Hi Folks,

Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? Yes, it’s  World Cup time again.  Rugby that is, not the silly round ball game.

I can’t believe 4 years have passed since England hosted the last World Cup, becoming the first host nation not to make it out of the group stages.  That was embarrassing. This time, its in Japan and I wish I could be there. Instead, I am stuck in Iraq watching whatever games I can on tv.

Japanese Rugby World Cup

Japan might seem like an odd place for a Rugby World Cup. But did you know rugby has been played there for over 100 years? Japan has the 4th largest population of rugby players in the world and is currently at No. 11 in the World Team rankings. They are considered the strongest of the Asian teams, so perhaps their hosting is not so surprising after all.

The Japanese World Cup is the 9th ever World Cup competition and the first in Asia. As you might expect, the Southern Hemisphere nations have tended to dominate. The New Zealand All Blacks won the first-ever World Cup back in 1987 beating France in the final 29:9.  The All Blacks have also won the last 2 world cups in 2011 and 2015.  They must also be favourites for a 3rd consecutive win this time, although they are currently ranked 2nd in the world, just behind Ireland.   Other winners have been Australia, (1991, 1999 ); South Africa, ( 1995, 2007) and England in (2003).

Incidentally, France have been the losing finalist on 3 occasions, having been beaten twice by the All Blacks and once by Australia.  I mention this because its something of a problem for me. Whilst I would like to see more Northern Hemisphere teams win the World Cup, I really struggle with the French. England, Scotland, Ireland or Wales, absolutely no issue. But the French?  I would have to celebrate through gritted teeth.

Rugby in Wannabe land

I might be a WannabeScot, but I am still an England Rugby Fan. Sorry, some things you just can’t change.  I will be cheering Scotland on throughout all of their games, but in the end, I still want England to raise the cup for a 2nd time.  As you might imagine, this can sometimes cause issues in the Wannabe household.  Fortunately, Wifey is an understanding sort and maintains a sense of humour about these things. She says as a Scotland fan, you have to have a sense of humour. Either that or spend a lot of time being disappointed.

When Scotland play England, we tend to watch from different sofa’s. Wifey always takes the result in her stride, but she didn’t half gloat last season. I couldn’t begrudge her as England were thoroughly outplayed and humiliated by a rampant Scotland team. And I have been known to gloat now and then. Just a little bit.

As an aside, Scotland will be entertaining England at Murrayfield in next years 6 Nations.  I am pleased to say we have tickets, but they are in opposite parts of the ground. Not deliberately I hasten to add but might be a good thing.

Rugby Frustration

Being an England fan can be equally frustrating. Last World Cup it was positively embarrassing, setting records for all the wrong reasons. Such as being the first hosting team to fail to progress from the group stage. England always seem to promise a lot but then fail to deliver.  This years team seem to be quite strong.  They are currently ranked 3rd in the World behind Ireland and New Zealand. They are a young and hungry team and have played some fantastic rugby over the last 12 months. But they also fluffed some critical games and seem to struggle to capitalise on their leads to close the game out. (Such as the 6 Nations Scotland game where they were completely outplayed in the 2nd half, losing a huge lead and eventually struggled to draw the game.)

The ‘91 Final

I gloated earlier about France being the losing finalist more than any other. England come close to that record. They have been losing finalist on 2 occasions, against Australia in 1991 and South Africa in 2007.  I was at the 1991 final and I remember it was painful to watch.  Australia got their noses in front then effectively closed the game down, denying England any possession.  It wasn’t the most entertaining of games, but it was still thrilling.

I was still playing myself in those days. Gillingham Anchorians, since you ask.  We played our game early, finishing before lunch so we could get to the final. I cannot for the life of me remember what the score was in our game, or even whom we were playing.  But I will always remember the final.

