And so the first weekend of battle dawns. Time to toss away the sparring, the jousting, the throwing down of the gauntlet and deferential soundbites. It’s here. It’s now. And it’s gonna be one helluva opening weekend! A massive match to open with and some potentially pool-defining Tests on the first weekend make this a crucial, nail-biting and brilliant opening to hopefully the best World Cup yet. And so to your humble scribe’s even humbler predictions:
FRIDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER, POOL A, Stade de France, Saint-Denis
FRANCE vs NEW ZEALAND: Pour a good glass of Bordeaux Blend for this one! A truly heavyweight clash to open the tournament with! Both sides among the overall favourites, although with mixed results in the run in, as well as injury concerns, especially for France. The home side will be swept along on a wave of passion, emotion and fervour, playing with that ‘extra man’ behind them – but keeping that emotion properly bottled and channelled will be key to seeing off a Kiwi side smarting from a thumping against eternal enemies, South Africa. Will it galvanise the Kiwis? Damned right it will. Do they have the personnel and plans to make it count? Damned nearly – still some question marks over the physicality of the pack, with a fairly callow front row and Sam Whitelock behind them past his (considerable) peak. Not a back row for the ages either. France, disrupted by injury, still have a formidable side from 1 to 15 and will be confident of taming the Kiwis.
Prediction? France by a handful. Don’t forget to put the bottle in the recycling bin.
SATURDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER, POOL A, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne
ITALY vs NAMIBIA: Chianti or Windhoek Lager? Since the Bordeaux Blend is long gone, maybe both. From the highs of the opening clash, to a more mundane and routine match in the same pool. An Italy side that has shown great improvement in the last couple of years (Georgia in for Wales in the 6N etc etc!) won’t be troubled by the Southern Africans, coached by ex-Bok mentor Allister Coetzee. A few of the Namibians have Super Rugby and European experience, notably hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld, but they’re not a side bristling with top players. Expect Italy to keep their powder dry for bigger matches to follow, but still have far too much in the tank for the willing Welwitschias.
Prediction? Italy by 25 or more. 1 bottle of Chianti and a case of Windhoek equals 25. Just stick to that.
SATURDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER, POOL B, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux
IRELAND vs ROMANIA: A lovely Guinness to wash away the wine and settle in for the afternoon. World number 1 Ireland, on a 13-match winning streak and with one of the more settled squads in the tournament (despite a couple of late withdrawals), won’t be expected to sweat too much against a willing but limited Romania. Romania were thumped in all three warm up matches, with both Italy and Georgia putting 50 on them, and even a weak USA beat them handily. Ireland can afford to put out a reserve side and still win with ease in the easiest of their pool matches. The biggest question is whether Sexton starts (or plays a cameo off the bench), or whether the Irish talisman is wrapped in cotton wool for the more testing fixtures to come.
Prediction? Ireland by as many as they want, really. Sounds like the drinking habits of your average Dubliner, too – join in!
SATURDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER, POOL C, Stade de France, Saint-Denis
AUSTRALIA vs GEORGIA: Chacha is a Georgian pomace brandy, clear and strong (thanks Wiki), and way better than that 4X piss or Hardy’s slop. Have a double. Each half. The first banana skin match of the World Cup? Australia have had an abysmal season thus far, losing five on the bounce. Not a single try-scoring bonus point in the Rugby Championship for a side supposedly with attacking flair, and only one losing bonus point. They’ve been pretty rudderless under Eddie ‘Cat Bounce’ Jones, who has ditched a number of senior players for youth and good old Aussie derring-do. Nick White says Samu Kerevi is back to full fitness and knocked him about in training, something we’d all like to see a bit more of, but will Australia be able to pick up the pieces against a Georgian side that has lost only once since their epic win over Wales last November? True, Scotland put 33 points on them in the second half of their last match, but they led 6-0 at the break, showing great resilience in the first half, before blowing out.
Prediction? Australia to do the same as Scotland and pull away in the second half – but only by 15 or so. Parched throat? No problem – another match on the way.
SATURDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER, POOL D, Stade de Marseille, Marseille
ENGLAND vs ARGENTINA: A warm tin of Carling or the delights of a Chacra Pinot Noir Patagonia Cincuenta y Cinco? Lob the Carling at the neighbours’ noisy dog and pull the cork! Another potential banana skin to follow the previous match? I doubt it. England don’t have the wherewithal to cause an upset. It’s been a mixed bag for Argentina this year, getting stuffed by the All Blacks and Boks in Argentina, but beating Australia away and losing by a single point to the Boks in SA. A rampant final warm up against Spain means little. However, Argentina have a better pack than England in almost every department and should boss the set piece and breakdown – which has been England’s Achilles’ heel for a while now. They’ve also got backs who on their day can rip just about any defence to pieces, and I reckon they’ve been targeting this match since they beat England at HQ in November. England’s travails in the lead up to the World Cup are well documented, from a stodgy pack and little guile behind it, to disciplinary issues for key players and seemingly little in the way of an evolving gameplan. With both sides having discipline issues, it may well come down to who finishes with the most players on the pitch.
