Every World Cup has its self-proclaimed Group of Death – the FIFA World Cup has bragging rights over it, India’s cricketers suffered the consequences of being in it in the Caribbean this year and even Rugby League contrived to place Australia in with Great Britain in their latest attempt at a World Cup.

And, given the IRB’s inexcusable policy of awarding seedings based on the previous World Cup, we’ve got one this time around too – surprisingly, it includes the hosts. So who will be the left standing in this World Cup Group of Death?

France
A good drinking game will be to neck a glass of pinot for every time a commentator says, “It will depend on which France turns up,” during the preview. Unless, of course, you want to remain capable of watching the match.

‘Running up 40 points against England is always going to endear Ireland to everyone else, but their credentials as potential title winners seem to be a bit thin.’


For all the clichés, France’s record in World Cups is pretty consistent. Four out of five semi-finals, twice making the final. And their record in the Six Nations since the last World Cup has been second to none.

The other wayward cliché will be that the pressure of playing at home will be too much for them. Well, they are almost unbeatable in Paris in the Six Nations and you only have to look at their soccer team for a precedent of playing at home in a World Cup.

However, Bernard Laporte has got a bit cute with his selection policies which makes it difficult to get an accurate assessment of where they are at the moment. But they have got good depth, are no longer reliant on serial flake Frederick Michalek and, with Laporte in control, will be capable of lifting their game when it matters, both on the field and in the press conferences. And then there’s Sebastien Chabal, bringing back so much old-school charm to the sport. If France do get on a roll, he may become the pin-up boy of RWC2007.

Ireland
Can anyone explain why Ireland appear to be the sentimental favourite? OK, running up 40 points against England is always going to endear them to everyone else, but their credentials as potential title winners seem to be a bit thin. In the last four years they have not finished above France in the Six Nations table and had only limited success in the Southern Hemisphere.

They do have experience and cohesion on their side – Malcolm O’Kelly and Paul O’Connell, who would make almost every side at the cup, are the cornerstones of a solid pack and the backline will be directed once again by Brian O’Driscoll after shrugging off the injury scare that threatened his participation in the tournament. And Ronan O’Gara will keep kicking the goals, regardless of how many tackles he shirks. The luck of the Irish even extends to the draw – the two cannon-fodder games, followed by the French, before the shoot-out against Argentina. All along, they will know what they have to do. But whether they can keep on doing it is another matter.

Argentina
For the third World Cup in a row, Argentina will find itself playing off against Ireland for a spot in the quarter-finals while they can gaze enviously across the draw and see Wales and Scotland using their superior power within the IRB to get a far smoother run of things.

But then, as we know, Argentina have always been the outcasts of world rugby. It's obvious that they get a rough deal from the SANZAR group and are excluded from the Six Nations despite being stronger than most. They do get the odd Freak Show test though – like when a team was quickly scrambled to play Sir Clive’s Lions as a send-off in Wales. Argentina won.

So the biggest handicap they are faced with is lack of game time, a lack of meaningful tests and the chance to work on combinations. This will, however, be the first World Cup where they can turn up with a fully professional team. They will, as always, have an impressive scrum, and Felipe Contepomi will run things from No.10 well. The outside backs must be pretty useful, too, if they can leave Francisco Bosch playing for Manawatu.

Georgia
One of rugby union’s greater curiosities is that it is the national sport of Georgia, the former state of the Soviet Union. Quite how and why is uncertain but their flag is covered with the St. George Cross so perhaps there’s a clue there.

Although their play is expected to be forward-orientated they are likely to play a game unencumbered by the predictability and over familiarity of the modern game. For example, one feature of their squad is that they have picked only one specialist hooker.

The key match is clearly the showdown against Namibia which will test both teams’ fitness levels and they’ll be in damage control for the other games. They will be desperately hoping that points differential does not become a factor for the “Death Teams”. Most of their players are employed in the lower leagues of French rugby so at least they’ll be able to crack the codes in that match-up.

Namibia
The African’s side’s main claim to fame in RWC history to date is for shipping 142 points against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in the last World Cup. The lowest ranked side (25th) at the competition, they are without a win in their two previous tournaments so they effectively have dual objectives here – to beat Georgia and to make sure they don’t have any more three-figure blow-outs. Note, they have just conceded another century in a warm-up game against South Africa.

Almost all of Namibia’s players are involved in the South African domestic rugby – a few of them like Kees Lensing, the captain, play in the Super 14. But when we say South African domestic rugby, think the Heartland Tournament.

There are some great names turning out for this World Cup – Melrick Africa lines up at fullback, Hugo Horn has a solid sounding name, but most of the rest of the squad has a familiar ring to it ... Bock, Grobler, Grobler, van Zyl, du Plessis, du Toit etc. tells us more what to expect.


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