The Lineout

This week, as the final round of warm-up matches was poorly covered in terms of broadcasting here in Canada, yours truly didn’t get a chance to watch much of the action.  However, we can now fully devote ourselves to the main event that starts next Friday – the 2015 World Cup!  We’ll be covering all the big matchups between the ten major Northern and Southern Hemisphere teams, the Six Nations and Rugby Championship teams, as well as all of Canada’s games over the next seven weeks.  We’ll obviously be looking at some of the other key match-ups outside of these such as the opening game between Fiji and England and others depending on their relevance to the final pool outcomes.

In the meantime and to get us in the mood it’s time for the Lineout to do a little bit of crystal ball gazing and make its predictions on how the tournament might pan out.  We’ll do this per pool in two ways, the first prediction will be what we think will happen based on what the general consensus is around current form and then have what we call an alternate reality section for each pool should it not pan out as expected.  Let’s face it, is the World Cup after all and in the history of the tournament it has very rarely gone according to script and initial predictions.  That’s what makes it so interesting and the subject of so many heated debates in pubs and bars around the world!

We’ll work our way through the Pools over the next few days so let’s start with Pool A.

Pool A

Australia
England
Fiji
Uruguay
Wales

Australia

Two time World Champions Australia find themselves with the unenviable task of being put in the same pool as England and Wales, while the other two teams who have raised the Webb Ellis cup twice, New Zealand and South Africa have a much easier ride to the knockout stages.  Having said that, there is little doubt that Australia will get out of the pool – the question is more around whether they do it as pool winners or as the runners-up.  You would have to argue that with Wales’ injury list the Pool of Death is not looking so ominous anymore.

Australia start their campaign like England against Fiji.  Their key advantage here is they will have had a chance to watch Fiji play England in the opening game of the tournament, and whereas England may be caught out by any surprises Fiji may have up their sleeve coupled with opening night nerves in front of an expectant home crowd, Australia should have a pretty good idea of what to expect.  As a result while there is a very slim chance that Fiji could cause an upset against hosts England, it is highly unlikely they would be able to repeat it a few days later against a well prepared Australia.  Therefore Australia should easily win their opening game which will put them in good stead to put a brave but probably completely outclassed Uruguayan side to the sword while resting some of their key players.

Then comes the big one against England.  At this stage England should have got over any issues they had against Fiji and should be riding high from a confident win over a depleted Wales.  As a result the pressure will all be on Australia, and I can’t help feeling that they won’t be able to pull it off.  Australian flyhalf Quade Cooper’s nerves, discipline and decision-making under this kind of pressure is often suspect and if he is chosen as the starting number 10 for the Wallabies, then he may well be instrumental in causing them to unravel against a fired up England team.  I was surprised at his selection to begin with by Coach Michael Cheika, and although Cooper does have occasional flashes of pure genius, he often makes even the most basic aspects of rugby look exceptionally difficult and his mistakes have cost the Wallabies too many big games in the past.

Australia will then need a win over Wales to finish their efforts in the pool.  Australia’s track record against Wales in the last four years is impeccable and considering that Wales will be missing two of their key players then although close at times, this match should be a formality for Australia and not much more.  Get the basics right and the game is theirs!  Consequently Australia to win all their pool matches except against England and emerge runners-up.  This is a side barring any Quade Cooper wobbles, that is only going to get better as the tournament progresses and for that reason should get the dark horse label.

England

The infamous Pool of Death of which there is always one at the World Cup, sees host England having it all to do to just get through to the knockout stages.  This could be a blessing in disguise for England as on the one hand unlike all the other teams in the other pools they will have so much high quality game time by the time they get to the crucial knockout stages the momentum they will gain could be unstoppable.  However, the flip side of the same coin is that the potential for injuries to key players and sheer fatigue of having to put in three massive performances before they even get to the knockout stages could run the risk of leaving very little in the tank for the last critical games.

Nevertheless, barring a hiccough against Australia or even worse Fiji on the opening night, England should battle their way to top spot in the pool.  They were successful against the Wallabies at Twickenham the last time the two met in November of last year, and with two good games against Fiji and Wales under their belt they should be in a good position for the pool decider against Australia.  If England perform badly against Fiji on the opening night, as we saw after their poor second performance against France in the warm-up matches last month, they will quickly recover in time for their next match against Wales.  Given Wales’ injury woes I really can’t see them getting the better of England and thus England should be 2 for 2 halfway through the pool stages.  Up against Australia for the pool decider, I am fairly confident that in the battle of the flyhalves, England’s George Ford will outshine and outplay Australia’s Quade Cooper, particularly if Ford is able to put Cooper under pressure.  Therefore England to see off Australia in the most anticipated and exciting game of this pool in an epic battle of wills.

With the pool in the bag, England then get a holiday as they take on Uruguay in their last match before heading to the knockout stages.  Without any disrespect to the Uruguayans who you know will put everything into their last game, England should emerge with a healthy scoreline which should address any points difference issues they may have in getting them past Australia for first place in the pool.

Fiji

One of the teams that everyone always enjoy watching at the World Cup and one you know are capable of causing an upset on the day.  For me this year, I’m predicting the upset will be against Wales and let’s face it they have done it before, with the Welsh wanting to forget the time these two met in the pool stages of the 2007 World Cup.

Having said that, Fiji are unlikely still to get beyond the Pool stages in my opinion.  Discipline has been a problem as has lasting a full 80 minutes at this kind of intensity.  Nevertheless with the likes of Nemani Nadolo in the squad anything is possible.  I am expecting Nadolo to put in some big performances at this year’s World Cup and the Fijian winger to have several Jonah Lomu like moments.  He is one of the world’s most exciting players, and once he has developed a full head of steam almost impossible to stop as he singlehandedly decimates opposition defences.  For this reason and without their star fullback Leigh Halfpenny as the last line of defence for Wales, I am giving Fiji an upset win over the Welsh.  I expect them to put in a credible performance against a nervous England in the tournament’s opening game which should cause several severe heart palpitations amongst English supporters.  However, this should have given the Australians a good idea of what to expect and thus I can’t help feeling that Fiji’s game against Australia could end up being a fairly one-sided affair with the Wallabies walking away the clear winners.

After that Fiji should regroup and cause all kinds of problems for Wales who without fullback Leigh Halfpenny and scrum half Rhys Webb look vulnerable.  Fiji will want to repeat their glorious success of 2007 against the Welsh and end their tournament on a high.  In a game that will go down to the wire, I am sticking my neck out and expecting Fiji to cause one of the big upsets of this year’s World Cup and come out on top in the game against Wales.  Fiji end their campaign against Uruguay with the South Americans probably being subjected to yet another schooling in the art of rugby by the Pacific Islanders.  Fiji will provide us with some of the most memorable moments of the pool stages of the competition but will end up finishing third just ahead of Wales.

Uruguay

Your heart really has to go out to Uruguay.  Ranked 19th in the world, only just ahead of Namibia, they end up in the most unforgiving and punishing pool imaginable.  To say that they have an exceptionally tough and potentially demoralising World Cup ahead of them is the understatement of the year.  They start their campaign with Wales and finish it with England, with Australia and Fiji giving them a solid work over in between.  Their most realistic chance at World Cup glory will be to try to get within a converted try of Fiji, but with the Fijian back line looking fairly terrifying in terms of pace and power, even this will be a monumental challenge for Uruguay who are only playing in their third World Cup.

Uruguay do have some players who have plied their trade in France but overall this is a team that will be hard pressed to match up to the four big sides they are being asked to compete against.  Sadly for Uruguay I can’t help feeling the other four teams will be using them to perfect and fix any aspects of their games that had been found wanting.  As a result while Uruguay will get an enormous amount of respect from opposition teams as well as fans attending the games, they are unlikely to be much more than cannon fodder for Australia, England, Fiji and Wales.  I, like many wish Uruguay all the very best and really hope that for the sake of their players they can dig deep and emerge with honor from all of their four incredibly tough matches.

Wales

Going into this World Cup, I was convinced that Pool A was going to be without any shadow of a doubt an equal three-horse race between Australia, England and Wales.  However, the loss of Welsh fullback LeighHalfpenny and scrum half Rhys Webb for Wales’ World Cup campaign has left them with an enormous challenge to get to the knockout rounds.  With these two key players Wales looked a significant threat but sadly without them, it does look like it will be relatively easy for England and Australia, and perhaps even Fiji to tame the Welsh dragon.

Wales start their campaign with a match against Uruguay which they should win comfortably as well as settling the team and its playing structures after the loss of Halfpenny and Webb.  After that though it all gets intensely more difficult for Wales.  They then have to face a fired up England whose pace and power, as well as depth off the bench is much stronger than what Wales can offer and therefore I can’t see Wales getting a win against the Men in White.  Next up they have Fiji, and if as expected they implode against England, Fiji stand a good chance of getting an upset win over a Welsh side lacking in confidence and at times experience.

Finally, Wales have to take on Australia and if as I predict things have not gone well against the English and Fijians then Wales’ poor track record against Australia in the last four years means that this will most likely be their final game in the 2015 World Cup.  Wales may find another layer of depth over the course of the tournament, but from what we saw of them in the warm-up matches last month, without Halfpenny and Webb they looked poor for the most part.  As one of rugby’s legendary heartlands all of us want to see Wales do well, but I have a horrible feeling that this year’s World Cup may be one they and their supporters will end up wanting to forget as Wales finish their pool in fourth place.

Pool A Alternate Reality

So here’s the bit where everyone starts calling me a lunatic and hurling insults but may cause some entertaining debates.

England get opening night jitters against Fiji in the first game of the tournament.  Fiji capitalise on their weakness and run them close by less than a converted try with England losing one or two players to injury for the rest of the tournament to rub salt into the wound of a narrow England victory (as a side note I am not wishing injury to any of England’s players and like their supporters would feel gutted for them were this to be the case).  Wales then play out of their skins to honor their fallen comrades Halfpenny and Webb, and put in one of the most inspirational performances of the World Cup to beat England by less than a converted try.  England are now on the ropes and need a big score against Australia to ensure they get out of the pool on points difference.  Australia capitalise on England’s vulnerability and England under too much pressure and the weight of expectation of being the tournament host implode against the Wallabies with the Australians emerging with a very healthy win.  Wales beat Fiji but even though they lose to Australia, get past England on points difference.  Australia emerge as pool winners and Wales as runners-up with the hosts England knocked out in the pool stages.

Remember it’s called alternate reality for a reason – now pass me that pint won’t you!

