I may just have to sing the Marseillaise! Well, plus I played rugby with a lot of french teammates in Houston)
In between these matches I will be driving all over the North Island of New Zealand taking in the sights and culture. I also will take a ferry over to the South Island for an overnight trip and do some whale watching. I'll leave New Zealand just before the conclusion of pool play.
As a result, I'll rejoin friends and teammates here in the US to watch on TV in the pub as the top 2 teams from each pool advance to the Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and ultimately the Championship Final. The winner will take home the Webb Ellis Cup (see below). Take my poll on the right-hand margin and vote for which club you think will win the Rugby World Cup. It's okay, if you know nothing about rugby, pick your favorite country, or be a front-runner and choose the Home Team and number one ranked All Blacks from New Zealand.
Also, I posted a poll asking who you think will win the USA's first Match: US or Ireland?
Bye for now.
Mike
Personally, I think New Zealand and Australia will be upset by France and Ireland, respectively. In either case, there are going to be some brutal games and memorable plays.
ReplyDeleteHello Mike !!!
ReplyDeleteI'am french and living between Paris (France) and Flagstaff (Az) for my job... I was a french rugby player for 20 years for Paris team (Racing 92) and Bourg en Bresse team (Pro D2, second division in french professional league) and a french rugby coach after.
I hope u will have a very nice trip in NZ, it was a wonderful experience when I went overthere for the last WCR in NZ. For me, if All Blacks will be serious(...), they're really the best actually... Not far, the wallabies. But the Boks, England and Ireland are not regular teams... Sometimes good, sometimes bad ! For France, that's a very good question... French team spent a very bad year this season (very bad 6 nations tournament), big defeat vs australia in november 2010... So many questions about France and french players... It's a new team... But they had a very good preparation (3 month of very hard training), and they won against Ireland in the 2 last test matches in august... But the back lines should be better than now... So !!! Maybe France could be the surprise this year, a very good outsider...
Laurent ESTEBE
Laurent - Thanks for leaving a comment. I was lucky enough to see 4 pool play matches at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. When I lived in Houston I played with several french nationals that were living and working in Houston. They were all very good rugby players and great teammates.
ReplyDeleteMike