Rugby World Cup pool previews: Pool A

The 2015 edition of the Rugby World Cup is just around the corner. The action starts with the pool matches, so what better pool to preview than the most exciting and dangerous of the pools – and the one Australia is in – Pool A?

POOL A:
England
At 8pm on Friday September 18 (GMT) the England team will run onto the Twickenham turf to open the world cup against Fiji. The pressure has been building on the home side already, with a few shaky performances in the lead up matches.

When they kick off against Fiji there will be a weight released for the hosts, but the reality is there are still weeks and week of carrying a national burden to come.

They should safely negotiate the Fiji team and then have a week to prepare for the UK clash against Wales. If they win those first two matches they give themselves some breathing to third place in the pool and should progress. The early rounds should be the focus of the squad leading into the tournament.

For an England team this is a fairly inexperienced world cup squad. Usually full of grizzled veterans, this group only has two players 30 or older in the forward pack – James Haskell and Geoff Parling. Haskell leads the cap count for all players with just 60.

England have a spread of strong enough forwards, as they always will but it’s unclear whether their backline will be much more than passengers. The final round of the Six Nations tournament showed they could attack if they need to, but when Owen Farrell and George Ford are your two fly half options with some combination of Brad Barritt/Sam Burgess/Jonathan Joseph and Henry Slade in the centres who knows how that section of the field will hold up under the pressure of a world cup. The four centres chosen have a combined 39 Test caps.

England have a strong set of athletic and combative forwards in Billy Vunipola, Chris Robshaw, James Haskell, Courtney Lawes, Ben Morgan, Tom Wood and Mako Vunipola. That will be where their strength lies.

Song summarising the fan’s feelings pre-tournament

Queen Under Pressure

Wales
Wales have already suffered a massive set back in their quest to at least return to the semi-final stage they reached at the 2011 World Cup.

They’ve lost Leigh Halfpenny, their excellent fullback, and Rhys Webb, one of the northern hemisphere’s stronger halfbacks, to injury.

Going into the tournament Wales would have been third pick for a lot of pundits to emerge from Pool A because England are playing at home and Australia just tend to get the job done against Wales, even in down years. That job is now harder.

Where Wales’ fans will have to find hope is in experience.

Many of the players still taking the field for Wales were part of the young squad that burst onto the world stage in the New Zealand edition of the cup. Many of those same players were picked for the British and Irish Lions as well, showing their pedigree.

The likes of Mike Phillips, Jamie Roberts and George North in the backs will have to show their worth again. Alun Wyn Jones, Sam Warburton and Toby Faletau will have to shoulder a load in a team plan that may now revolve a little more around traditional forward play with the combative Phillips likely to be guiding proceedings at the base of the ruck.

Song summarising the fan’s feelings pre-tournament

Kanye West Through the Wire

Fiji
The odd of Fiji getting out of the pool are very slim. But I think there’s a chance they’ll topple at least one of the big three teams during the pool stage, and in that way have a very real effect on the tournament outcome.

Could they do over England in the opener? Could they sucker punch Wales while they’re down? Could they blow Australia off the park?

One thing you always know for sure with Fiji is they’re going to entertain. But at this tournament they have a number of experience forwards to go with explosive backs.

Leone Nakarawa is one of the best players at Glasgow. Akapusi Qera knows his way around Northern Hemisphere rugby. And many other players, while shorter on Test caps as Fiji teams always will be are much closer to 30 than 20 and have years of European rugby under their belt.

Add to that the likes of Nikola Matawalu at scrum half, who is a strong performer for his club also, and the backs might have the kind of sustainable platform to knock someone off.

Nemani Nadolo will be reason alone to tune into the Fiji games. Seeing what he can do on the biggest stage will be exciting after he’s steamrolled and sprinted his way through whatever challenges have come his way in the last couple of years.

Song summarising the fan’s feelings pre-tournament

Robbie Williams Let Me Entertain You

Uruguay
Uruguay have qualified for their third world cup since 1999, a great feat for the South American nation. They’re legitimately the second best team in the region after Argentina now and will be looking to grow and learn from the experience at the tournament.

Uruguay have two wins from their two world cups, a respectable record for a lowly ranked side. In 1999 they beat Spain. In 2003 they beat Georgia.

In qualification for this edition of the world cup Uruguay thrashed Brazil and beat Chile comfortably. They then almost pulled a massive upset by tying with the USA in their first leg match for a straight qualification spot. They lost the second leg and had to come through the repecharge, where they finally made it by sneaking past Russia with an aggregate of 57-49 in two legs.

Look for Uruguay’s strong forward pack and scrums to frustrate better teams at times. After that keep your eye on halfback Augustin Ormachea and Felipe Berchesi – both players have contracts with French clubs.

Song summarising the fan’s feelings pre-tournament

Pharrell Williams Happy

Australia
The winners of the 1991 and 1999 Rugby World Cups! While the players in this squad may not quite be bursting with the pedigree of the cup-winning outfits, there’s still enough to like about the Wallabies at the moment to consider them as dark horses.

The Wallabies scrum appears to have stabilised somewhat this year, which is a great sign heading into a tournament where the fundamentals of rugby are sure to be tested.

In David Pocock, Scott Fardy and Michael Hooper the Wallabies first choice backrow are up there with any one else and have a diverse range of skills.

Israel Folau is still a game breaker from fullback and will be eager to prove he is one of the best athletes in the world at the world cup. Despite being just 26 and in his third year of rugby Folau has played in his fair share of big matches and gets up for them well.

A weak spot for the Wallabies are in the halves, where they just don’t have the rounded skill sets, tactical acumen or proven excellence some other contenders do. Second row is another issue.

The Wallabies are in the group of death and if they aren’t on their game every time could easily get knocked out of this tournament early. Wales has been a beatable opponent but will have the experience to trouble Australia, England are hard to beat at home and I wouldn’t put it past Fiji to pull a Samoa on the Wallabies.

On the other hand things could click marvelously, Foley might become 2014 Foley again, Will Genia might flick the 2011 switch and Folau could cement himself in history and the Wallabies could go all the way. Who knows?

Song summarising the fan’s feelings pre-tournament

Katy Perry Dark Horse