A slight departure from the norm here for the Lineout, as family and work pressures over the last week have left little time to watch as much rugby as I would have liked.  So no match reports from last week and just previews of this weekend’s fixtures with reference obviously to the two games last weekend.

This is a big weekend for the Six Nations countries as they all have one final match before the World Cup starts in a fortnight.  In an epic clash at Twickenham, Ireland line up against England who are desperate to rectify the dismal performance of a fortnight ago in France.  For the vast majority of Irish supporters, a win would be a great confidence booster but perhaps of more importance is emerging from this game with all their star players fit and injury-free.  Meanwhile, Scotland and France do battle in Paris with both sides brimming with confidence after their previous two outings against Italy and England respectively.  Scotland in particular have got better and better with each warm-up game and with both sides fielding very strong line-ups it should be a great contest.  Lastly, Italy take on Wales in Cardiff and will be looking to find some inspiration after a fairly dismal series of warm-up games against Scotland as well as being boosted by the return of their inspirational Captain Sergio Parisse.  Wales on the other hand will be seeking to make a statement as they field essentially the same side that dispatched Ireland last weekend, but for many Welsh supporters the concern will surely be to avoid injury against an often ill-disciplined Italian side.  As a result many supporters have questioned the decision by Welsh Coach Warren Gatland to use so many of his World Cup starting XV players for a game Wales should win comfortably.

Fixtures this weekend

England vs Ireland
Saturday, September 5th
Twickenham

The weekend starts off with a game that many are eagerly anticipating but if you’re like me, also slightly dreading.  While it is important for both sides to get a result, and in many ways probably more so for England, the game has been so hyped up that both coaches seem to be urging their teams to put in the type of performance akin to a Six Nations decider.  While this may produce some great rugby for the spectators I can’t help feeling concerned that if both sides really go hammer and tongs at each other there is a definite danger of an unnecessary injury count which could prove seriously detrimental to both sides’ World Cup chances so close to the start of the global showdown in a fortnight.  Therefore if you’re like me you’ll probably be breathing a lot easier if the medics have little to do on Saturday.

For England there are essentially only a few changes to the side that got eaten alive by the French in Paris a fortnight ago.  The main exception being Brad Barritt coming in at centre and Anthony Watson coming back onto the wing.  The halfback pairing of Ford/Young remains the same and the much vaunted English pack, which was completely overpowered for much of the match against France, remains unchanged with the exception of Ben Morgan coming in at number eight, Geoff Parling replacing Joe Launchbury at lock and James Haskell being replaced by Tom Wood at flanker.  The front row remains unchanged from the game against France, and Coach Stuart Lancaster will be keen to see a real improvement from his front three as they were completely outclassed in the scrum and in the lineouts.  English supporters should be happy to see the return of Ben Morgan at number eight for a game which seems to have so much significance to England’s World Cup preparations.  However, Morgan has only just returned from injury and if this game proves to be as physical as some are predicting there will be concerns in this area regarding Morgan.  For me he has so much more to offer England in the eight jersey than Billy Vunipola and I really hope for his sake  and England’s that he emerges with a clean bill of health from this match.

For Ireland, they are also fielding for all intents and purposes, with one or two key omissions, their starting XV for the World Cup and just like England will be praying that the medics have a quiet afternoon at Twickenham.  The back row sees significant change from the game against Wales, with Simon Zebo replacing first choice fullback Rob Kearney.  This will be the ultimate test for Zebo in terms of his defensive skills.  While brilliant on the counter attack he has often been cited for poor coverage in defence especially in the fullback position and with the likes of Mike Brown, Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph and Johnny May coming at him all afternoon, Zebo is going to have his work cut out for him.  Furthermore England flyhalf George Ford will probably be testing him under the high ball on a regular basis as well.  On the wings Ireland return to the traditional strengths of Tommy Bowe and Dave Kearney, while the centerfield sees the return of Six Nations pair Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne.  Ireland’s world-class halfback pairing of Sexton and Murray returns and despite some rustiness on the part of Sexton in the game against Wales last weekend, by the end of it these two were once again starting to click nicely.  Irish supporters’ biggest concern will be Sexton’s willingness to put his body on the line especially against such an old rival as England and given his crucial importance to Ireland’s World Cup aspirations, an injury to Sexton at this stage in Ireland’s preparations could be catastrophic!

Ireland’s forward pack is to a letter the eight gentlemen we expect to see starting for Ireland in the World Cup and this obviously reflects Ireland’s ambition to attack any weaknesses in England’s pack as evidenced in the game against France in Paris a fortnight ago.  If Ireland keep their discipline, they should be able to push England around up front in much the same way as the French did.  If England have not fixed their problems in the scrum and even more critically their issues in the lineout then this Irish forward pack could make it a very long and frustrating afternoon at Twickenham for the Men in White.

In short, if Ireland play well but conservatively in order to avoid injuries then England should just edge this game in front of a Twickenham crowd who will demand a big performance from the home team in their last outing before the World Cup.  As an Irish supporter, my fear is that Ireland end up going hammer and tongs against England in a match that is ultimately still a sideshow to the main event in a fortnight and pick up a raft of unnecessary injuries.  England will have the same concerns but in front of their home crowd may just have to throw caution to the wind that much more.  It surely will be a fascinating and entertaining game but the question on everyone’s lips is at what cost?  If you’re like me you will be eagerly anticipating the final whistle in this match and as long as a good performance has been put in by all, won’t be overly concerned about the result, particularly if the medics have had a holiday.  Nevertheless, England by 5!

France vs Scotland
Saturday, September 5th
Paris

Another really intriguing contest here.  France have suddenly found some structure at just the right time, while Scotland are getting better with every outing.  This should be a really good game, though much like the game at Twickenham, Scottish and French supporters will be hoping that both sides stay clear of injury.

France looked good against England a fortnight ago in Paris – really good!  If they bring that kind of intensity to the World Cup then once again the tag of dark horse, as it seems to every World Cup, will surely be theirs.  The French forward pack that effectively ate their English counterparts a fortnight ago in Paris for breakfast, lunch and dinner essentially remains unchanged.  However, of the two changes made, Alexandre Flanquart at lock and Thierry Dusatoir at flanker, it is the latter that is the big talking point.  Dusatoir’s return as Captain will only add some extra power and inspiration to an already impressive French forward effort.  The Scots will be very hard pressed to contain this pack of heavyweights, and with Dusatoir and Picamoles being exceptionally effective in the loose it will be a real test of Scotland’s defenses and skills at the breakdown.  The halfback pairing of Frederic Michalak and Sébastien Tillous-Borde remains unchanged and if Michalak maintains his composure and form of a fortnight ago Scotland will have to maintain their discipline at all times.  Meanwhile, I was really impressed with Tillous-Borde in the game against England and he should continue to maintain the intensity generated by France’s forwards as seen a fortnight ago in Paris.  In the backs France remain unchanged from the game against England and expect plenty of fireworks from Huget, Nakaitaci and Fofana, while one man wrecking ball Bastareaud wreaks havoc in centerfield.  Lastly at fullback Scott Spedding was superb against England and adds a very powerful long-range boot to France’s counterattacks and goal kicking duties.

Scotland are fielding a side that seems to take into account the kind of game they are expecting France to play.  The only notable exception for me is Stuart Hogg being left out at fullback.  However, by the same token he is one of Scotland’s wonder weapons for the World Cup and I can understand them wanting to rest him for the main event.  Nevertheless, there is enough physicality in the Scottish back line, particularly in the form of Tim Visser and Matt Scott that they should be able to put up some solid resistance to whatever dashes of French flair they may get to see on Saturday.  The return of both Gray brothers to the forward pack gives Scotland plenty of opportunity to compete at the breakdown and the contest between prop Alasdair Dickinson and his French opposite number Eddy Ben Arous should be one of the game’s most interesting head to heads.  The big talking point in Scotland this week has been the omission from Scotland’s World Cup squad of flanker Blair Cowan who has been instrumental in getting Scotland turnover ball in the last year.  His replacement John Hardie, a controversial choice for many will certainly feel under the spotlight on Saturday, and as good as he is, really will have a point to prove to justify him getting the call up over Cowan – a decision I can’t help feeling Scotland may end up regretting come the World Cup.

In short, this is a capable and competitive Scottish side, but if the French show any of the form of a fortnight ago and with Thierry Dusatoir leading them on, this should be France’s day in Paris.  Barring any key injuries, it should be a fast flowing and potentially exciting game, but France at home should come away the winners by 10 points!

Wales vs Italy
Saturday, September 5th
Cardiff

In short, the only surprising aspect about this game is the fact that Welsh coach Warren Gatland has chosen such a strong side for a game Wales should win comfortably.  This is said in no disrespect to Italy who field a strong team, boosted by the return of their inspirational Captain Sergio Parisse.  However, in their two warm-ups against Scotland, Italy have looked weak and could struggle to clinch anything more than third spot in their pool when the World Cup starts in a fortnight.

Wales on the other hand, looked very good against Ireland last weekend, and although the Irish put them under serious pressure at the end of the game in the rain in Dublin, they were clinically well  organised in defence so that just as in the Six Nations Ireland were ultimately unable to find their way through.  Leigh Halfpenny at fullback is probably one of, if not the best fullbacks in the world right now, and Justin Tipuric at flanker had a devastating game for the Welsh against Ireland.  Tipuric for me has been one of the real standout forwards of these warm-up games along with Iain Henderson of Ireland and Louis Picamoles of France.

Leigh Halfpenny’s game saving move on Sean Cronin’s last gasp crossing of the Welsh line at the death for Ireland, showed the fullback’s vast experience under pressure and helped ensure that Wales would hang on to an edgy win in Dublin.  I doubt he will be required to provide the same amount of heroism this weekend in Cardiff, and as is the case for all the supporters this weekend, the Welsh will be hoping that this last burst of game time before the big event will not result in any injuries to such a key player.  Justin Tipuric having proved his worth ten times over during the course of August, gets the luxury of the weekend off and in his place Sam Warburton will be looking to make sure he gets as much starting time as Tipuric come the middle of September.

As mentioned above for all intents and purposes it is a full strength Welsh side barring a few omissions taking on what is likely to be Italy’s starting XV come the World Cup.  I doubt very much that Italy will be as poor as they have been in August and they are fielding a team with plenty of talent but perhaps a bit short on organisation and finishing.  They will be competitive make no mistake and Captain Sergio Parisse should help them find a lot of the finesse and inspiration that was lacking in their previous two outings, but the Welsh team they are up against simply has too much class and experience and is already tipped as a possible quarter finalist come the World Cup.  Italy will look to put in a strong performance that might serve to make the French nervous should they be unable to repeat their form against England when they take on Scotland this weekend.  Nevertheless Wales should take this match comfortably and barring any injuries to key players, emerge the winners by at least 10 points!

