Japan weather the storm to make historic progress

RUGBY WORLD CUP

POOL PHASE REPORT

HOSTS Japan reached the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup for the first time ever after a thrilling bonus-point victory over Scotland in Yokohama made it four wins out of four in Pool A.

Kenki Fukuoka scored either side of the half time gong to add to tries by Kotaro Matsushima and Keita Inagaki as the Japanese took firm control in the biggest match in their history.

Scotland actually took an early lead when Finn Russell completed a move which he started with just seven minutes on the clock.

But, for the remainder of the half, Gregor Townsend's men could not lay a glove on their opponents - and, within three minutes of the restart, Fukuoka had secured a bonus point by scoring the fourth Japanese try of the game.

At 28-7 down, Scotland looked just about out of it - with the only positive being that there was still time for them to rectify the situation.

WP Nel gave the first signs that the contest was not yet quite over by bundling over in the 50th minute before Townsend immediately made wholesale changes to his line-up.

Indeed, Zander Fagerson had only been on the pitch for a matter of a couple of minutes when he further reduced the arrears to seven points.

To their credit, though, Japan never panicked and the Cherry Blossoms gradually regained control of proceedings to stop the scoring and seal a sixth successive World Cup win.

Scotland could be satisfied at least that their fate had been decided on the pitch yesterday - as that was no sure thing after a week of uncertainty culminated in the devastating arrival of Typhoon Hagibis on Saturday.

In all, three matches were cancelled due to Hagibis including a decisive Pool B match between New Zealand and Italy and a Pool C decider between England and France.

Of course, Italy have a rotten record against the All Blacks in World Cups having lost all five previous meetings by an average of almost 60 points.

Nevertheless, the surprising lack of contingency planning by World Rugby deprived the disappointed Azzurri of any chance at all of sending shockwaves through the sport by knocking out the holders.

Remarkably, it meant instead that - for the fifth successive World Cup - the Italians finished in third place in the Pool with two wins out of four.

Next week, New Zealand will play - and they will play against an Ireland team which has beaten them twice in the last three years.

But, despite topping the rankings heading into the tournament, the form of the Irish has been wracked with inconsistency throughout this calendar year, something which was amply demonstrated during these Pool stages.

A convincing 22-3 win over Scotland was followed in the next match by a shock 19-12 defeat to Japan and there is a definite feeling that Joe Schmidt's Men in Green may well have peaked too soon during their brilliant 2018.

Certainly, that is not something which can be suggested of Jamie Joseph's Japanese outfit who have now climbed to their highest ever World Rugby ranking of seventh.

In a tasty quarter final clash on Sunday, the Cherry Blossoms take on South Africa, the team against which they made their first big splash four years ago at the Rugby World Cup in 2015.

At 32-29 down in Brighton, the Japanese famously kicked for the corner to push for a last-ditch try instead of taking a kick at the posts to secure a still highly creditable tie.

It worked - but ultimately counted only for blissful memories as the Blossoms were subsequently stung by a fixture programme which required them to play Scotland only four days later.

With Scottish hopes slain this time, it is now onto the Springboks again for Japan though it would be fair to say that the hosts no longer have the element of surprise.

In fact, twice previous champions South Africa easily won 41-7 in a warm-up match for this World Cup between the teams - and Rassie Erasmus's men will begin as heavy odds-on favourites to make it to a fifth semi final in just seven editions.

England are also aiming for a fifth appearance in a semi final when they take on Australia in the first quarter final match in Oita on Saturday.

The teams met at the last World Cup at Twickenham as the Wallabies thrashed England to dump the hosts out of their own tournament at the Pool stage.

But, since then, the tables have turned - and England, under Aussie coach Eddie Jones, have won all six meetings between the sides held in the last three-and-a-bit years.

Furthermore, the English squad will be well-rested having last played back on 5 October after Typhoon Hagibis caused the cancellation of their Pool decider against France on Saturday.

On the other hand, though, there is a genuine concern that England are seriously undercooked heading into the business end of the competition having played only 17 minutes against a Tier I opponent at full strength.

