The Rugby World Cup kicks off on Friday, 50 days of top-level rugby in which the battle between the two hemispheres is re-staged, in which the South adds eight titles to only one for the North (England in 2003). And taking a look at the server groups chart I would say that the heart of the tournament is in the quarterfinals in the upper part of the draw (groups A and B). That is to say, on the one hand New Zealand and France both give the order, and on the other South Africa and Ireland, in the way you prefer. Because that will cause some final-scented quarterfinals between the four most consistent World Cup candidates. They could be pitted against French and Irish and New Zealand and South African, or Gauls against Bokkes and Kiwis against Hibernians. All potential endings.
But I would venture to say that the significance of the opening match, the dazzling France-New Zealand, is actually relative to zero. It doesn’t matter if you come across South Africa or Ireland, two bombs, because after the quarterfinals, losing is going home and it doesn’t matter who throws you out. Richie McCaw, the only person to have lifted the William Webb Ellis Cup twice, recalled that “to win the World Cup you have to win three finals: quarterfinals, semifinals and the last game”. Axiom as true as that the countries of the northern hemisphere ripen worse after defeat, are more self-destructive and unstable in their digestion. Perhaps for this reason the way in which France and Ireland can fall to New Zealand and South Africa will mark their future in the World Cup. In addition, both European nations demand the title when the World Cup, as those from the southern hemisphere have shown, can only be won “game by game”.
Group A
Beyond the resistance that Italy or Scotland may generate, destined to occupy that third place in their groups that gives the direct ticket to the next World Cup, group A is interested in seeing the competitiveness of a Uruguay whose staff appears as an assistant the future coach of Spain, Pablo Bouza. And Namibia will look again at a World Cup, making the most of how cheap the classification of the African place still comes out. Otherwise It will be interesting to see Capuozzo’s young Italy, just as much or even more so to observe how the XV del Gallo manages that chauvinism in the form of pressure to play forced to win ‘his’ World Cup. New Zealand, for its part, lands with the sheep’s clothing after being beaten in the last preparation test by South Africa (7-35). But the All Blacks are the only team capable of compete in any game context, adapt to the drift of the game and build their victories defending with headers within their five meters or deployed in the open field adding support while putting ‘stickers’ on them.
Group B
Group B, in which Spain should be if they hadn’t thrown us out for the incompetence and fraudulent actions of our leaders, is tougher with a Scotland that also cannot be trusted with Tonga. The ‘Ikale Tahi’ have the reinforcement of illustrious former All Blacks such as Fekitoa or Pitau. It will be that, in the opinion of the writer, one of the matches of the tournament with the ticket for the next World Cup at stake. And the group is completed by a minor Romania that we will observe with reluctance and anger for taking our place. Needless to say the South Africa-Ireland, in which the leadership will be decided, will be another of the zeniths of the World Cup and, without a doubt, the biggest festival of ‘frying pans’ that we will see with two abrasive teams. greens and springboks They will stage, as Heyneke Meyer warned, that “rugby is a collision sport and not contact, like ballroom dancing”.
Group C
If the high side of the frame is tougher, the lower one, with groups C and D, is the most attractive. Group C is especially fun due to the rugby diversity of its components. Australia is a shot in the air, even though it has a generation of young talents, and it must gain cruising speed with the passing of the games. Wales raises even more doubts, with Gatland capitalizing on rival errors and still squeezing four semifinalists from 2011 (Lydiate, Faletau, North and Halfpenny). But the ‘dragons’ come across a Fiji that already eliminated them from the World Cup in the group stage. In addition, the Polynesians come from knocking down England and have gained consistency by putting together the Fijian Drua franchise. And add to all this the red steamroller, that Georgia that dominates the static phases with a pornographic scrum and a devastating maul. Each game will leave things to raise our pints for.
Group D
And in D we can affirm without fear of being wrong that the most boring team will be England. There is more audacity and vertigo in the heelers of Samoa, the wings of Portugal or the Chilean hinge than in the slate of the British. Not to mention himThe Pumas, who for the server are favorites over a chaotic XV de la Rosa. Precisely that feeling, that of not having dominated the matches, is the one that most bothers a guy as methodical as Steve Borthwick, England coach. But also the effervescent Japan appears in the groupwhich Borthwick himself directed in the so-called ‘Brighton Miracle’, Japan’s victory over South Africa in 2015. Therefore It is the group, a priori, more dynamic with a lot of players, a lot offload y a lot of continuity. In this uncorseted context, England will be writing the story of its World Cup, from which no one expects great things, which, when you think about it, is even an asset. With the Pumas being favourites, there could be a quarterfinal between the English and Australians, a colonial derby with a lot of literature, while Argentina meets the dragons. But let’s not rule out the Japanese and much less the Fijians in C.
Smash Rugby, Rugby Champagne, Bomb Squad, Rugby Sapiens…
It will, therefore, be the most open World Cup a priori that we have seen to date. This is what statistics and ranking dictate. Another thing is when the ball flies and the fight begins. There, the southerners manage anxiety better, know how to suffer better and adapt like no one else to the inclemencies of the matches. The Irish suspect that it could be their World Cup with their ‘Smash Rugby’, although they never made it past the quarterfinals. The French have no doubt that they are favorites to win with their ‘Rugby Champagne” even though they never lifted the title even though they have reached the final three times. The “worst All Blacks in history” arrive this time without pressure to deploy their ‘Rugby Sapiens’ while passing favoritism to one South Africa that will torture its rivals with that ‘Bomb Squad’ who comes off the bench to devastate opponents after the breaks. All proposals are respectable, all valid and different. But only one will reach Olympus by lifting the Webb Ellis Cup on October 28. Chill the beers, this is it. Cheers and Rugby!
2023-09-04 10:19:20
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