The World Cup warm-up matches continued apace in Europe last weekend, and while some consider these games as nothing more than experimental outings in a “phony war” before the real fireworks start on September 18th at Twickenham, they still provide us with plenty of insight as to what the teams strengths and weaknesses are in their final stages of preparation.  In Paris what many considered to be an almost full strength English first side turned up and were for 70 minutes completely outclassed, particularly in the physical department, by their French counterparts which surely must be a concern for England Coach Stuart Lancaster as so much talk has been around the supposed physical dominance of the English pack.  France on the other hand showed once more that they revel in the underdog tag and are at their most dangerous when everyone has written them off.  They played a superb physical game that resulted in the English being pushed around the park all afternoon. Surprise selection Freddie Michalak at flyhalf showed that when he’s good he’s very good even at this late stage in his career ( a good thing as when he’s awful he unfortunately is truly awful).  Scotland managed to get their first win of the year against a spirited Italian side that showed plenty of enterprise especially in attack but somehow just couldn’t finish off some brilliant moves.  An experimental Scottish side made plenty of errors of their own but in defence they were really good at times especially within their own 22, and when it came to finishing off attacks, looked like the groundwork done on the training pitch in the last few weeks was paying off a bit more than for Italy.  This weekend sees an exciting encounter between Ireland and Wales in Dublin, while Scotland seek to redress the wrongs of their Six Nations defeat to Italy earlier in the year against Italy in Edinburgh.

France vs England
Final Score – France 25/England 20
Paris

Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water in Paris, a pack of French great white sharks are suddenly spotted!  That is surely how for all intents and purposes a starting English first XV must have felt as they dragged their battered and bruised bodies into the dressing room after eighty minutes at the Stade de France.  The old saying write the French off at your peril was very much in evidence on Saturday, even though in England’s defence I hardly think they approached the game with that attitude even though many in the press were.  It was a puzzling performance from England.  After a solid outing against the French last weekend in Twickenham, even though the physicality of the French caused them a few problems, you would have thought with England’s big guns on hand in Paris it should have been a much easier outing for the Men in White.  By contrast this English side looked a shambles for much of the game and were completely outplayed by the French, particularly in the forward battles and at the set pieces.  England’s lineouts were a complete mess and in the scrum, even allowing for the appalling quality of the pitch at the Stade de France, they were pushed around the park all night by the French.  England rallied in the last fifteen minutes and would have taken heart in the fact that they were to score two tries which brought them within less than a converted try.  However, the player who provided much of the catalyst for this turnaround, Danny Cipriani, has been mysteriously dropped from England’s World Cup squad.  England supporters must be surely be scratching their heads and hoping that Stuart Lancaster has some sort of master plan up his sleeve – let’s face it there wasn’t much evidence of one on Saturday in Paris!

The first half showed much more attacking intent from France than we saw last week at Twickenham and furthermore the skills were vastly improved.  France’s work at the breakdown and the speed and vision of their passing especially through the work done by scrum half Sébastien Tillous-Borde were much better.  The first twenty minutes were all about France in attack and they were ripping the English defences to pieces causing the English to give away penalty after penalty which French flyhalf Frederic Michalak would make England pay dearly for.  French winger Yoann Huget almost got a try for France at the 14th minute after scrum-half Tillous-Borde’s brilliant chip kick over a shambolic English defence was just brought down by English fullback Mike Brown.  It was a brilliant piece of work from Brown in an otherwise chaotic period of defensive play by England.  After what seemed like an endless French attack for the last ten minutes of the first half, English flyhalf George Ford would capitalise on a rare French lapse in discipline at the breakdown and a shell-shocked England would retreat to the tunnel trailing 15-6.

The French kept up the pace in the second half and five minutes in Yoann Huget would show that, provided he can keep his discipline, he really is one of the most dangerous wingers in the world in terms of strength and speed.

It was a sublime piece of work, set up by Freddie Michalak, and a display of classic French flair which showed that this team is perhaps just starting to build again at the right time.  France has this incredibly annoying habit in the last ten years of being dismal for long periods of time and then suddenly showing up at the World Cup full of intent.  Get inspirational Captain Thierry Dusatoir back on the pitch and who knows what Les Bleus are capable of come September?

France would continue to dominate the game for much of the second half despite being unable to finish off their attacks with a try.  George Ford although not having the best tactical night with the boot, was not missing when it came to goal kicking duties and was still managing to keep England in touch.  Just before the seventy minute mark, England made a raft of substitutions and the most telling would be replacement back Danny Cipriani coming on.  Some spark was needed to get England’s back line moving and Cipriani to his credit would be instrumental in providing it, making his exclusion from England’s World Cup squad all the more baffling.

Despite the English forward pack still struggling to create the kind of possession which their backs could really feed off, they did enough to allow a brilliantly timed offload from flyhalf George Ford to put Cipriani in space.  Some superb sidestepping from Cipriani got him past two French defenders and all of a sudden England suddenly started playing rugby again.  Another move in which Cipriani would feature heavily five minutes later, had centre Jonathan Joseph showing the form he is capable of and putting England agonizingly close to the French with the Men in Blue leading 25-20 with two minutes to go.  However, France regrouped, held off the English and closed out the game and there would be few who would deny that they thoroughly deserved the win.

For England they can take heart from the fact that they outscored the French by two tries to one and were able to make a truly remarkable comeback in the final ten minutes.  Nevertheless, that is about all they can take from it, and the fact that one of the players instrumental in making that turnaround happen, Danny Cipriani, is not in the World Cup squad must be of concern to English supporters. England will regroup of that there is little doubt, but they really did look exceptionally poor for much of this match and will have to work hard to fix issues like their lineout and scrum if they are to avoid the embarrassment of being knocked out at the pool stages in a World Cup in their own backyard. The defensive lapses shown by England must also surely be of concern. France on the other hand still have a mountain of work to get through before the World Cup starts in earnest, but must feel pretty pleased that this result showed that French flair is alive and well and is being matched to a powerhouse forward platform. Does the term dark horse sound familiar?

Italy vs Scotland
Final Score – Italy 12/Scotland 16
Turin

In a match that certainly wasn’t the spectacle of the one in Paris, both sides showed some enterprising rugby at times with the more experimental Scots just getting the better of a more experienced Italian side. Italy, had some promising moments of attack and if anything Scotland played a more defensive game. However, where Italy were let down was in their finishing when it came time to scoring tries. When Scotland needed it their finishing was just that much better resulting in them getting the only try of the match.

Scotland’s discipline overall was better and the first quarter saw them taking advantage of Italian lapses in discipline at the breakdown when the Scots were on attack. Scottish flyhalf Duncan Weir had an excellent night with the boot and made sure that by the first fifteen minutes Scotland had a comfortable 6-0 lead. However, Italy would not necessarily be outdone in the kicking department. With regular flyhalf Kelly Haimona out of the World Cup for Italy with injury, the baton would pass to Tommaso Allan who I personally feel is a much more reliable choice. He would not disappoint and when it came to kicking duties would score three well taken penalties for the Italians during the course of the evening to always keep them in touch. Also on the kicking front for Italy they can take great confidence from the long-range kicking abilities of centre Gonzalo Garcia who would get Italy’s first points on the board from almost fifty metres out! It was Allan’s accuracy that would keep Italy in touch right up to halftime with both sides tied at 9-9, and some intense Italian pressure on the Scottish lines in the dying minutes of the first half.

The second half was a fairly tedious affair with neither side making any headway, and a fair amount of errors on both sides. Scotland can take heart in the performance of flanker John Hardie who had a great night out, and was instrumental in both a solid Scottish defence as well as getting Scotland some useful ball in the loose. For Italy, they surely must feel enthused about the role played by number eight Samuela Vunisa who put in an immense body of work on Saturday night despite the odd lapse in discipline. Italy must take heart in the fact that they now have two world-class eights in Vunisa and their inspirational Captain Sergio Parisse.

Italy would take the lead at the start of the final quarter through Allan’s boot, but in the final ten minutes Scotland would produce some real quality that the match had often lacked. Although the initial move came from some slightly shambolic work in attack by the Scots, once winger Sean Lamont was able to get the ball out to the right to centre Matt Scott, the Scots were able to show some real finishing power. Scott sped down the right wing and a brilliantly timed offload put replacement scrum half Henry Pyrgos into space by wrongfooting the Italian defence. Weir would convert and that would be it, Scotland to record their first win of the year by 16-12 over the Italians.

I fully expect the return fixture this weekend in Murrayfield to be a much closer affair and hopefully slightly more polished and entertaining. Scotland have shown that they are developing some good depth in these matches to take with them to the World Cup, while Italy have shown that they have some ability in attack if they can get their discipline right. Furthermore the kicking issues Italy thought they might have with the absence of Haimona can surely be put to bed as Allan and Garcia are proving themselves more than capable.

Fixtures this weekend

Ireland vs Wales
Saturday, August 29th
Dublin

For all intents and purposes a starting Irish World Cup XV will line up against a starting Welsh World Cup XV on Saturday in Dublin.  While given the fact that both teams are playing their big guns, injury management will be a key concern and thus could detract from the spectacle of such a contest.  Ireland will be looking to revenge their Six Nations loss to Wales in Cardiff earlier this year as many of the Welshmen who robbed Ireland of a Grand Slam that day will be running onto the pitch in Dublin on Saturday.

In the Irish lineup I am particularly interested to see how the combination of Robbie Henshaw and Luke Fitzgerald work.  Fitzgerald is a seasoned campaigner and was one of the bright sparks in an otherwise sloppy Irish performance against Scotland a fortnight ago.  Robbie Henshaw was one of Ireland’s revelations of their successful Six Nations and the blend of youth and experience will be great to see.  The big talking points are the return of Conor Murray at scrumhalf and Johnny Sexton at flyhalf.  As probably one of the best halfback pairings in world rugby right now they will be hard to outdo but it will be interesting to see how much game time Irish Coach Joe Schmidt gives the injury prone Sexton.  Paul O’Connell, Peter O’Mahony and Jamie Heaslip are the big names in the forwards and I anticipate another big performance from rising Irish star flanker Jordi Murphy.  The Kearney brothers return to the back line along with Keith Earls on the wing.  A solid bench with the mighty Sean O’Brien adding some real weight to it, completes a pretty solid-looking Irish lineup.