Of course, it was not England's fault that Leicester Tigers lock Tomás Lavanini was sent off so early for Argentina.

Lavanini was dismissed after his shoulder caught Owen Farrell cleanly on the jaw and so became one of a record seven players to receive a red card at this World Cup following a clampdown by World Rugby on high tackles.

Somehow, Farrell avoided being taken off the pitch for a standard head injury assessment (HIA) despite Saracens kicker then looking decidedly poor from the tee.

Indeed, England were nowhere near their best from an all-round perspective - and yet were always going to win comfortably against the Pumas with a man advantage for over three-quarters of the contest.

For Argentina, this was a first Pool stage exit since 2003 as the South Americans had also earlier lost narrowly to France in Tokyo.

In a complete game of two halves, the French stormed into a 20-3 lead at the interval before the Argentines came roaring back in the second period with tries from Guido Petti and Julián Montoya.

Both scores came through rolling mauls off a line-out and left Argentina with plenty of time to rescue the game.

Les Bleus were seriously rattled and began to lose their discipline which allowed Benjamín Urdapilleta to slot over two penalties which, incredibly, put the Pumas in a one-point lead with just 10 minutes left.

But this advantage lasted less than a minute before Camille Lopez executed a 38-metre drop goal from his wand of a left peg to put France back ahead.

Even then, there was still enough time for full-back Emiliano Boffelli to send a long-range penalty just wide when it would have won the game for Argentina.

Instead, the French held on for a 23-21 victory, a scoreline which they later repeated against Tonga in what was another tense affair.

Once again in that match in Kumamoto, Jacques Brunel's men had strode confidently into a 17-0 lead through tries from Virimi Vakatawa and Alivereti Raka.

But, once again, Les Bleus began to panic at the slightest bit of resistance as Newcastle Falcons' scrum-half Sonatane Takulua dived over from close range just before half time and Malietoa Hingano pounced early in the second period.

Suddenly, Tonga sensed a repeat of their 2011 upset over the French - but Romain Ntamack slotted over two penalties to ease Les Bleus' nerves just a little.

Nonetheless, there was still enough time for Tonga flanker Zane Kapeli to claim a cross-field kick and score - and still enough time after that for a restart.

It was too late, however, once Damian Penaud collected Lopez's kick and France were able to boot the ball out of play to ensure they remain the only northern hemisphere side never to have gone out at the Pool stage.

Regardless of that proud record, though, it is incredibly difficult to see this French vintage causing too many sleepless nights for their quarter final opponents Wales.

The Welsh head into the knockout stages ranked in second behind New Zealand only, having topped their Pool for the first time since 1999.

It was also the first time that Wales had won all four of their Pool matches since the competition was expanded to 20 teams in 2003.

The key to these achievements can be derived from the cracking 29-25 win over Australia in a breathless encounter in Tokyo.

At one stage, it seemed as if Warren Gatland's men were going to run away with it - and, indeed, they took a 23-8 lead into half time after tries from Hadleigh Parkes and Gareth Davies.

Davies' try was particularly memorable with the scrum-half intercepting Will Genia's loose pass before sprinting from 10 metres inside his own half to cross the line.

However, Australia were not finished off just yet. Dane Haylett-Petty's try early in the second half brought renewed hope for the Wallabies but brought to Welsh minds a foreboding sense of history repeating after so many agonising past defeats to the Aussies.

Those fears deepened as Michael Hooper drove over from close range and Matt Toomua kicked a penalty to reduce the Wales lead to a single point, only for replacement Rhys Patchell to kick his third penalty with eight minutes left.

Effectively, Gatland's side had to navigate the final few moments with 14 men as full-back Liam Williams soldiered on with an injury - but, nevertheless, they dug in admirably to record a famous victory.

Nothing, though, was especially straightforward in Pool D, something neatly exemplified by the match-by-match progress of Fiji.

