No prizes for guessing who the favourite from this pool will be. Host nation New Zealand is the top ranked team in the world, and apart from a bit of a hiccup against South Africa in the Tri Nations tournament (when New Zealand fielded what was effectively a B-side against the Springboks) the team has had a flawless build-up to the tournament.
“I really only see two countries emerging from that, being New Zealand winning and France coming in second,” said Richard Adams.
As for the other countries in the group, they will likely be fighting for pride rather than a place in the next round.
“Canada have a very good history, and have made every rugby world cup final there’s been, so this is their seventh final, they’re going to come in with a relatively good record, but with the likes of France and Japan and New Zealand they’ll struggle, and even Tonga are in very good form,” said Mr. Adams.
Despite not being rated as one of the big rugby playing nations in the world, the game is indeed big in Japan.
“They have some fantastic coaches over there. Despite their stature they have overcome those problems and they are always a very well organised and disciplined team and are hard to beat,” he said.
However, against rugby heavyweights like New Zealand and France, discipline and organisation will only get you so far.
As for Tonga, although they were one of the surprise packages of the previous World Cup, they have not shown the same form since, and are not likely to have much of an impact on the group.
Grizz’s picks: New Zealand and France
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