For Wales, they are essentially putting their all-stars onto the field for this one, and are keen to prove that the chaotic Welsh performance by Wales B in Cardiff three weeks ago does not detract from Wales’ ability to get out of a daunting pool in the World Cup.  Some of the players who did stand out at the beginning of the month do get a spot on the bench, most notably Hallam Amos in the backs.  However, all the well-known big guns, Halfpenny, North, Biggar and Webb etc wil be putting in big performances for Wales as they seek to make a statement of intent about Wales’ ambitions come September.  For me the standout player of three weeks ago for Wales was Justin Tipuric at flanker and his head to head with Irishman Jordi Murphy should be a great contest.

In short, I am going to stick my neck out and say that in an effort to detract criticism away from Gatland’s performance as Coach three weeks ago, Wales are going to go all out for this one and thus take the game from an Irish side who apart from the wobbles against Scotland are still for the most part on track in terms of their preparations for the World Cup.  I think injury management will be a much bigger factor for Ireland than Wales and thus as long as they get a good performance they will be happy but unlike Wales are probably not going to pursue a win at any cost even though they are playing in front of the Irish faithful.  Ireland can certainly win this game, but are likely to be a little more conservative in their risk taking than Wales, and as a result Wales could just edge this one by three.  Either way definitely one of the more interesting match-ups awaits us in the phony war leading up to the World Cup!

Scotland vs Italy
Saturday, August 29th
Murrayfield

Another experimental Italian side takes on a Scottish team boasting exciting names like Stuart Hogg.  In front of the Murrayfield faithful, I can’t help feeling that barring any surprises this should be a fairly straightforward outing for the Scots.  In the backs, electric Scottish fullback Stuart Hogg should provide sparks and sniping runs by the bucketload while on the wing Tim Visser should continue to impress.  Flyhalf Finn Russell makes a welcome return along with Greg Laidlaw at scrum half.  The forward pack still has a slight experimental nature to it but there is enough firepower there to make life distinctly uncomfortable for the Italians.  Meanwhile the bench boasts the impressive figure of Blair Cowan to cause havoc in the loose in the last half of the game.

For the Italians they will be looking in particular to Samuela Vunisa to build on his growing body of work at number eight and flyhalf Tommaso Allan to really stamp his authority on Italy’s kicking game.  I have no doubt that the two of them will pass the test with flying colors.  Luca Morisi will be a handful in centerfield and the back line will have power and speed in Luke McLean and Leonardo Sarto.  Meanwhile Martin Castrogiovanni and Captain Leonardo Ghiraldini will no doubt cause some real damage in the scum.

However, given Scotland’s increasing improvement under Coach Vern Cotter, I can’t really see Italy getting the better of Scotland this time in front of a home crowd who will want to see Scotland revenge their Six Nations loss.  Therefore a close contest at times with probably a much more entertaining game than the one in Turin, but Scotland by 5!

As expected the All Blacks returned to form with a vengeance after their loss to the Wallabies the week before in the Rugby Championship to make sure that the Bledisloe Cup stays in New Zealand.  Meanwhile, South Africa got some confidence back after a poor start to the year by beating the Pumas at home in Buenos Aires.  In the second round of European World Cup warm-up matches, Ireland looked impressive at times but often struggled to stamp their authority on an exciting and highly motivated Scottish side.  At Twickenham, England got the job done against a feisty France and while their backs easily outclassed anything les Bleus could offer, their forward pack was regularly bossed around by the Men in Blue.  As excitement for the World Cup starts to grow, these preparatory weekends are giving us lots to ponder.

New Zealand vs Australia
Final Score – New Zealand 41/Australia 13
Auckland

As predicted, New Zealand made short work of restoring some pride to the black shirt in Auckland as they managed to keep the Bledisloe Cup in the land of the long white cloud for another year.  In the first quarter New Zealand still looked as if they were lacking some of their traditional sparkle that we have come to expect from them over the last two years.  However, once Aaron Smith got the second try for the All Blacks and also managed to land Australia’s wild card flyhalf Quade Cooper in the sin bin in the process, the New Zealanders quickly stamped their total authority on the match.  All Black fly half Daniel Carter also seemed to find his groove again by the end of the first quarter and was back to his pinpoint accuracy.  It was a masterful performance from New Zealand that showed they are still the team to beat come the start of the World Cup in six weeks time, even if there are some chinks in the armor.

As the game got underway, both sides seemed nervous and struggled to find form.  New Zealand’s opening moves bore a worrying similarity to their efforts of the previous week and far too much ball was being given to Wallaby danger man Israel Folau at fullback who was truly superb under the high ball all night even if he struggled to turn it into points for the Australians.  Australia were to get the opening points through the boot of Quade Cooper, and New Zealand were looking flustered with much of their play being riddled with uncharacteristic errors.  Then this happened!

All Black hooker Dane Coles showed to the world once more that in many ways the All Blacks are so versatile their players can pretty well play any position on the field.  Coles showed the speed and vision of a centre as he found himself in acres of space just past the halfway mark.  He then showed a burst of speed normally associated with some of the fastest wings in the global game right now.  It was shocking defence from the Wallabies but you couldn’t help being in awe of the sheer burst of speed that Dane Coles was able to produce for 30 metres – you just don’t see that normally from a hooker!  More importantly it was a superbly worked move from deep in the New Zealand half with Daniel Carter being the man to ultimately put Dane Coles into the gap that was opened up by a rapidly retreating Wallaby defence.  It was vintage All Blacks!

There was no question that New Zealand took enormous confidence from the Coles try and they started playing with an increasing sense of purpose as the errors were dramatically reduced.  New Zealand ended the first half in charge at 13-6 and Australia were certainly not looking the team they did in Sydney a week ago.

The second half was all about New Zealand and also showed how one event can turn the tide of a whole game.  As anyone who has read this blog in the past knows, I consider Wallaby flyhalf Quade Cooper an enormous liability, and for a game of this stature I was surprised to see him chosen as the starter 10.  In the first half, apart from being useful with the boot at penalty time he had done nothing to convince me that he was Australia’s go to man.  As one of the New Zealand commentators noted, he is one of those players who makes things that should be easy often look incredibly hard.  Six minutes into the second half Nehe Milner-Skudder who had another fantastic game for the All Blacks on the wing, and must surely have cemented a World Cup spot showed some real magic with that step of his ending in a brilliant offload to “everywhere man” scrum half Aaron Smith.  As the Wallaby defence was shredded by Milner-Skudder, a poor last-ditch tackle by Wallaby flyhalf Quade Cooper was rightly deemed high and thus illegal.  It was off to the sin bin for Cooper and the award of a penalty try for New Zealand.  The next ten minutes and with the Wallabies down to 14 men, the All Blacks simply pulled away and left Australia with a mountain to climb.  Quade Cooper sadly for me showed just what a liability he can be to the Wallaby cause in tight matches like these.  He adds little to the cause and whatever flashes of brilliance he may have are usually negated in lapses of discipline and concentration.  In a pool as tight as the one Australia will be in at the World Cup – you have to ask the question – can they really afford this kind of risk?

Milner-Skudder was once again involved in New Zealand’s next try as he made a brilliant kick deep into Wallaby territory and which stayed in touch.  The All Black winger was also the first man to reach his kick enabling New Zealand to retain possession.  New Zealand were able to recycle the ball until it eventually found its way to centre Ma’a Nonu whose blistering form has left many speechless all year.  With ball in hand and a bit of space Nonu has been for all intents and purposes impossible to stop this year and it was more of the same on Saturday night in Auckland.  Building up a comfortable lead with just under 30 minutes to go at 27-6 New Zealand were on fire once more.  Three minutes later it was Conrad Smith, Nonu’s centerfield partner, who would be next to score for New Zealand with Nonu himself being heavily involved in the build-up.  Quade Cooper’s 10 minutes in the sin bin was costing Australia dearly.  With the score now 34-6 for New Zealand and just over 20 minutes to go, it simply doesn’t matter how good your bench is, you are not going to turn that scoreline around against a team like the All Blacks.

For Australia the rest of the match was simply an exercise in damage limitation.  David Pocock would make an impact as he came on in the last quarter at number eight, but the mountain was too high to climb.  Israel Folau at fullback would get some reward for all his stellar work under the high ball all evening by scoring a consolation try for Australia but that was about all the Australians could get excited about.  They were a shadow of the side that put in such an impressive performance a week ago in Sydney and now have some serious soul-searching questions to ask.  For me surely the most important question must centre around putting to rest once and for all the value that Quade Cooper adds to the team.  After this performance you would think that he is out of contention for a plane ticket to England, but Coach Michael Cheika seems to have some deep-rooted loyalty to Cooper that transcends the bounds of logic.  In pool games that are likely to be decided on a penalty kicks, England and Wales must surely be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of Quade Cooper being on the pitch against them.

For New Zealand, they made an emphatic statement to the rest of the world that although not invincible their ability to bounce back and regroup is probably better than any other team in the world right now.  Many argue that an upset just prior to a World Cup is never a bad thing and quickly stamps out complacency in a team used to winning ways.  In New Zealand’s case this is probably just what they needed.  While they may not be the all-conquering juggernaut of the last two years anymore, there is enough skill and depth available to Coach Steve Hansen that New Zealand will still be the team that most of the contenders for this year’s World Cup know they will have to beat if they want to lift the Webb-Ellis trophy on October 31st!

Ireland vs Scotland
Final Score – Ireland 28/Scotland 22
Dublin

Ireland got another win on Saturday in Dublin against a Scottish side that showed plenty of promise while at the same time exposing some key weaknesses in the Irish defence.  Ireland battled at times to stamp their authority on Scotland they way they did against Wales a week earlier.  While there were some brilliant individual performances from Ireland as a whole it was clear that Irish preparations for the World Cup are still very much a work in progress.  Scotland on the other hand although shaky at times looked very much a side that has plenty of talent and is capable of some exciting running rugby, and the likes of David Denton and Tim Visser certainly put their hands up for selection for Scotland’s World Cup side.

The match got off to a shaky start with the first quarter being very much a period of settling the nerves and finding some structure for both sides.  Both teams made a series of errors and the game struggled to get into some sort of rhythm.  As the first quarter came to a close Ireland started to get some decent possession and make some positive inroads into the Scottish 22.  Chris Henry playing at open side flanker would get the first Irish try of the day, as he burrowed into the Scottish defence which had already been spread thin.  Ian Madigan at flyhalf easily converted and the comfortable win everyone had predicted for Ireland looked to be on the cards.