The Pacific islanders held half-time leads against both Australia and Wales before falling away in the second period - while, in between, they suffered a surprising 30-27 defeat to the lowest-ranked team in the section, Uruguay.

While that result effectively guaranteed an easy path to the knockout rounds for Wales and Australia, the race for third place - and automatic qualification for 2023 - was thrown wide open.

Ultimately, favourites Fiji recovered from their shock reverse against the Uruguayans to record a vital bonus point in a six-try 45-10 victory over Georgia.

And that meant all three Tier II teams in Pool D finished with one win and three defeats - but with Fiji in third through bonus points.

Overall, the performance of the Tier II at this World Cup was, once again, generally encouraging.

True, there were some painful lessons for Namibia and Canada in Pool B at the hands of southern hemisphere giants New Zealand and South Africa.

Meanwhile, Russia - who were late replacements for the disqualified Romania and Spain - were shut out in consecutive matches in Pool A against Ireland and Scotland.

But, despite all that, Tier II teams collectively managed to keep Tier I opponents below a total of 1000 points for the first time since the expansion in 2003.

Undoubtedly, the performance of Japan - surely now Tier II in name only - has helped in that regard, but the hosts' progress is, of course, to the credit of World Rugby and not its detriment.

Only eight teams and eight matches are left now - and New Zealand remain the outright favourites. 

Rather excitingly, though, this Rugby World Cup still feels completely wide open.

POOL STAGE RESULTS AND STATISTICS

POOL A Japan and Ireland qualify for the Quarter Finals

	W	L	F	A	Tries	Pts
(Q) JAPAN	4	0	115	62	13	19
(Q) IRELAND	3	1	121	27	18	16
SCOTLAND	2	2	119	55	16	11
SAMOA	1	3	58	128	8	5
RUSSIA	0	4	19	160	1	0

20-Sep	JAPAN	30-10	RUSSIA	Tokyo
11:45	Matsushima (3), Labuschagne Tamura (2) Tamura, Matsuda -	T P C DG	Golosnitsky  Kushnarev  Kushnarev -
22-Sep	IRELAND	27-3	SCOTLAND	Yokohama
08:45	Ryan, Best, Furlong Carty Sexton, Murray -	T P C DG	- Laidlaw - -
24-Sep	RUSSIA	9-34	SAMOA	Kumagaya
11:15	- Kushnarev (2) - Kushnarev	T P C DG	Leiua (2), Amosa, Fidow (2), Lee-Lo - Pisi (2) -
28-Sep	JAPAN	19-12	IRELAND	Shizuoka
08:15	Fukuoka Tamura (4) Tamura -	T P C DG	Ringrose, R Kearney - Carty -
30-Sep	SCOTLAND	34-0	SAMOA	Kobe
11:15	Maitland, Laidlaw, penalty (2) Laidlaw Laidlaw (2) Hogg	T P C DG	- - - -
03-Oct	IRELAND	35-0	RUSSIA	Kobe
11:15	Kearney, O'Mahony, Ruddock, Conway Ringrose - Sexton (3), Carty (2) -	T P C DG	- - - -
05-Oct	JAPAN	38-19	SAMOA	Toyota
11:30	Lafaele, Himeno, Fukuoka, Matsushima Tamura (4) Tamura (3) -	T P C DG	Taefu Taefu (4) Taefu -
09-Oct	SCOTLAND	61-0	RUSSIA	Shizuoka
08:15	Hastings (2), G Horne (3), Turner Seymour, Barclay, McInally - Hastings (8) -	T P C DG	- - - -
12-Oct	IRELAND	47-5	SAMOA	Fukuoka
11:45	Best, Furlong, Sexton (2), Larmour Stander, Conway - Sexton (4), Carbery (2) -	T P C DG	J Lam - - -
13-Oct	JAPAN	28-21	SCOTLAND	Yokohama
11:45	Matsushima, Inagaki, Fukuoka (2) - Tamura (4) -	T P C DG	Russell, Nel, Fagerson - Laidlaw (2), Russell -