Prediction? Argentina by up to 10. Don’t trip on the way to the kitchen for a refill!
SUNDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER, POOL D, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse
JAPAN vs CHILE: Clear the slightly fuzzy head with the Yamazaki Single Malt, followed up with a Viña Casa Silva “Microterroir de Los Lingues” Carménère Colchagua Valley 2011. Great start to a Sunday! Japan ripped up the formbook and sailed into the hearts of the rugby world at the last World Cup on home soil, until they met the unsmiling orcs of the Boks. They played with verve, dash, courage and spirit, and no small amount of breathtaking skill. However, they’re not that side this year. A single win over Tonga in four warm up matches, with a narrow loss to Samoa followed by heavy defeats to Fiji and Italy speaks of side not coping with physical teams. However, they come up against a Chile making their World Cup debut – good on them – and who lost all three of their warm up matches, against Uruguay, Namibia and an Argentine Select side. All three losses were narrow, however, and they scored 26 points in each match – if they do that, it could be enough for a famous opening weekend win.
Prediction? Japan to win an entertaining, high-scoring match by a score or two in the end. Don’t have a whisky for each Japanese score, if you can remember.
SUNDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER, POOL B Stade de Marseille, Marseille
SOUTH AFRICA vs SCOTLAND: Stellenbosch Red, Hermanus Chardonnay, or Paarl Shiraz? Probably brandy and coke to get through this one, followed by a couple of drams of Glenmorangie or Macallan Rare Cask. A huge match in the context of the Pool of Death, pitting the 2nd ranked Boks against the 5th ranked Scots, both of whom have to face the 1st ranked Irish later in the pool. The Boks got mugged in Auckland by the Kiwis, conceding 17 points in as many minutes and not being able to claw that back. They won the rest of the match 20-18, but that counts for nothing. Convincing, powerful wins over Australia, Wales, Argentina and THAT match at Twickers against the All Blacks have seen the Boks emerge as one of the favourites. However, they struggled to contain a fired-up Argentina at Ellis Park, winning by a point – luckily so in the view of many here – and Scotland will have taken note. The Boks have huge forward power, starting and off the bench (Duane Vermeulen benched for Jasper Wiese, to the shock of many), and also have some scintillating outside backs. But the coaches have gone for de Allende and Kriel in midfield, which is the least inspiring combination, although probably the most defensively solid. Scotland will have noted the two diminutive wingers up against McDuhan and McSteyn and will probably pepper them. In Finntastic Russell they have the best 10 at the World Cup, and if the Boks allow him to dictate, it could be a long afternoon for the big boys in green.
Prediction? Heart says Boks by 10 or more, head says anything is possible, fear is kicking in BIG TIME. Check the score on Monday after calling in sick.
SUNDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER, POOL C, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux
WALES vs FIJI: Penderyn Whiskey (no jokes about Welsh Brains here please) or Bounty Rum? Why, I’ll have a couple of each, thanks! A potentially fantastic match to round out the weekend with, as a Wales that are in as much strife as their neighbours across the Afon Hafren, come up against a Fiji side popping and bouncing after their win against England at Twickenham. They did get dusted by France the week before that, but have only that loss in a run of strong wins against Samoa, Japan and Tonga in the run in. Fiji have a strong squad, based on their Super Rugby outfit, but with some real aces from the European leagues too – Bill Mata, Semi Radradra, Waisea Nayacalevu, Temo Mayanavanua and Sam Matavesi to name a few. The loss of two front line 10s is a major blow, but such is the nature of Fijian rugby, you can put a 130kg prop at first receiver and still get a magical backline move! Wales shared the spoils in two lousy matches against England, before being demolished by the Boks in their last hit out before the World Cup. Fiji showed against England that their traditional weakness at set piece has improved, and this may well be a weekend that Welsh fans hide behind the sofa pining for the days of playing only the Western part of Samoa!
Prediction? Fiji, just, against a Welsh side that spoils for an arm-wrestle. Go to bed, if you can make it, or just sleep on the floor and hope the missus/mister is understanding. You’ve got four days before the next lot.