Scotland would strike back with ten minutes left in the first half.  David Denton who had a superb evening at number eight for the Scots would do the initial hard work of crashing through a slightly disorganised Irish defense to allow a series of quick passes that would ultimately see Scottish powerhouse flanker Blair Cowan crash over in the corner.  It was a very well constructed try that demonstrated some excellent passing and speed with ball in hand by Scotland.  The conversion was successful and all of a sudden the scores were level at 7-7 and would remain so going into the halftime break.

Scotland came out for the second half with their tails up, and another example of poor Irish defence five metres from their line saw them allow Scottish scrum half and Captain Henry Pyrgos to squirm his way across the white line for Scotland.  Ireland replied immediately with hooker Sean Cronin crashing over from a driving maul to get Ireland two points clear of the Scots with the successful conversion being made once more by Madigan.  Prior to this though Scotland had continued to cause Ireland all kinds of defensive problems and Simon Zebo playing at fullback for Ireland was lucky to avoid a yellow card. Zebo was seen making a lazy tackle that tripped Scottish winger Tim Visser as the flying Scotsman made yet another run through wrongfooted Irish defenses.  Visser had been outstanding for Scotland all night and along with David Denton and Sean Lamont would continue to test Irish resolve right to the final whistle.  Although Zebo was lucky to avoid a yellow card, apart from this one error it must be said he put in a very good body of work on Saturday night in Dublin and was really superb under the high ball, something which Scotland provided him with in copious amounts.

The Cronin try also saw the arrival of Paul O’Connell onto the field to rapturous applause from the Irish crowd.  Although Sean O’Brien was doing a fine job in the Captain’s role even though he was playing slightly out of position at number eight as opposed to his customary flanker role, there is no doubt that the presence of O’Connell spurred the team on further.  O’Brien though has to be commended for a solid outing as Captain, and can hold his own with O’Connell and Heaslip in the role.  Furthermore, O’Brien has returned to his devastating form as a loose forward for Ireland and put in a huge work rate on Saturday night.

Ireland would get another try soon after through Simon Zebo who apart from a potentially costly lapse in discipline was having a stormer of a night, and was looking much more solid in defence than he has in the past.  Dave Kearney came on as a substitute back and instantly set up Ireland’s try through Simon Zebo, with the fullback showing the type of sudden speed and acceleration that have been his trademarks in the past.

Scotland were not to be outdone though and after yet another display of weak Irish defence and a series of missed tackles, Scottish winger Sean Lamont would build up enough of a head of steam to get centre Peter Horne into space and across the Irish line.  With the successful conversion Scotland were right back in the match and we were set for a nail biting final fifteen minutes as Scotland led 22-21.

Ireland would have the last laugh though with ten minutes to go to close out the game with a piece of sheer pinpoint brilliance from flyhalf Ian Madigan.  Madigan had an absolute standout performance for Ireland all evening and has easily secured his place as the legendary Johnny Sexton’s understudy.  Spotting winger Luke Fitzgerald in space Madigan made the perfect kick to his winger – so accurate was the kick in its timing that Fitzgerald didn’t even have to break stride as he collected it and sprinted unopposed into the corner.  For any young kickers out there aspiring to greatness have a look at this and be inspired.  It was all of a sudden Ireland ahead by 28-22 and ten nerve-wracking minutes left.

Ireland would do enough for the remainder of the match to hang onto their lead despite several determined assaults from the Scots.  Ireland got the win, but in the process got a very healthy wake up call that while they did many things well and showcased some superb individual skills, as a unit they were found lacking at times particularly in defence.  Nevertheless, this is a quality side with some very astute minds in the coaching department and one of the purposes of these games is to discover any weaknesses now rather than at the World Cup.  As a result I don’t imagine that we’ll see the same kind of lapses in Ireland’s next encounter with Wales.  Scotland although the losers in this match can take great heart from their performance.  Much more so than Ireland Scotland are still a work in progress, but we got to see the foundations of some excellent groundwork.  Scotland were competitive in all areas of the game and were often able to match Ireland’s legendary intensity at the breakdown.  While they may not quite have the tactical vision that Ireland has at the moment, under Coach Vern Cotter, Scotland is really starting to show plenty of promise for the future

England vs France
Final Score – England 19/France 14
Twickenham

There were few who expected anything other than England to walk away the winners from this match, but what it showed much like the Ireland game earlier in the day, is that England is showing plenty of promise at an individual level but some aspects of their play as a cohesive unit still need some work.  Once again at this stage in your preparations for the World Cup, the learning is in many ways just as important if not more so than an actual win.  Having said that though England will obviously take great confidence from the win and I expect them to be even more positive this weekend in Paris as the French on home soil will up the intensity another gear or two.  France although unconvincing when it came to finishing off their attacking opportunities can still be pleased that they only lost by less than a converted try and certainly were able to match England for physicality especially in the scrums and lineouts.

Ironically it was France who started the match with more intent than England and they would also be the first to get points on the board.  An initial spirited attack within the first six minutes saw winger Brice Dulin just overcook a chip kick through, but the resulting penalty from an earlier England offence would still allow French scrum half Morgan Parra to give France the first three points of the game.

Five minutes later though it would be England who would set the tone for the rest of the match.  The English backs on Saturday night were exemplary and there can be little for English management to concern themselves with in this department.  The centre pairing of Sam Burgess and Henry Slade were superb.  Slade’s debut was highly impressive and must surely see him as part of England’s plans for the global showdown.  Alex Goode at fullback for me was the epitome of control and vision and would constantly get England out of jail on any French attack.  On the wings, Anthony Watson’s two excellent tries showed him to be a world-class player who will cause defences all kinds of problems come September.  His try at the eleven minute mark showed outstanding pace, strength and footwork, after an absolutely superb initial offload from Slade.

The other question mark going into this match for England in the back line was how Johnny May on the other wing would perform.  In the Six Nations he had shown plenty of individual flair and pace but often seemed out of step with the rest of his back line and looked poor when under pressure defensively.  His performance in this match negated such concerns in an emphatic matter. May’s interplay with the centres and the rest of his back line was seamless and he also showed a much greater awareness in defence and helped nullify much of the fairly inconsistent threat posed by France’s own back line.  Ten minutes after Watson’s first try May would be instrumental in setting up the second as a brilliant run would carve up the French defenses once more leaving Watson free on the right.  An excellent offload from May to Watson at speed and England were ahead 12-3 after only 20 minutes.

Nevertheless at halftime there was still not much in it, with France only trailing by 3 points as England led 13-9.  Although England were dominating the battle of the backs from 10-15, from 1-9 it was a relatively even contest in the forwards.  It was good to see English number eight Ben Morgan back in action after his return from inury, but he was wisely brought off at half time and replaced by Geoff Haskell.  In the time he was on the pitch, Morgan was more than a match for his opposite number Louis Picamoles, but the Frenchman as the game wore on would clearly get the better of Geoff Haskell and as the French pack and especially their scrum wore down the English their age-old problem with discipline once again started to rear its ugly head.  As a result France would stay in touch for the entire match and even score a try through their own forward power.

However, England would come out of the blocks firing once more at the start of the second half and at just over five minutes in winger Johnny May would make his own mark on the game by scoring England’s third try. Fullback Alex Goode, who for me had a superb game, made the perfect punt to May on the wing with no one in front of him and the English winger had a gift of a try – all down to some excellent vision and space management from Goode. As said earlier from 10-15 England worked exceptionally well on Saturday night and I imagine  we are seeing the ultimate first choice line-up with the possible exception of George Ford replacing Owen Farrell at fly half.

The remainder of the match saw France once again start to turn the screw on England in the forward department and the resulting yellow card against debut flanker Calum Clark, would see France build enough pressure to get their only try of the game. Replacement prop Uini Atonio impressed for France in the Six Nations and Saturday night was no exception. He added further power to the French scrum which on several occasions drove the English into the ground. Atonio’s hard work would be rewarded at the beginning of the final quarter as the French developed a superb rolling maul from a lineout to crash the big prop over the line.

England did manage to hold firm for the remaining quarter as the French mounted continuous assaults, but England’s outstanding backs had caused enough damage earlier in the match to just eclipse a disjointed French attack with ball in hand. The French did dominate the English up front for much of the game, but the speed and pace of the English backs had simply given England enough of an edge to get the job done. If France can fix their back line and England solidify the work of their forward pack then we should be in for one hell of a match this Saturday in Paris!

Argentina vs South Africa
Final Score – Argentina 12/South Africa 26
Buenos Aires

South Africa finally managed to end their build up to this year’s World Cup on a high note while Argentina did many things well on Saturday night in Buenos Aires, but without some of the key figures from the previous week’s victory in South Africa, they struggled at times to assert the same kind of dominance.

To say that South Africa needed this win was an understatement. Argentina were also keen to send a clear message that they mean business at next month’s global showdown but the focus seemed to be more on team development and one last look at possible combinations than a win at any cost. Injuries to certain key players and the last-minute withdrawal of prop Marcos Ayerza and Juan Martin Hernandez who had played such a vital role in the victory over the Springboks in Durban were also going to make it hard for the Pumas to really match the Springboks in intensity – especially a South African side looking for their first win of the year (sorry I am afraid I don’t really regard a win against a ragtag World XV as overly relevant).

Let’s be honest it wasn’t the most attractive game to watch, and I am really not sure which bright spark came up with the idea of having the Springboks play in white. The lighting at the field in the late afternoon was not the best and from a viewing perspective it often got a bit confusing as to who was who at times. Nevertheless, the Springboks although not exactly spectacular showed some composure and real effort at getting the basics right, with the cool head under pressure of flyhalf Patrick Lambie making a major contribution to this aspect of South Africa’s gameplay on the day. The Pumas for the first half of the game struggled to find any kind of rhythm or creativity, despite flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez making a much-needed return to form.

The first quarter of the game was a fairly torrid affair with South Africa’s better discipline at the breakdown ensuring that Patrick Lambie would get the visitors ahead 6-3. The Pumas had started the game with some real flair as the hat trick hero of the previous week, Juan Imhoff almost scored for the Pumas in the opening minutes but a brilliant cover tackle by Eben Etzebeth, who once again was immense in this game, ensured that would be the closest the Pumas would get to crossing the white line all night. Sustained South African pressure deep in the Argentinian half would see Habana completely unmarked and an easy try. Ten minutes from the end of the first half, and after some terrific passing from the South Africans, winger Lwazi Mvovo would show some real strength and pace in shrugging off three defenders to then make one last epic reach for the try line as he was brought to ground, getting South Africa their second try of the match. Lambie was successful once again with the conversion and the Springboks ended the half comfortably in charge at 20-3.

