Rugby World Cup 2011 Preview
The 2011 Rugby World Cup is to be played in New Zealand from 9th September - 23rd October. It will be played across 12 different stadia, - with some purpose built for the occasion. South Africa arrive as defending champions, but it's the home nation who are odds on favourites with the bookmakers to win their second world cup. If they turn up and play to their ability they should win, although their will be significant pressure on Graham Henry's men to deliver in front of their adoring home crowd. This will be a major advantage for the All Blacks, but also a huge burden to carry aswell as the fear of not succeeding, which will be unacceptable to most fans, has to be kept at bay.
New Zealand - Graham Henry is under a lot of pressure to deliver the World Cup for New Zealand. In a rugby mad country the people don't just believe they can win, they expect to win. Players with the abilities of out-half Dan Carter and centre Conrad Smith can change games from nothing in to victory. Then they have the leader in flanker Richie McCaw who inspires his own team mates, yet strikes fear in to opponents. He is currently on 95 caps for the All Blacks and should make it over the milestone of 100 caps during this tournament. One of their major concerns at present is the ankle injury to their number 8 Kieran Read. This is a major blow to the team as he is expected to miss the first 2-3 games. Although having recently lost to Australia the World Cup is theirs to lose if they can deal with the pressure and not choke as they have before.
Australia - Having just beaten the All Blacks and looking impressive in Brisbane they will feel they are coming in to the tournament in good form and with a very good chance of winning. It might surprise some fans that Matt Giteau didn't even make the squad, but this also shows the Wallabies current strength in depth. Having the likes of Rocky Elsom fit and back from injury is a major bonus, not only as a player, but as former captain a great on field leader and motivator. The exciting James O'Connor will also be back in the team following suspension and will be vital to their chances of progress. All things going to plan they should clash with England in the semi-final.
South Africa - The current holders of the Rugby World Cup and although the Springboks are currently going through a transition period with a lot of young and inexperienced players in the team they can't be written off. They performed well to beat New Zealand during the summer and have a lot of players returning to full fitness following injuries who they weren't able to call on during the summer. They will still be a tough team to break down and beat. With a captain in John Smit on over 100 caps and knowing what it takes to win the World Cup - he won't be giving it up without a fight.
France - A team that most fans enjoy watching as the style and flare in which they play the game can be great to watch. The biggest problem France will encounter is themselves and possibly their head coach Marc Livermont. They have the capability to beat most teams on their day, but they don't have the mentality every day. It is not clear what, if any, harmony there is among the squad. With Livermonts replacement already been announced as former winger Philippe Saint-Andre most of the attention will focus off the pitch. Although recently the team have put up some good performances to easily beat a good yard stick in Ireland, you just wouldn't be backing France with a lot of confidence.
England - Powerful if not always the prettiest, which would also describe Martin Johnson. This England team have started to gel and continue to get the job done grinding out results. Are they good enough to compete against the best teams in the world? we should find out in the semi-final, if they meet Australia. As with any team keeping everyone fit will be key to their success, along with the selections and pairings such as scrum half and out half positions. In Ben Fodden and Johnny Wilkinson they have a couple of vital match winners and they will always be hard to break down and defeat. Englands first group game is vital to their on-going success in the tournament. They play Argentina in what will be a very physical encounter. No one will want to lose as the runners-up in the group are likely to meet the All Blacks in the next round.
Wales - Warren Gatlands side face a tough opener to their campaign as they face reigning champions South Africa. With a couple of fitness concerns over some of their props they can't afford any slip ups. If Wales can get at the Springboks and get a result their next round encounter would be made a lot easier. Players like Stephen Jones and Shane Williams are still key to Wales' success after all their years of service, but it's consistency more than anything else that the Welsh must bring in to their play if they want to go far in this tournament.
Ireland - Although Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connor are still sounding confident of a good campaign, - in what will be a lot of the current squads final major tournament. The Irish fans expectations are lower than normal following four straight defeats to Scotland, France ( twice ) and England. To win their group alone will be a tall order as they come up against second favourites Australia. They also have some injury concerns with Gordon D'arcy and Cian Healy flying out later than the rest of the squad and with first choice flanker David Wallace missing the whole tournament. They will be hoping for a big tournament form Sean O'Brien and Jamie Heaslip, but coach Declan Kidney needs to sort out his scrum half selection as the team haven't been connecting as they would have wished in recent months.