POOL B New Zealand and South Africa qualify for the Quarter Finals

	W	L	F	A	Tries	Pts
(Q) NEW ZEALAND	3	0	157	22	22	16
(Q) SOUTH AFRICA	3	1	185	36	27	15
ITALY	2	1	98	78	14	12
NAMIBIA	0	3	34	175	3	2
CANADA	0	3	14	177	2	2

21-Sep	NEW ZEALAND	23-13	SOUTH AFRICA	Yokohama
10:45	Bridge, Barrett Mo'unga (2), Barrett Mo'unga (2) -	T P C DG	Du Toit Pollard Pollard Pollard
22-Sep	ITALY	47-22	NAMIBIA	Higashiosaka
06:15	Penalty, Allan, Tebaldi, Padovani, Canna Poledri, Minozzi - Allan (3), Canna (2) -	T P C DG	Stevens, Greyling, Plato Loubser Loubser (2) -
26-Sep	ITALY	48-7	CANADA	Fukuoka
08:45	Steyn, Budd, Negri, penalty, Bellini, Zani Minozzi Allan Allan (3), Canna -	T P C DG	Coe - Nelson -
28-Sep	SOUTH AFRICA	57-3	NAMIBIA	Toyota
10:45	Mbonambi (2), Louw, Mapimpi (2), Am Gelant, Kolisi, Brits - E Jantjies (6) -	T P C DG	- Loubser - -
02-Oct	NEW ZEALAND	63-0	CANADA	Oita
11:15	J Barrett, Williams, B Barrett, Ioane S Barrett, Frizell, Weber (2), penalty - Mo'unga (8) -	T P C DG	- - - -
04-Oct	SOUTH AFRICA	47-3	ITALY	Shizuoka
10:45	Kolbe (2), Mbonambi, Am, Mapimpi, Snyman, Marx Pollard (2) Pollard (4) -	T P C DG	- Allan - -
06-Oct	NEW ZEALAND	71-9	NAMIBIA	Tokyo
05:45	Reece (2), Lienert-Brown (2), Ta'avao B Smith (2), Moody, Whitelock J Barrett, Perenara - Barrett (8) -	T   P C DG	- Stevens (3) - -
08-Oct	SOUTH AFRICA	66-7	CANADA	Kobe
11:15	de Allende, Nkosi, Reinach (3), Gelant Steyn, Brits, Willemse, Malherbe - Jantjies (8) -	T P C DG	Heaton - Nelson -
12-Oct	NEW ZEALAND	C-C	ITALY	Toyota
05:45	Cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis
13-Oct	NAMIBIA	C-C	CANADA	Kamaishi
04:15	Cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis

POOL C England and France qualify for the Quarter Finals

	W	L	F	A	Tries	Pts
(Q) ENGLAND	3	0	119	20	17	17
(Q) FRANCE	3	0	79	51	9	15
ARGENTINA	2	2	106	91	14	11
TONGA	1	3	67	105	9	6
UNITED STATES	0	4	52	156	7	0