The second half lacked much of the excitement of the first. Argentina’s replacement scrum half Tomas Cubelli made an immediate impact when he came on the field and the intensity and accuracy of Argentina’s attacks increased dramatically, however the South African defence was rock solid and Lambie was always there to clear the lines. Argentina were able to narrow the deficit through the boot of a much improved Nicolas Sanchez, but South Africa perhaps aware of the fact that whenever they have had a comfortable lead this year they have thrown it away in the last quarter seemed very focused on a tight defensive game. As a result no tries were to be had in the second half but some much-needed solidity and confidence was restored to South Africa’s defensive gameplay.

In short, they got the win they needed and while it may not have been the most stylish of displays the emphasis seemed more on getting the basics right and in that department the Springboks were very effective, albeit against a weakened Pumas side. Had Argentina had players like Ayerza, Hernandez and Bosch on the field it may have been a very different game. What was most noticeable for me in this game was the overall defensive effort by South Africa was so strong that it rarely needed the brilliance of their exciting centerfield pairing of De Allende and Kriel to really come to the fore, and as a result these two were fairly quiet for much of the match with De Allende almost being invisible at times. Furthermore many had raised concerns over the selection of Zane Kirshner at fullback, but to be honest while he didn’t do anything particularly spectacular, he wasn’t really tested either so it’s hard to judge what impact he did or didn’t have on the game’s outcome.

So in short, Argentina have plenty to work with going into the World Cup, while South Africa have plenty of options but still seem unsure as to what their final team will look like. Argentina seem to have more answers than questions, while South Africa’s coaching team still seem to be staring at a desk of cluttered but exciting blueprints. While I think it’s fairly clear what Argentina’s World Cup squad will look like for most of us it’s still pretty much a matter of crystal ball gazing when it comes to South Africa. If you don’t like mystery and are a Springbok supporter then the next week or so, till Coach Heyneke Meyer announces his World Cup squad, will provide plenty of heated debates!

Fixtures this weekend

Italy vs Scotland
Saturday, August 22nd
Turin

After an impressive display against Ireland last weekend, Scotland take their World Cup warm up roadshow to northern Italy to take on the Azurri.  Scotland looks set to continue to experiment with a raft of new talent that is coming through the ranks and which Scottish Coach Vern Cotter rightly sees as the future of Scottish rugby.  Having said that though there are enough names there that should lend sufficient experience to make this a relatively straightforward proposition for Scotland particularly if they display some of the motivation they showed in Dublin last weekend.  Italy as a result of not having the player depth that Scotland has, have a slightly more traditional side running onto the field for them in Turin.

Scotland will boast the experience of Sean Lamont, alongside the proven talents of Duncan Weir and Richie Gray and Alasdair Strokosch in the forwards.  Otherwise, there are plenty of new combinations being put forward, and this match in tandem with last week’s outing should provide Cotter with a good idea of what his final World Cup selection should look like.  Few see this as an opportunity for Scotland to avenge the last-minute loss to the Italians in this year’s Six Nations fixture which ended up handing Scotland the wooden spoon and which seemed poor recompense for all the promise they showed during the tournament.  However, there is little doubt that Scotland will aim to set the record straight this time around.  Although there are 11 new faces in this squad compared to that which went up against Ireland last weekend, I can’t help feeling that as long as they don’t get overpowered in the forward battles and keep their discipline, Scotland has more than enough assets to come out on top.

For the Italians while they are packing a more star-studded line-up than the Scots, they are without key players such as talismanic Captain and one of the world’s best number eights, Sergio Parisse.  Nevertheless the team to run out onto the pitch in Turin still boasts a more traditional feel to it than Scotland’s offering.  In the backs there are relatively few surprises and plenty of quality providing they can cut out the handling errors we see all too often from Italy.  Andrea Masi, Leonardo Sarto,Tommaso Benvenuti and Giovambattista Venditti are proven commodities and should provide this new look Scottish side plenty of problems in defence. First choice fly half for Italy, Kelly Haimona is still out with injury and is replaced by Tomasso Allan which in my mind is a real blessing for Italy as opposed to a hindrance. I have never actually seen Haimona play a solid game for Italy and am always puzzled by Italian Coach Jacques Brunel’s unshakeable faith in him. Provided he keeps his head, Allan may not be flash but he is slightly more reliable. The Italian forward pack has a much more experimental feel to it, but the bench has the veteran power of Ghiraldini, Castrogiovanni, Bortolami and Bergamasco all waiting to come to the rescue should things all go horribly wrong in that department.

It will be tight and close at times, but I can’t help feeling that under Scottish Coach Vern Cotter, Scotland as experimental as they will be on Saturday have that much more motivation and fizz than Italy and as a result while learning some very valuable lessons for the new boys, should come out on top by 10 points. Italy will be competitive make no mistake but after four months off are unlikely to come out of the blocks firing on the first attempt.

France vs England
Saturday, August 22nd
Paris

The big talking point is can France compete with their equivalent of Quade Cooper starting at flyhalf in the form of Freddie Michalak? French coach Philippe Saint-Andre seems to be battling his way through the coaching wilderness at the moment along with Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer and Welsh coach Warren Gatland, despite all three coaches having a wealth of quality players at their disposal. In my opinion as misguided as it may be I can’t feeling that the answer to the above talking point is no. Michalak like Cooper has the odd flash of pure genius but they seem to be so few and far between that they can hardly be called consistent game winning qualities. The only thing Michalak has going for him over Cooper is that he doesn’t seem to suffer the disciplinary problems of his Australian counterpart.

However, France are not playing Australia on Saturday so let us return to the point. Instead they are playing an exceptionally solid-looking England team that many are arguing is what England’s starting XV will be come the World Cup in four weeks time with one or two exceptions. Captain Chris Robshaw returns as open side flanker alongside James Haskell. If I was an English supporter I would have preferred to see Ben Morgan at least get a bench spot to replace Billy Vunipola at number eight. For me Morgan is very much the future of this position for England whereas I can’t help feeling that Vunipola is slightly past his sell by date – so it will be interesting to see how well he stakes his claim to England’s starting 8 shirt in Paris.

The superhuman Courtney Lawes returns to the lock position and provided Tom Youngs can deliver good lineout ball then England’s hiccoughs at the lineout of last week should be consigned to history. Dan Cole and Joe Marler should help make England more competitive against the French scrum than they were last weekend. Lastly the backs see the return of George Ford at fly half who I found so impressive in England’s Six Nations campaign this year, barring the rumble in Dublin. Mike Brown will be competing hard with Alex Goode for the starting fullback shirt, and I have to confess although Brown has more speed and pace with ball in hand than Goode, Goode has for me a better tactical vision of the game. Johnny May gets another chance to impress on the wing alongside Jack Nowell who also had a useful Six Nations. The centre pairing of the electric Jonathan Joseph with Luther Burrell should provide plenty of fizz and excitement, while Ben Youngs returns at scrum half. There seem to be many questions around who England should ultimately play at scrum half come the World Cup, but I can’t help feeling that by the end of the Six Nations after a shaky start, Youngs was hitting all the right notes and was one of England’s most improved players so it will be interesting to see if he can carry that forward going into the World Cup.

France are packing a very solid forward pack, with equally capable replacements for them on the bench. I am particularly interested to see the performance of Benny Arous at prop as for me he was one of the revelations of France’s Six Nations campaign this year. The centre pairing packs both punch in the form of one man wrecking ball Mathieu Bastareaud and speedster Wesley Fofana who had a significant return to form this year. Scott Spedding at fullback is a powerful runner and showed some impressive touches with the ball last weekend. Noa Nakaitaci can be lethal on the wing when he gets the basics right. On the opposite wing Yoan Huget has been known to cause England problems in the past but should be easily contained by the prowess England will be boasting in their back line on Saturday in Paris, as well as Huget having a reputation for blowing hot and cold and losing his discipline. Ultimately France will struggle in the halfback battle as Ford should easily get the better of Michalak and I can’t see his replacement Rory Kockott providing much of a rescue.

It should be a slightly more exciting display from France than last week, but England has too much proven class and ultimately this game is theirs for the taking particularly if George Ford can cause Freddie Michalak to unravel. Therefore I am giving this one to England by 12 points unless France have one of their billboard busting one hit wonder days!

This past weekend, Ireland got their journey to next month’s World Cup underway with an emphatic win over a Welsh side that was not much more than an interesting experiment.  This weekend preparations for the World Cup continue in the Northern Hemisphere with Ireland plying their trade against Scotland and England take on France.  In the Southern Hemisphere a Bledisloe Cup match takes place between the Wallabies and All Blacks in New Zealand.  Meanwhile in Argentina South Africa will attempt to get their first win of the year against a Pumas side riding high from their first ever win against the Springboks in South Africa a week earlier.  As teams make their final experiments with different combinations it  may mean some of the matches may not be of top drawer quality, but there should be no lack of intensity as players look to cement their places in their respective World Cup squads.  Finally in New Zealand a Bledisloe Cup encounter always promises plenty of sparks and excitement.

Wales vs Ireland
Final Score – Wales 21/Ireland 35
Cardiff

What this game showed more than anything is that going into a World Cup Ireland has plenty of depth while Wales are really struggling to find some. The only downside for Ireland was the injury to Tommy O’Donnell right at the end of the game, considering the barnstormer performance he put in. Andrew Trimble also made a significant return to form for Ireland and his tackle on Eli Williams set up Keith Earls for the try of the game. As a result Ireland surely must be hoping as is expected that the injury Trimble picked up is only minor and he will be available for the World Cup. Unfortunately for O’Donnell though his World Cup hopes are over, but Ireland can still rest easy in the knowledge that although he would have been an enormous asset there is still enough depth in Ireland to make up for his absence.

Ireland completely dominated the first half and looked like a well-drilled machine, with very few errors while Wales struggled to find any kind of composure. Ireland should have had a try in the first ten minutes after a brilliant run from centre Keith Earls who was making his first return to an Irish shirt in two years. Perhaps rustiness or even a bit of over-complication caused Earls to squander an opportunity that was wide open. Even though he had space in front of him Earls chose to pass the ball back inside to Irish fly half Paddy Jackson but it came short of the mark as Jackson lost control of it and Wales regained possession.