Refreshment recommendations by Deebee7
Onna telly this week
Friday 8th September
| France 27 – 13 New Zealand | 20:15 | ITV1 / S4C / iPlayer / STV / RTÉ2 |
Saturday 9th September
| Italy 52 – 8 Namibia | 12:00 | ITV1 / STV |
| Ireland 82 – 8 Romania | 14:30 | ITV1 / STV |
| Australia 35 – 15 Georgia | 17:00 | ITV1 / STV / RTÉ2 |
| England v Argentina | 20:00 | ITV1 / STV / RTÉ2 |
Sunday 10th September
| Japan v Chile | 12:00 | ITV1 / STV |
| South Africa v Scotland | 16:45 | ITV1 / STV |
| Wales v Fiji | 20:00 | ITV1 / STV / iPlayer / S4C |
Thursday 14th September
| France v Uruguay | 20:00 | ITV1 / STV |
Ovally Balls 
France are playing for themselves rather than the team, too many trying to be a hero
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Watching the replay of the card, I don’t see that the Wrwgwain player’s height dropped at all because of the other tackle. He was already low.
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Bloody adverts. Brooklyn looks like a hellish place to grow up. Won’t be trying the ‘pilsner’.
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Wrwgwai out of the blocks firing on all cylinders in the second half!
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Ah shit, but they get knocked back. (Sorry, Flair! But you have to cheer for the underdogs when it’s not your own team.)
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That was actually a decent bit of analysis by Gordon D’Arcy, whom I don’t normally rate much.
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YES! Try Wrwgwai!!!
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Ooh, that was lovely.
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13-12! Who would have predicted this? Fantastic!
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Oh, bur France return the favour immediately. :-(
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France go for the corner and Wrwgwai dismantle the maul. :-)
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Uruguay are showing a lot more fight and desire than their more illustrious opponents
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The state of the pitch! That looks like newly-laid turf and shouldn’t be in that condition.
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Wrwgwai win the scrum in their 22! Very exciting.
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Wrwgwai getting reffed out of this! Shocking! Bloodthirsty French crowd are sooooo partisan! And Wrwgwai get the scrum penalty!
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If France were to actually lose this … which I doubt … they’d probably still go through. Right?
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Commentator’s just said that it was 200-1 for Wrwgwai to win tonight. That might have been worth a punt!
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Oh, France score. You have to think that’s it.
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I think that is the first bit of continuity and accuracy from France all match
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Bugger! There goes any hope of the losing bonus point. New Zealand could scrape though at this rate. If they can see off battle hardened Namibia.
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I think I’m right in saying the scorer there was the guy kept out of the U20s this year so he could play in this tournament
They may have said that in comms but I’m listening to the radio whilst watching
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Some wheels on the flank!
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Oh, bloody hell. Wrwgwai get a penalty and kick to the corner, lose the ball, but win it back again, and then there is an intercept and a French try, but! It is being checked.
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Not an intercept, exactly, but a loss of the ball. But it’s no try!
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Hmmm.
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Well, that was a pleasure to watch. 27-12 in the end, and France have a lot to worry about.
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Wrwgwai steal their own lineout! Can’t get through the French defence though, and that’s that! Only lost by one more point than the All Blacks.
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Not too many of the French first team will be worried about selection in the coming games.
I thought the decision on the Macalou try was a bit harsh, it didn’t look like a deliberate hack through the ruck, but hey ho.
Bielle-Biarrey is one for the future
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Ticht – aye, the depth in the French squad is not what we thought it was. Sure, there have been some injuries, but you get the sense that they haven’t rehearsed the B side very well.
But Wrwgwai were fab – not to take away from them!
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Maybe Wrwgwai will beat NZ and we’ll play Italy in the QFs, if we get there. :-)
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Thaum, yep as poor as France were, Uruguay were good, they never let the occasion get the better of them.
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I like South Americans; I’ve visited Argentina and Chile twice each, and my youngest sibling lives in the latter. They have been so comprehensively fucked over by the Yanks for so long that it is very satisfying to see them doing well, especially as it was Chile who knocked the US out of the WC.
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That’s not to say that Argentines and Chileans are remotely the same. The Argentines slaughtered the native peoples and are mostly of European origin. Chileans are mostly of indigenous origin, but – surprise! – the ruling classes are usually of European origin – even the left-wingers.
But both do very good wine and beef and have a surprising aversion to spices.
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…And have good rugby teams!
The main thing I know about Uruguay is that they’ve legalised marijuana.
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So New Zealand up against Namibia tonight. Namibia’s nickname is the Welwitschias, named after the incredibly hardy plant that lives for hundreds of years in the harsh Namib desert. What’s the Welsh for that?
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Marx’s injury is a bit like the butterfly in China causing a storm in the Amazon (or wherever): we’ve got callow cover at hooker in the squad, so logically another hooker should be called in. Deon Fourie hasn’t played there for years and Marco van Staden will surely be found out there if he has to play hooker in a knock out match: imagine a retreaded flank scrumming down against France or Ireland’s front row. It’ll definitely depower the Bok scrum. Never mind the lineouts.
