Leicester's little big men can set the Rugby World Cup alight

The 2007 Rugby World Cup will be a tournament full of mis-matches. A 6ft 7in lock from South Africa who can bench press a London bus taking on an American farmer who trains by lifting bales of hay. A winger who can accelerate with the volatile power of Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren Mercedes, breezing past the Toro Rossos of the rugby world.

'Even if on the face of it a game looks like an uninteresting mismatch, there may be more than meets the eye'

This may be a slight exaggeration but some of the pool games will see scorelines looking more like the first session of a cricket match – 96 for 0.

However, the minnows of world rugby have some hidden gems amongst their ranks. Players who, given the opportunity, would grace any of the favourite nations with their explosive power, exquisite skills and raw talent. They may not represent any of the Six or Tri-Nations teams but spectators should be watching out for them as they will undoubtedly produce some moments of magic to light up the group stage matches.

Samoan winger Alesana Tuilagi rampaged through Guinness Premiership defences all last season for Leicester and was an integral part of their double-winning side, scoring twice in the Premiership final. At 17st 11lb, he is a giant of a man and there are echoes of Jonah Lomu in his direct running and subsequent crushing of defenders. He has good hands, too, and is a fine exponent of offloading in the tackle, creating as many tries as he scores. England and indeed South Africa must not underestimate Tuilagi or some of his other talented teammates or they may fall at the first hurdle.