However, Ireland were camped right back in the Welsh 22 in no time at all and 12 minutes in Irish Captain and number eight, Jamie Heaslip, cantered over for the simplest of tries. Heaslip had a stellar game as Captain and as he always does provided solid leadership to Ireland.  It is clear that going into this World Cup Heaslip is a great deputy for regular Irish Captain Paul O’Connell – once more the depth for Ireland shines through! Ireland would strike again at the end of the first quarter through Darren Cave who was making the most of his centerfield pairing with Keith Earls who was getting better and better as the game wore on. Off the back of the scrum in the Welsh 22, Irish scrum half Eoin Reddan spotted Darren Cave in front of a giant hole in the Welsh defence and it was another easy seven pointer for Ireland.

At the thirty minute mark, Irish winger Andrew Trimble showed just how devastating in attack he can be as he read a risky Welsh pass to winger Eli Williams. Trimble made a fantastic tackle on Williams which popped the ball into the air for Keith Earls to snap up and take off unopposed to sprint down the field and pick up another easy five pointer for the Irish. Enjoy the magic moment below.

Andrew Trimble almost picked up his own try moments later as another brilliant intercept from Irish fullback Felix Jones put Trimble in space on the right wing and he was off sprinting for the try line only to be denied inches short by Welsh captain Scott Williams in an heroic last-ditch tackle.

Wales would restore some pride in the last five minutes of the first half from some sustained pressure. Welsh flanker Justin Tipuric who was one of the few Welsh players who justified his selection all night, linked up with hooker Richard Hibbard off a lineout from deep in the Irish 22, and Hibbard would profit from a rare gap in the Irish defence to get Wales’ first points of the match. Wales would almost get another five pointer in the dying seconds of the half as if to atone for his earlier mistake Welsh winger Eli Williams picked up a brilliant chip kick through from his fullback Hallam Amos. However Williams slightly acrobatic manoeuvres to get the ball down ended up with him losing control of the ball in the grounding. Half time and Wales had a mountain to climb trailing Ireland 25-7.

Ireland started the second half in much the same vein as they started the first and despite some more spirited play from Wales, Ireland were still clearly in charge and the pressure once more forced Wales into defensive mistakes as Welsh flanker Ross Moriarty was seen putting in a swinging arm against Irish winger Simon Zebo. The resulting yellow card left Wales a man short and the Irish capitalised. The victim of the offence Simon Zebo would ultimately benefit as he would be on the receiving end of some great work at the ruck inches from the Welsh try line to get yet another easy five pointer for the Irish.

Zebo would strike again as he would float a superb pass out to Felix Jones enabling the fullback to get another five Irish points on the board. The pace at which Ireland set up this last try was superlative with all their players being instrumental in creating it. They were sharp, clinical and looked as if they had been rehearsing such plays in their sleep. There was no wayward kicking, just a simple case of work the ball through the phases and keep possession, something all teams going into this year’s World Cup would do well to learn from.

Going into the last quarter sitting on a comfortable 35-7 lead, I felt Ireland took their foot off the gas slightly and were the unlucky recipient of a yellow card against replacement flanker Chris Henry. The Welsh made the most of having a one man advantage over the Irish for the next ten minutes. There was some solid play by Wales but it was that man Justin Tipuric who was easily the Welsh player of the match who would do all the work to get Wales’ try. Tipuric set it up and then finished off as his initial break got the ball moving through the Welsh back line to then find himself again at the end of the move. A superb effort and Tipuric really was outstanding even though it was too little too late with Ireland still comfortably in charge 35-14 and just over ten minutes to go.

Welsh winger Alex Cuthbert would snatch a consolation try for Wales in the dying seconds of the game but it had been Ireland’s day from start to finish. Ireland were the model of efficiency and a well executed game plan, while Wales were desperately searching for some sort of structure. As mentioned above the depth in Ireland at the moment is surely putting a song in Irish supporters hearts. They are perhaps not the most flash team out there but they are doing the basics perhaps better than anyone else right now and as a result building a very solid platform for the World Cup. They have depth and their combinations of different players are working well, with players who haven’t been in an Irish jersey for quite a while such as Keith Earls showing a very promising return to form. Wales will walk away form this match wondering what they can learn and if there is some depth to be found in such a short space of time. There were some individual standout performances but to be honest apart from Justin Tipuric, Wales didn’t have much to get excited about in this match and must surely be scratching their heads as to how they can salvage some pride in Dublin in a fortnight’s time. Unless Wales are to field their first choice XV in Dublin it could be another very painful day for the Welsh dragon.

Fixtures this weekend

New Zealand vs Australia
Saturday, August 15th
Auckland

This is not really a World Cup warm-up match per se, as it is for these two rivals the much more important matter of determining who gets to keep the Bledisloe Cup this year. However, as these teams’ last outings in the Southern Hemisphere before they head North for the World Cup, and with Australia having comprehensively won the Rugby Championship in Sydney the week before, it still can be seen as their last hurrah and chance to set up for the global showdown next month.

Given their performance the week before, I was all set to give this match to Australia especially when I saw the bench for New Zealand’s selections for this game. However, on seeing Australia’s selection for their starting XV I have since revised my opinion and am handing it to New Zealand albeit by a relatively small margin. Like many I had cautioned that it would be unlikely that New Zealand would take their loss of the Rugby Championship to Australia lying down and would quickly regroup for this Bledisloe Cup encounter at home in front of an unforgiving New Zealand crowd. Therefore, I was surprised that All Black coach Steve Hansen, although picking a solid fifteen didn’t quite pick his strongest bench. For example where is Lima Sopoaga who had such a stellar debut in the cauldron of Ellis Park against the Springboks for a game New Zealand really needs to win? This is especially relevant given the fact that Daniel Carter at number ten is not quite hitting his strides at the moment. Nevertheless this is an All Black starting XV that should get most opposition sides more than just a little nervous.

For starters let’s look at the backs. Ben Smith is unquestionably the best fullback in the world right now, and is a more inventive player than his opposite Australian number Israel Folau. Nehe Milner-Skudder did not disappoint on his test debut last weekend and expect more of the same. Although the world’s most experienced centerfield pairing in the shape of Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu came short in South Africa, on home soil I doubt you will see them slip up again. My only real question for the All Blacks in their back line selection centres around winger Julian Savea. Sure he is one of the best wingers around but for me he didn’t really shine in the Rugby Championship and similar to Australian all-star Israel Folau often proved very easy to read and deprive of ball. If he is allowed to weave his magic he is devastating but of late has been too easily shutdown and hence for much of the matches he has played this year in an All Black jersey been relatively invisible.

New Zealand’s halfback pairing has heaps of potential if they realise it. Daniel Carter although impressive in the latter half of the Crusaders Super Rugby campaign has yet to really shine in an All Black jersey this year. Aaron Smith is probably the best scrum half in the world right now, but even he seemed to struggle at times last week against Australia. How these two fire or more importantly don’t fire will be critical to New Zealand’s chances against Australia in Auckland on Saturday night.

The All Blacks forwards should for the most part be able to match anything the Wallabies can throw at them, but the selection of Victor Vito and Tony Woodcock are slightly surprising and should give their Australian counterparts some grounds for optimism come set piece time.

For Australia, I feel they are fielding an exceptionally strong side, but once I saw Quade Cooper starting at number ten, I felt that Wallaby coach Michael Cheika was suddenly taking a very unnecessary gamble. Anyone who has read this site in the past knows that I have a pretty low opinion of Quade Cooper and really struggle to see what value he brings to any Wallaby side. Arrogant, indecisive and poorly disciplined he is often more of a liability to any team he plays on than an asset. In his few appearance this year in a Wallaby shirt he has done very little to impress. While Bernard Foley has had trouble in his last two outings for the Wallabies this year in maintaining the composure and consistency needed at this level, I really do not believe that Cooper is the player to address the problem.

The choice by the Wallabies to start Wycliff Palu at number eight instead of David Pocock raises further eyebrows. Although playing the eighth man is not Pocock’s normal position he has fitted in to the role and works well with Michael Hooper in the number 7 flanker position. For such a critical game why change something that clearly works? Other than that though it’s a solid Wallaby outfit with Nic White at scrum half capitalising on his match winning form of the previous week along with Matt Toomua in the centre. There are questions around Henry Speight’s consistency on the wing but apart from that it’s a very solid outfit with a strong bench waiting to come to the rescue should things start to come unstuck.

The big question on the day is what impact will Quade Cooper have on the Wallabies chances? New Zealand will be up for this one and if their starting selection can get Cooper flustered and making the mistakes he traditionally does under pressure then it should allow New Zealand to build a daunting early lead. If the All Blacks can build a commanding lead in the first three-quarters of the match then it will be too much for the Wallabies bench to come to the rescue. If however, Australia can stay in the hunt till the three-quarter mark then I would argue their bench has the edge over New Zealand’s and the game is theirs for the taking. However, given my complete lack of faith in Quade Cooper and the damage he is capable of inflicting on the Wallaby cause I have to give this one to the All Blacks by 5 points!

Ireland vs Scotland
Saturday, August 15th
Dublin

This fixture is probably the easiest of the four this weekend to predict. I do not mean to do Scottish rugby, which is having a resurgence of late, any disservice but the quality of the Irish side that they are going up against on Saturday in Dublin simply has too much pedigree. Scotland are making no bones about using this match to find some depth and as a result I can’t help feeling that their expectations of an upset are pretty remote.

Ireland are now faced with the luxury that they have enough depth to field two strong starting XVs, neither of which include the game-changing Johnny Sexton. The world-class Irish flyhalf will still be critical to the big games come the World Cup, but Ireland must feel comfortable knowing that at the pool stages with the exception of the game against France, they should have a comfortable ride to the knockout stages.

Sean O’Brien following his return to his combative best in the Six Nations takes on the Captaincy role for Ireland in this match. The Irish back line for this game for the most part is a first XV choice. The only slight difference here is the choice of Simon Zebo at fullback which I would argue is debatable especially as I feel that in a game which Ireland should win easily Felix Jones should have been given another chance in this position. The mouth-watering prospect of Tommy Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald on the wings, is more than enough to punch big holes in Scottish defences when backed up by Gordon D’Arcy at centre. Like most Irish supporters, the jury is still out for me on Jared Payne but he did enough in Ireland’s successful Six Nations campaign to merit his selection.

There is more than enough first choice firepower in the forwards with the likes of Sean O’Brien, DevinToner, Sean Cronin and Mike Ross to allow Ireland to easily dominate the set pieces. Add to that the likes of Paul O’Connell, Jordi Murphy and Richardt Strauss waiting on the bench and this is a pretty fearsome looking Irish outfit.