But the concern over Libbok’s accuracy off the tee is seeing growing calls for Pollard’s return – despite him not having played for over five months. Libbok was the only specialist 10 picked, with Pollard injured, Jantjies telling Icarus to hold his beer, and Willemse patently not a 10 for the big matches. So Marx’s injury has ripped the paper off the cracks in our ‘utility player’ squad – when you’re wanting in 2 critical positions, it doesn’t bode well for the sharp end of the tournament. The only positive, I suppose, is that it does give Disco and Nienaber a month to figure it out before the knockouts.
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aversion to spices
Can be condescending with regard to spices … ie if the food is good what do you want spices for….? (throwing looks at Mexico)
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Looks like all the prayers said in the eglwys at Eglwyswrw inspired Wrwgwai to great things.
I’m sorry Thaum, I can’t do an ATL at the moment, maybe in a week or three’s time.
The much missed MrIks gets the credit for Wrwgwai if I remember rightly.
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The Argentines…. are mostly of European origin
What’s the ‘old’ joke – an Argentine is an Italian who speaks Spanish and wants to be British….
Bit like the Canadian* joke – they could have French culture, British government and American know-how – instead they have French government, British know-how, and American culture…
These things age badly….
* which reminds me – among the lost legions …..wonder how LADOAB is doing ?
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@Trisk – Given the circumstances which one out of British know-how and British culture do you think we should be putting forward?
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Yesterday’s big news isn’t the sloppy France win over Uruguay but the sad loss of Malcom Marx. Losing him is as big a blow to SA as Ntamack or Baille to France.
Regarding last night’s game, people are conflating the guys in blue and France B or C. Apples and oranges. What we saw wasn’t a team but just a collection of individuals, all trying to make their mark and impress the coach.
It doesn’t mean they have no talent and that France have no depth, most of them can still play with the best team but not 12 at once. Galthié’s mistake ( and Shaun’s for good measure) as France never plays well vs minnows. I hope he selects the same team vs Namibia, so they show a bit more nous and cohesion.
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Trisk is so smart, he even got the ‘Like’ to be in italics!
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CMW – no worries! Is eglwys Welsh for church? I have noticed quite a few Welsh cognates with French (église), eg pont.
Trisk – I love Mexican food! The only thing I miss about the US, where you can get decent Mexican food everywhere.
I mean, I agree that if you have, say, a nice bit of steak, there is no point in smothering it with some sauce, but herbs and spices used properly are one of the fundamental reasons for living.
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@Thaum – Yes, eglwys is church. Llan (saint or at least place where such-an-such a saint’s church is) is much more common for placenames, but you do see Eglwys too and it’s also what you get as just a road-sign for a church. Obviously Welsh being Welsh you shouldn’t assume in either case that the next bit of any placename begins with the same letter as the saint’s name does when it’s on its own.
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I really like Eglwyswrw as a placename as it’s absolutely loaded with vowels for those that can see them while almost devoid of them for those that can’t.
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A good chimichurri with steak is great! On the whole, I only use salt and pepper, maybe rubbed with a bit of lemon juice and olive oil on steak before putting it on the braai. I don’t like sauces if it’s very good meat (and on the whole meat in SA is excellent), especially heavy sauces that drown out the meat taste.
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There are a great set of headlines on the Guardian rugby section at the moment. “We’re definitely going to score some tries” is a good one, but “Joe Marler enjoys England’s freedom of expression” has to take the prize. Should open up a squad place in short order once the local police are alerted I’d have thought. If he saves it for on the field then Japan could turn over 13-man England assuming they cop the common-and-garden red card that they seem to go for as well.
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CMW, England obviously need a card or two to motivate themselves, so whilst a 15 man England may struggle to subdue Japan, a 13 man England would certainly put 40 or so on them. Come to think of it, perhaps that is part of some secret Sinfield plan, maybe he can only coach a defensive pattern with 13 men, and so with 15 the whole thing gets confused and noone knows what they are doing.
Thaum, would be most grateful if you could point me in the direction of a decent Mexican round here, I haven’t found one in 15 years.
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Is eglwys Welsh for church?
Irish has eaglais (pron. ag-lish) but also seipeil (pron sheh-pail) = chapel , and cill = church
Kilkenny is Cill Chainnigh – church of Canice / Kenneth. But some kil/kill in placenames originate from coill a wood
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“Irish has eaglais (pron. ag-lish)l”
For once the Scottish Gaelic spelling is the same – eaglais
In Scots it’s “Kirk”, of course, which is very similar to most Northern European languages.
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