The Jonna Game

Another game that stands out in my mind from World Cups past is England against the All Blacks in the 1995 semi-final.  It could actually have been recorded as the England versus Jonna Lomu match.  Jonna Lomu had taken the world stage by storm the previous year.  At 6ft 5″ he would be average size on the pitch these days. Back then, he seemed more like a giant. The English defence certainly thought so as he tore them apart. I remember his first try in that game. More accurately, I remember the trail of downed England players he left in his wake, finally trampling all over poor old Mike Catt before scoring.  For his 2nd try, he seemed to have half the England team hanging off him as he crossed the line.  It was an awesome display with the All Blacks eventually running out winners by 45 to 29.

I watched that game in the Drunken Duck Inn at Barngates in the English Lakes. Half of the bar staff seemed to be from New Zealand, as were a few of the clientele staying there. It was a fantastic atmosphere in the place, but it cost me a fortune. In a fit of patriotic enthusiasm, I had stupidly bet my Antipodean counterparts that England would win.   I don’t normally bet on anything and that’s why.   Sadly, that same year Lomu was diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome. This seriously curtailed what could have been a stunning career.  By 2002, still, with his health problems, his International career was over.  He had a kidney transplant in 2004, attempting a comeback to International rugby but it didn’t happen and he retired from rugby in 2007.  In 2015, at the age of 40, he unexpectedly died of a heart attack related to his kidney issues.

The Competition

So who is going to win in 2019?  In the history of the competition, no team that has lost a group game has ever gone on to win the cup.

Its very early days, with only a few games played, but so far its good news for Japan as they won their opening game against  Russia.  France has beaten Argentina, Australia beat Fiji and the All Blacks have beaten South Africa in what was a stonking game.

It would be a brave or optimistic man who bets against New Zealand. As usual they look fantastic. I watched their opening Haka (see it here. )against South Africa. It was intimidating. They are well up for this.   Australia are always capable of turning on the performance but have been inconsistent in the run-up.  They looked vulnerable at times to a rampant Fiji team that ran out of steam with 20 minutes to go, allowing the Aussies back in.  South Africa have history against them now, having lost to the All Blacks. They looked very strong for much of the game and but for a few mistakes might  have pulled it off. They could be a hard team to beat.

The Home Nations

We have still to see the Home Nations play their first games.  As usual, England are expected to do well. Can they go all the way? I would love to say yes, but I have my doubts. The concern has to be their seeming lack of killer instinct to finish off the opposition and close out the game.  They had a good build-up to the competition with thumping victories over Ireland and Italy but did lose to Wales in Cardiff after beating them at Twickenham.

Ireland, despite being ranked No. 1 in the world never seem to maintain their form. They will take heart from being ranked as world No.1, but that thumping 57:15 win by England will worry them.

Wales have been the team to beat the last few years but lost 3 out of 4 of their warm-up games.  This might actually do them some good as they always seem to perform well after being written off.

Scotland are another team I desperately want to see do well.  I honestly can’t see them going all the way. When they play well, they are capable of some exquisite rugby. But more often than not, they struggle to maintain this standard and are also capable of some dire mistakes, clutching defeat from the jaws of victory.  Hopefully, they will make it through the group stage. It will depend on the luck of the draw if they progress further.

I suppose I should mention France.  Les Bleues struggled against Argentina at times and nearly lost it, had a missed penalty from Argentina gone over at the death.  They can be mercurial, but they have also demonstrated real character flaws in the past.  Might be an outside chance but I don’t think so.

My Prediction

There are 20 teams in the competition. The teams mentioned above must have the best chance of winning, but Rugbys a funny game.  On the right day, any one of the minnow teams could pull off a surprise, but it’s unlikely.

I think it’s going to come down to one of New Zealand, South Africa, England or Wales.

Whilst I hope England can do it,  I am am going to say the All Blacks will pull off a 3rd successive World Cup beating England, with Wales and South Africa going for 3rd and 4th places.

On this occasion, I would be more than delighted to be completely wrong and watch England raise the Webb Ellis trophy. Whatever happens, it’s going to be a fantastic month of rugby. If you haven’t watched rugby before, give it a go. It will be worth to for the All Blacks Haka alone.   I am sure you’ll wonder why you have never watched before.

 

Graham Wannabe Saturday, September 21st 2019