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 
Penaud scores this time. Telea stepped in to take Ramos and Penaud was unopposed in the corner.
16-13 to France. 56mins.
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Yellow for Will Jordan for a tackle in the air with a review for the bunker. Suspect it will remain a yellow.
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Yellow for Jordan. Overran a kick and took Ramos out in the air.
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Stop the clocks, Ramos missed a kick.
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I feel for Flair. I think France will see this through but they are displaying Ireland warm-up game levels of clunkiness.
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Jeez, Barrett got the ball right on his 22, by the touchline and put the ball out nearly on halfway.
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I’ve decided that my instinctive support for France is not just because I like the French but also because we are more used to playing against them.
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NZ back to 15.
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Christie’s got some zip on his pass.
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10 mins to play.
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Ramos gets the penalty to make an ABs win more than two scores.
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Ramos sticks another over from half-way-ish.
22-13 7mins to play.
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Ooh, I couldn’t see anything wrong with that French try until the replay.
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Oh yes, Jaminet! (sp?)
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That’s just rubbing it in. Lucu puts a box kick into the NZ 22, it bounces backwards over Mo’unga’s head and Jaminet grabs it to score.
29-13 with 1min to play.
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Oh, 27-13. The ball went aver the upright, not between.
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Well, I’m back to not feeling too scared about the ABs. That try in first couple of minutes was an attention-getter, and they were very competitive in the remainder of the first half. But France got their shit together in the second.
Are we as good as France? I don’t know.
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Savea loses the ball, going towards the France line and that’s the end of play.
That was quite enjoyable, as a neutral. NZ’s first group-stage loss in all WCs.
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And by the way, congratulations to France for their victory in a very entertaining match!
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Well, what to think? The AB’s are underpowered in the forwards, even though
they still have backs that will take opportunities.
France will exert more control than tonight.
So Ireland need to beat SA and Scotland to top the pool and face the ABs. Simple, right…?
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Very good win for France, especially after going down 5-0 so early. Some nervy stuff from both sides, but both looking decent enough for the knockouts.
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Great start. Hard to tell how good/bad the Blacks are. Won’t know now until the 1/4s
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Good win for France, despite the nerves, the dreadful fkrst half defence and the early injury. They will take some stopping, but this NZ team isnt very good, is it?
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Piper, yes, that simple. Don’t think any of the Group B sides wants to face France in the QF. Scotland will definitely bring their A side on Sunday!
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Was trying, in an inebriated state, to work out if these two could meet again in the finals. Not possible, I think?
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Thauma, I don’t think so. When Italy beat the Kiwis it’ll put them out of their misery.
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I may be slightly inebriated too!
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Well, I thought that was a bloody great game. Not so much poor defence, Flair, as good attack. If you count the second try by Telea, the pass a mile forward, it was a pretty good win. NZ defence really tight , both sides using varied kicks behind to move defences about. Hope Marchand OK, but Mauvaka could have rivalled Aldritt for man of the match.
Stone cold sober too.
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Tham, I think after the group winners and losers play off in he quarters they play teams from the other half of the draw in the semis, so yes it could still be a Fra ABs final.
Well done France good win despite playing poorly
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Ticht – yes, I managed to work that out this morning, but thanks!
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Note to self – must remember to log in before typing vast comment that immediately disappears. Currently on TGV to Marseille with woolly head through lack of sleep as opposed to too much alcohol. Can anyone explain what the hell that opening ceremony was about and how they managed to murder La Marseillaise quite so much?
Wonderful game for a neutral and congrats to the worthy winners and their voluble and excite able support.
Second request – would the Paris authorities stop cancelling half the public transport on the RER within 30 minutes of the final whistle. We had successfully got on one RER only to find the line we transferred to closed five minutes before we arrived. Then our day passes expired at midnight so we MrsS could not get out, then they had stopped the best bus option then presented us with a ticket machine that would not issue a new ticket only update the equivalent of a Paris Oyster card. Result being a very late return to hotel just about in time to get up to start the journey south.
Apparently we may be in the presence of our overlord at a recording of The Good, The Bad and the Rugby this afternoon before suffering the borthwick non-rugby this evening.
Best of luck to your respective teams and especially England who need it the most.
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the lanes round here are very quiet this morning ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
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SLMC, I couldn’t agree more on the anthem.
In the final match of the ‘22 Six Nations that French crowd wrapped their team up in wave after wave of raucous sound, constantly singing La Marseillaise and swept their team to inevitable victory, it was nothing short of magnificent.
Last night they took all that passion and flushed its head down the toilet, the 16th player never got their boots on after that, awful.
Anyway, great to hear from you
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Commentary on Italy/Namibia is a million times better than last night’s.
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G’wan Namibia!
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That was a brilliant pass, for the try.
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Lovely Capuozzo try!
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Give it to big Angev
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This auto correct does my nut in
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Ha ha, and your nut changed!
You can turn off the auto-correct, you know.
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Italy are being very profligate. They could have run up a cricket score.
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Well, I reckon there was a forward pass in the run-up to that one.
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Lovely final try well after most teams would have kicked it out!
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Robbie Henshaw injured in the warm-up, apparently. Mack Hansen in on the bench.
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Keith Earls (?) looks like he’s passing out already from the heat.
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Whoops!
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Romania furra lineeeee!
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Do not attempt to adjust your televisions. Normal service has been resumed.
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Well, didn’t take long for Ireland to even it up.
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TRY Keenan!
Lots of errors still going on.
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