For Scotland they look to give some new players a chance to put their hands up for World Cup selection, though many Scottish fans must surely be saddened to see no place for star fullback Stuart Hogg and flyhalf Finn Russell. The back line does boast some pacy talent in the shape of Sean Lamont and Tim Visser. In the forwards David Denton at number eight had moments of brilliance in the Six Nations, and flanker Blair Cowan was outstanding in singlehandedly getting Scotland turnover ball. To be honest however, that’s about it for Scotland unless we get some revelations off the bench as the game wears on. Ross Ford, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne and Duncan Weir are all exciting Scottish prospects but overall this Scottish team is simply not packing the same weight as the Irish offering. Therefore and with no disrespect to the Scots I am left with little choice but to hand this one to Ireland by at least 15 points!

England vs France
Saturday, August 15th
Twickenham

At the time of writing the French team had not been announced for this fixture so I have to admit that I am crystal ball gazing on this one. Consequently I will simply have to call it solely on form. Therefore at home at Twickenham and in front of an expectant English crowd, England should walk away with this comfortably.

Having said that there are two key variables here. The first is, it’s a French team – enough said. They can’t stay awful forever and have an annoying habit of suddenly turning up for the World Cup just as everyone has written them off. Secondly it’s opening night nerves for England as they start their journey to the World Cup. France are unlikely to be awful as they showed with some panache the last time they played at Twickenham on the final day of the Six Nations. England do suffer from the pressure to perform and the French will be keenly aware of this. Nevertheless it’s a World Cup in England, and the Men in White although they might struggle at times will want to make a statement in no uncertain terms on Saturday night.

For me the biggest news in this fixture is that France will be playing without inspirational Captain Thierry Dusatoir, which leads me to believe it is too much of tall order for them to do anything more than cause the English a few problems at times. England’s starting XV boasts some impressive names, among them Anthony Watson on the wing and for me in particular Ben Morgan at number eight. I often felt that Morgan was one of England’s star players in their troubled November Test series and it is good to see him being given the chance to shine again. If you look at England’s forward pack as a whole there is little doubt that they should easily be able to get the measure of anything the French can throw at them. Meanwhile England’s bench looks solid enough to support any battle of attrition either in the forwards or backs.

Probably one of the biggest questions in English supporters minds is how Johnny May will perform on the wing. When he hits his straps he is one of the best but had a very poor Six Nations campaign particularly in defence. Lastly Owen Farrell at number 10 will be pushing hard to knock George Ford out of the first choice flyhalf position. I personally think Ford is the more reliable of the two and it will be interesting seeing how Farrell copes with the pressure on Saturday night. Many have said that Farrell has the X-factor that Ford lacks, but if you look at the latter’s performance in this year’s Six Nations as far as I am concerned he showed plenty of ability to surprise opposition defences.

I have little doubt that France will be competitive and may even surprise England at times especially if England suffer from first game of the season nerves. However, England are playing at home with everything to prove and some quality players in a side that although experimental packs plenty of firepower. As a result barring any French surprises I am giving England this one by at least ten points!

Argentina vs South Africa
Saturday, August 15th
Buenos Aires

After last weekend’s historic win by the Pumas over South Africa there can be little doubt that this is one of the most anticipated fixtures of the weekend. South Africa need to find some salvation in a year that has been disappointing to say the least building up to a World Cup. Argentina meanwhile are just starting to hit all the right notes ahead of the global showpiece.

So what can we expect this Saturday in Buenos Aires? Argentina are fielding an exceptionally strong side and for me the only potentially weak link in the chain is the choice of Nicolas Sanchez at flyhalf. Sanchez had a poor Rugby Championship and was not part of the superb Pumas performance last weekend in South Africa. When he plays well he is a sound flyhalf and certainly impressed for Argentina in last year’s Rugby Championship. Since then however, his form has been poor at best with the odd moment of brilliance as witnessed in the Pumas win over France in November last year. If he finds his form in this game and leaves some of the amateur dramatics he displayed in this year’s game against Australia behind then he will once again be a solid asset to the Pumas cause on Saturday night.

The rest of the Pumas lineup however is very much what we can expect to see come the World Cup. In the backs eyebrows could be raised at the exclusion of Marcelo Bosch given he was so instrumental in everything the Pumas did well last Saturday, and especially that long-range boot of his. Some chopping and changing in the forwards also throws up some questions especially on the bench, but there are enough stalwarts there such as Juan Manuel Legiuzamón and Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe to make sure that Argentina will be competitive up front. Last but not least there is that front row which caused the Springboks so much heartache last week and which remains unchanged for this fixture and is sure to do the same again. Some interesting choices by Pumas coach Daniel Hourcade for a match that Argentina will desperately want to win especially as it is their last outing before the World Cup, but a powerful side nonetheless.

South Africa on the other hand have made even more surprising selection choices for this match. The South African press has been full of incredulity regarding Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer selecting Zane Kirchner to start in the fullback position. Kirchner has done little in a Springbok jersey in recent years to impress and his season with Irish Club Leinster was anything but impressive this year. Surely a better choice would have been to put Jesse Kriel in at fullback,a position he has played at the Bulls, and put Jan Serfontein in at centre alongside Damian De Allende.

South Africa are obviously banking on the reliability and big match nerves of Pat Lambie at flyhalf as opposed to Handre Pollard’s erratic brilliance. Furthermore, coach Heyneke Meyer is keen to re-establish the centerfield pairing of Jesse Kriel and Damian De Allende which has been one of the real highlights of the Springboks performances this year. The forward pack although boasting the likes of veteran Victor Matfield and the intensity and strength of Eben Etzebeth continues to look rusty and is a series of combinations that is unlikely to impress against their Pumas counterparts, particularly if Argentina can be as effective at slowing the ball down as they were last week at the breakdowns.

In short, despite some possibly risky experimentation by Argentina, I still think that playing at home and on the back of last week’s historic win they will be the better side against a demoralised and dysfunctional Springbok pack. If South Africa can use the attacking platform of Lambie and the De Allende/Kriel partnership then it could make the difference for the Springboks. However, Pumas coach Daniel Hourcade showed last week that he and his team had done their homework to figure out how to contain the Springbok team that had been selected and I have no doubt we will see the same preparation this weekend. As a result, I am giving this game to Argentina. I doubt it will be such an emphatic win as last weekend, but there is no doubt this Pumas side is on the rise while the Springboks struggle to find some shape and direction. Furthermore given South Africa’s weak track record on the road in recent years, I can’t help feeling that they are being faced with an impossible challenge. Consequently I fancy Argentina to make it two from two against the Springboks this year as they take the game by five points.

This weekend sees the Northern Hemisphere start their preparations for the World Cup with a series of warm-up matches, beginning with Wales facing Ireland in Cardiff.  In a unique scenario where both coaches have been talking to each other regarding selections, this match has a very experimental feel to it as both sides seek to develop depth in their squads and combinations that they can take to the World Cup.  Despite this, given that all of these players will be putting their hands up for a place at the World Cup, there should be no lack of intensity to the proceedings as evidenced by this game being played in front of a sold out Millennium Stadium crowd!

Wales vs Ireland
Saturday, August 8th
Cardiff

While this match in terms of selection has a very experimental feel to it, as mentioned above it should be an entertaining contest, with players from both sides determined to make an impression on their respective coaches and stake a claim to a World Cup place. This match has been unique in Test rugby in that Irish Coach Joe Schmidt and Welsh coach Warren Gatland have talked to each other prior to the match about the selections they might be making. As a result it is likely that both will have an idea of what to expect from each other on the field as they draw up their game plans for this encounter between the two sides.

The last time Wales and Ireland went head to head was in an enthralling Six Nations encounter which went down to the wire but ultimately Wales were to dominate. Wales got the better of Ireland physically and their decision-making was better, allowing them to ultimately walk away with a 23-16 victory and shatter Ireland’s hopes of a Grand Slam despite the fact that the Men In Green would ultimately go on to win the Championship.

This time around Wales field a side that in many ways is even more experimental than Ireland’s. Very few of the Welsh players running onto the pitch took part in that famous Welsh victory earlier this year. For Ireland however, they are captained by Jamie Heaslip who will be seeking to heal the pain of the loss that day. He will be supported by stalwarts such as Mike McGrath and Mike Ross with Rory Best on the bench – all of whom were there to bear witness to Ireland’s Six Nations hiccough. From an Irish perspective though there is a lot to get excited about in the lineup that Joe Schmidt has selected.  Many people are excited to see Keith Earls return from injury and Andrew Trimble back in the squad on the wing.  For me the likes of Tommy O’Donnell and Jordi Murphy are world-class flankers in the making.  Meanwhile the lock pairing of Donnacha Ryan and Ian Henderson is some serious potential depth for Ireland.  Felix Jones at fullback has impressed against tier two opponents and it will be interesting to see how he holds up against this kind of pressure.  Paddy Jackson is  a solid choice at fly half though it goes without saying he will never knock Johnny Sexton off his lofty perch and will be hard pressed to challenge for Ian Madigan’s spot, though he has youth on his side and I am sure his time will come.

For Wales I have to be honest and confess that I don’t know a great deal about the players that have been selected for this match.  This match sees the return at fly half of James Hook who many had consigned to retirement.  He has always been a quality player and there is certainly life left in him yet at Test level and it will be interesting to see how he matches up against Paddy Jackson’s youth.  Scott Williams at Captain and in the centre is a known quality, and will be more than a match for Ireland’s Darren Cave, with the Welshman probably getting the edge here.  Justin Tipuric is another proven commodity at flanker and is renown for causing opposition sides all kinds of problems in the loose along with Taulupe Faletau who is on the bench for this game.

However, despite home advantage I can’t help feeling that Ireland is experimenting with known and proven depth whereas Wales is, barring the above mentioned candidates, trying to find some.  Therefore, I think I can quite confidently hand Ireland the win on this one despite the Millenium crowd doing their best in full voice as “the sixteenth man”.  There are just too many question marks about what this Welsh side will do to really predict how the game might flow.  Ultimately though there is enough skill coupled with experience in the shape of Ireland’s Jamie Heaslip and Rory Best to carry an Ireland side through to a win whatever surprises lay in store for them in this “mystery” Welsh side.  Expect an entertaining game, but as it enters the final quarter, Ireland’s skill level and experience should help them pull away and discover just how much depth they have managed to build in the last year.  Either way this should be a fascinating encounter to watch for anyone who wants to see what resources are being assembled in the Northern Hemisphere to try to tackle the Southern Hemisphere juggernauts come September!