21-Sep	FRANCE	23-21	ARGENTINA	Tokyo
08:15	Fickou, Dupont Ntamack (2) Ntamack (2) Lopez	T P C DG	Petti, Montoya Sanchez, Urdapilleta (2) Sanchez -
22-Sep	ENGLAND	35-3	TONGA	Sapporo
11:15	Tuilagi (2), George, Cowan-Dickie Farrell (3) Farrell (3) -	T P C DG	- - Takulua -
26-Sep	ENGLAND	45-7	UNITED STATES	Kobe
11:45	Cokanasiga (2), Ford, Vunipola Cowan-Dickie, McConnochie, Ludlam - Ford (5) -	T P C DG	Campbell - MacGinty -
28-Sep	ARGENTINA	28-12	TONGA	Higashiosaka
05:45	Montoya (3), Carreras - Urdapilleta (4)  -	T P C DG	Veainu (2) - Takulua -
02-Oct	FRANCE	33-9	UNITED STATES	Fukuoka
08:45	Huget, Raka, Fickou, Serin, Poirot  - Ramos, Lopez (3) -	T P C DG	- MacGinty (3) - -
05-Oct	ENGLAND	39-10	ARGENTINA	Tokyo
09:00	May, Daly, B Youngs, Ford, Nowell Cowan-Dickie Farrell Farrell (3) -	T P C DG	Moroni Urdapilleta Boffelli -
06-Oct	FRANCE	23-21	TONGA	Kumamoto
08:45	Vakatawa, Raka Ntamack (3) Ntamack (2) -	T P C DG	Takulua, Hingano, Kapeli - Takulua (2), Fosita -
09-Oct	ARGENTINA	47-17	UNITED STATES	Kumagaya
05:45	Sanchez, Tuculet (2), Mallia (2) De La Fuente, Bertranou - Sanchez (5), Urdapilleta -	T P C DG	Scully (2), Lasike - MacGinty -
12-Oct	ENGLAND	C-C	FRANCE	Yokohama
09:15	Cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis
13-Oct	UNITED STATES	19-31	TONGA	Higashiosaka
06:45	Te'o (2), Lamborn - MacGinty (2) -	T P C DG	Fisiihoi, Hingano, Piutau, Veainu Takulua Takulua (2), Faiva, Piutau -

POOL D Wales and Australia qualify for the Quarter Finals

	W	L	F	A	Tries	Pts
(Q) WALES	4	0	136	69	17	19
(Q) AUSTRALIA	3	1	136	68	20	16
FIJI	1	3	110	108	17	7
GEORGIA	1	3	65	122	9	5
URUGUAY	1	3	60	140	6	4

21-Sep	AUSTRALIA	39-21	FIJI	Sapporo
05:45	Hooper, Hodge, Latu (2), Kerevi, Koroibete Hodge Lealiifano, Tommua (2) -	T P C DG	Yato, Nayacalevu Volavola (3) Volavola -
23-Sep	WALES	43-14	GEORGIA	Toyota
11:15	J Davies, Tipuric, Adams, L Williams T Williams, North Biggar Biggar (4), Halfpenny -	T P C DG	Mamukashvili, Chilachava   - Abzhandadze (2) -
25-Sep	FIJI	27-30	URUGUAY	Kamaishi
06:15	Dolokoto, Mawi, Ratuniyarawa, Matuwala (2) - Matavesi -	T P C DG	Arata, Diana, Cat Berchesi (3) Berchesi (3) -
29-Sep	GEORIA	33-7	URUGUAY	Kumagaya
06:15	Todua, Giorgadze, Chilachava, Bregvadze Kveseladze - Abzhandadze (4) -	T P C DG	Vilaseca - Berchesi -
29-Sep	AUSTRALIA	25-29	WALES	Tokyo
08:45	Ashley-Cooper, Haylett-Petty, Hooper Foley, Toomua Toomua (2) -	T P C DG	Parkes, G Davies Patchell (3) Patchell, Biggar Biggar, Patchell
03-Oct	GEORGIA	10-45	FIJI	Higashiosaka
06:15	Gorgodze Matiashvili Matiashvili -	T P C DG	Nayacalevu, Lomani, Tuisova, Radradra (2), Kunatani, Ratuniyarawa - Volavola (5) -
05-Oct	AUSTRALIA	45-10	URUGUAY	Oita
06:15	Haylett-Petty (2), Petaia Kuridrani (2), Genia, Slipper - Lealiifano (5) -	T P C DG	Diana Berchesi Berchesi -
09-Oct	WALES	29-17	FIJI	Oita
10:45	Adams (3), L Williams Patchell Biggar (2), L Williams -	T P C DG	Tuisova, Murimurivalu, penalty - - -
11-Oct	AUSTRALIA	27-8	GEORGIA	Fukuroi
11:15	White, Koroibete, Dempsey, Genia Toomua Toomua  (2) -	T P C DG	Todua Matiashvili - -
13-Oct	WALES	35-13	URUGUAY	Kumamoto
09:15	Smith, Adams, penalty, T Williams G Davies - Halfpenny (4) -	T P C DG	Kessler Berchesi (2) Berchesi -

Rugby World Cup preview: Rise and shine

POOL A

IRELAND - SCOTLAND - JAPAN - RUSSIA - SAMOA

THE RUGBY World Cup expands its horizons over the next six weeks as the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan, becomes the first ever Asian host of the tournament. 

