REVIEW 2015 RUGBY WORLD CUP 1: England
Welcome to the land of the Royals, tea, fish and chips and Big Ben.
Welcome to London, England.
The biggest and most famous rugby tournament in the world returns to England for the first time since 1991 when it was it was co-hosted with Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France.
This time around it will be solely hosted by the English and the onus will be on them to deliver for the kingdom which claims to be best and has the most outspoken fans in the world.
England will be out to hold up the reputation of being the best team in the northern hemisphere and perhaps the world, come the end of the tournament.
Let’s take a quick look at their road to the Rugby World Cup.
Since 2012, the English have under-performed.
Their last six-nations win was back in 2011 and came off some ordinary touring, especially in their inability to dominate the best from the southern hemisphere in New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
2015 is the year for the English to make a statement.
They have been placed in pool A with Australia, Fiji, Wales and Uruguay and this will be a “pool of death”.
When the world comes to England this time around, locals hope their team will set the country on fire with pure skill, speed and hard hitting tackles.
So 2015 will see the 20 best teams in the world, but who will be doing it for England?
Head Coach Stuart Lancaster named the 50 man training squad late last month – let’s take a look at a few certainties and at players who might be on the fringe.
Certainties
The cream of the English crop is Captain Chris Robshaw who has had a few stellar years leading the team.
Robshaw looks set to the lead the boys once again and he has his captain’s spot for the world cup cemented.
He is the number one flanker for the English and will have a great battle with the Aussie flankers in their second RWC game.
Mike Brown at fullback has been a great pick up and is in great form since coming onto the scene.
Brown had powerful games against New Zealand and Australia in southern hemisphere tours since 2013; he looks set to keep his position.
Courtney Laws is the English lock. Has been in the best form of his career. At 200cm and 111kg agile, this bloke from the Northern Saints should be a clear cut pick for the RWC - he adds great power and speed and has not disappointed since his debut in 2009.
Fringe
Chris Ashton on the wing has been a household name, but hasn’t had the consistency this year that he has shown in previous years.
Not helping his cause is the fact that he was selected as the 50th man when Christian Wade was surprisingly not even in the 50-man squad.
Danny Cipriani is at fly half. The renowned party boy was recently arrested following a car crash in which he was allegedly found drink-driving at 3am in the morning. Danny moved back to England following his disappointing stint in Australia with the Melbourne Rebels, however, he has had a great game against the Barbarians and last month made a statement for the number 10 position ahead of Henry Slade and Owen Farrell.
Sam Burgess is at centre. The former English rugby league international, South Sydney Rabbitohs and NRL superstar made a decision to leave as a champion and ply his trade at Bath rugby club to try and cement a spot in the RWC squad.
Sam hasn’t had the start to his rugby union career that he would have liked, but he his a freakish talent and is a player who can change a game. He has a big test ahead of him to go up against seasoned players.
In summary,
With the 50-man England squad named, it is a young team that will definitely have its work cut out. Being in the pool of death will be a factor as Australia and Wales will be the toughest of their matches. While any team can win, it is my hope Fiji will also be a factor - their unpredictable game means the Fijians are one team that can cause an upset.
So where does that leave the England team? I have them making the semi-finals, but their youthful inexperience and pressure will succumb to teams that have more years in their side.
But of course, this is a world cup, and anything can happen – as it usually does.