The 2011 Rugby World Cup is to be played in New Zealand from 9th September - 23rd October. It will be played across 12 different stadia, - with some purpose built for the occasion. South Africa arrive as defending champions, but it's the home nation who are odds on favourites with the bookmakers to win their second world cup. If they turn up and play to their ability they should win, although their will be significant pressure on Graham Henry's men to deliver in front of their adoring home crowd. This will be a major advantage for the All Blacks, but also a huge burden to carry aswell as the fear of not succeeding, which will be unacceptable to most fans, has to be kept at bay.
New Zealand - Graham Henry is under a lot of pressure to deliver the World Cup for New Zealand. In a rugby mad country the people don't just believe they can win, they expect to win. Players with the abilities of out-half Dan Carter and centre Conrad Smith can change games from nothing in to victory. Then they have the leader in flanker Richie McCaw who inspires his own team mates, yet strikes fear in to opponents. He is currently on 95 caps for the All Blacks and should make it over the milestone of 100 caps during this tournament. One of their major concerns at present is the ankle injury to their number 8 Kieran Read. This is a major blow to the team as he is expected to miss the first 2-3 games. Although having recently lost to Australia the World Cup is theirs to lose if they can deal with the pressure and not choke as they have before.
Australia - Having just beaten the All Blacks and looking impressive in Brisbane they will feel they are coming in to the tournament in good form and with a very good chance of winning. It might surprise some fans that Matt Giteau didn't even make the squad, but this also shows the Wallabies current strength in depth. Having the likes of Rocky Elsom fit and back from injury is a major bonus, not only as a player, but as former captain a great on field leader and motivator. The exciting James O'Connor will also be back in the team following suspension and will be vital to their chances of progress. All things going to plan they should clash with England in the semi-final.
South Africa - The current holders of the Rugby World Cup and although the Springboks are currently going through a transition period with a lot of young and inexperienced players in the team they can't be written off. They performed well to beat New Zealand during the summer and have a lot of players returning to full fitness following injuries who they weren't able to call on during the summer. They will still be a tough team to break down and beat. With a captain in John Smit on over 100 caps and knowing what it takes to win the World Cup - he won't be giving it up without a fight.
France - A team that most fans enjoy watching as the style and flare in which they play the game can be great to watch. The biggest problem France will encounter is themselves and possibly their head coach Marc Livermont. They have the capability to beat most teams on their day, but they don't have the mentality every day. It is not clear what, if any, harmony there is among the squad. With Livermonts replacement already been announced as former winger Philippe Saint-Andre most of the attention will focus off the pitch. Although recently the team have put up some good performances to easily beat a good yard stick in Ireland, you just wouldn't be backing France with a lot of confidence.
England - Powerful if not always the prettiest, which would also describe Martin Johnson. This England team have started to gel and continue to get the job done grinding out results. Are they good enough to compete against the best teams in the world? we should find out in the semi-final, if they meet Australia. As with any team keeping everyone fit will be key to their success, along with the selections and pairings such as scrum half and out half positions. In Ben Fodden and Johnny Wilkinson they have a couple of vital match winners and they will always be hard to break down and defeat. Englands first group game is vital to their on-going success in the tournament. They play Argentina in what will be a very physical encounter. No one will want to lose as the runners-up in the group are likely to meet the All Blacks in the next round.
Wales - Warren Gatlands side face a tough opener to their campaign as they face reigning champions South Africa. With a couple of fitness concerns over some of their props they can't afford any slip ups. If Wales can get at the Springboks and get a result their next round encounter would be made a lot easier. Players like Stephen Jones and Shane Williams are still key to Wales' success after all their years of service, but it's consistency more than anything else that the Welsh must bring in to their play if they want to go far in this tournament.
Ireland - Although Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connor are still sounding confident of a good campaign, - in what will be a lot of the current squads final major tournament. The Irish fans expectations are lower than normal following four straight defeats to Scotland, France ( twice ) and England. To win their group alone will be a tall order as they come up against second favourites Australia. They also have some injury concerns with Gordon D'arcy and Cian Healy flying out later than the rest of the squad and with first choice flanker David Wallace missing the whole tournament. They will be hoping for a big tournament form Sean O'Brien and Jamie Heaslip, but coach Declan Kidney needs to sort out his scrum half selection as the team haven't been connecting as they would have wished in recent months.
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