Notably, it will also be the first edition of this World Cup to be held outside the traditional heartlands of rugby union - although it is only right that the huge strides made in Japanese rugby have been recognised.

Four years ago, the Cherry Blossoms stunned two-time champions South Africa, opting to push for a last-ditch try instead of taking a kick at the posts to secure a still highly creditable tie.

By then, Japan had already been named as the 2019 hosts - but the momentous 34-32 victory in Brighton was more than enough for governing body World Rugby to feel justified in their decision.

Unfortunately for them, the Japanese were subsequently stung by a fixture programme which required them to play Scotland only four days after beating the Springboks - and so the knockout stages remained out of reach.

As hosts this time, the schedule is far kinder to the Cherry Blossoms - but, as England fans can vouch from 2015, home advantage does not necessarily count for much.

Indeed, northern hemisphere standard-bearers Ireland are the obvious favourites to top Pool A as they seek to put their difficult World Cup history behind them on this occasion.

Remarkably, the Irish have never won a single knockout match in the 32 years of this competition - and they have become the archetypal quarter final team, with no fewer than six previous appearances at that stage. 

This time might just be different, though. After all, Ireland head into Japan 2019 in top spot in the rankings, although it is tight between the top five.

Ireland enjoyed an annus mirabalis in 2018 - as they won a Six Nations Grand Slam, a series away in Australia, and beat New Zealand for the second time in two years. 

It is only very recently, though, that the Irish reached the summit following their World Cup warm-up win over Wales in Dublin on 7 September. 

And yet 2019 has not been anywhere near as successful as 2018 as a sketchy third-place finish in the Six Nations was followed by a record defeat in another warm-up to England at Twickenham which belied a lack of squad depth.

Ireland may have peaked too soon for the World Cup having played so well during 2018 - and certainly Scotland will hope that is the case on 22 September. 

Scotland are slowly improving as a team - although, at times, the improvement has been glacial and their record is blighted by a seemingly never-ending inconsistency. 

A runners-up spot in the Pool will almost certainly bring a quarter final match against New Zealand or South Africa - and a likely seventh Scottish exit at that stage. 

Nevertheless, Scotland would do well to avoid being too focused on the Ireland match and instead heed the challenge posed by Japan and Samoa. 

The Japanese will be far less fatigued and far better backed in Yokohama than they were four years ago against the Scots when beaten 45-10 - while two-time quarter finalists Samoa got within three points in Newcastle. 

Samoa will no doubt bring their usual physicality to proceedings - but, having failed to win the annual Pacific Nations Cup since 2014, the islanders have perhaps seen better days

Finally, truly rank outsiders Russia round off the section and are genuinely glad just to have made it after they benefited from Romania and Spain being disqualified for multiple eligibility breaches during qualifying.

Even Bears coach Lyn Jones considers his side has a "mountain to climb", though at least the staging of the tournament in Japan means he will have plenty of choice.

POOL B
NEW ZEALAND - SOUTH AFRICA - ITALY - NAMIBIA - CANADA

For holders and favourites New Zealand - and South Africa - the 2019 Rugby World Cup offers no gentle introduction.

In a repeat of the 1995 Final, the two southern hemisphere giants face each other in a Pool match on just the second day of the tournament (21 September) - and it is expected that the outcome will go a long way to decide which of the pair tops this section.

On for a hat-trick of world titles, New Zealand unsurprisingly begin this defence in their customary position as favourites - but this current side is vulnerable to an upset.

The All Blacks could only draw with South Africa and suffered a record defeat to Australia in Perth so finished the Rugby Championship down in third out of four with only Argentina below them.

Meanwhile, a decade-long unbroken monopoly at the top of the world rankings has twice been broken in the last couple of months by Wales, briefly, and Ireland, currently.

A recovery of sorts brought a phenomenal 36-0 shut-out against the Aussies at Eden Park to retain the Bledisloe Cup and, then more recently, an absolute trouncing of Tonga.

Nevertheless, South Africa sense a big chance of joining the New Zealanders on three World Cups wins after taking the most recent Rugby Championship.

Unbeaten in this calendar year, the Springboks appear to have fully turned the corner after the disastrous reign of Allister Coetzee, in which they lost twice in humiliating fashion by record scores to New Zealand and were even defeated for the first time by Italy.

Now, in terms of qualification for the next stage, Pool B looks the most straightforward of all of the groups.

After all, neither New Zealand or South Africa are likely to face much threat from the other three teams - Italy, Namibia, or Canada.

The Azzurri have been ever-presents at the Rugby World Cup since its inception in 1987 but have yet to make it through the group stages - although, in fairness, they have regularly been pitted against the All Blacks.

Their next meeting in Toyota on 12 October will be a sixth World Cup Pool match between the teams with New Zealand coming out on top in all five previous clashes by an average of almost 60 points.

Certainly, hopes of a massive shock are not high for an Italian team which has won just one Six Nations match out of the last 30 since the start of the 2014 campaign and lost all three warm-up fixtures against Tier I opponents.

But, having recorded two wins and two losses at each of the four editions held from 2003 onwards, yet another third-place finish in Japan will once again guarantee them a spot at the 2023 edition in France.

Namibia, similarly, are regular qualifiers for the Rugby World Cup - which, incidentally, for the first time in its history, has no teams making their debut.

The Welwitschias have, in fact, qualified for a sixth World Cup in succession – but they head into their first Pool match against Italy on 22 September looking to avoid defeat for the first time on the big stage.

Perhaps a better chance for Namibia will present itself on 13 October when they take on a Canada team ranked only just above them.

Historically, the Canucks have been pretty competitive and even reached the quarter finals in 1991.

However, in more recent times, the North Americans’ star has dwindled - they were the last team to qualify for Japan 2019 and the four defeats out of four at the 2015 tournament was their worst return yet.

POOL C
ENGLAND - FRANCE - ARGENTINA - UNITED STATES - TONGA

AFTER four long years, England at last have the chance to bury the ghoulish memories of 2015 when they became the first ever Rugby World Cup hosts to drop out at the Pool stage.

English rugby suffered considerable embarrassment at that failure - but, under Australian head coach Eddie Jones, there has subsequently been a steady recovery.

Now ranked third heading into the World Cup, England are considered by many people to be the most likely side to knock New Zealand off their perch.

There have, after all, been some seriously impressive results since 2015 and, in this period, England can boast a winning record against all of the other Tier I teams - except for the All Blacks.

Equally, though, England remain an incredibly flaky outfit against all of their major opponents, something which was neatly demonstrated in the Six Nations earlier this year.

Not only did England give up a half-time lead in Cardiff to end up losing 21-13 to Wales, it was followed by an even bigger collapse from 31-0 up to 38-38 in the draw against Scotland at Twickenham.

Worryingly, a six-week tournament will run long enough to expose those frailties again - although England are far from the most fragile team in Pool C.

France used to be regularly criticised for their own lack of consistency - but, if anything, this problem has been replaced by something even worse.

Les Bleus, quite frankly, are a soft touch nowadays, failing to win in 55 of their 89 matches (61.8%) since they reached the World Cup Final in 2011.

The 44-8 thrashing at Twickenham in February was France's biggest defeat to England since they lost 37-0 in 1911, as well as their biggest loss to any team in the Five or Six Nations since that same match.

It hardly bodes well for French hopes in a repeat of the fixture to be staged on 12 October in Yokohama - and, instead, the Pool opener against Argentina on 21 September looks like a much bigger encounter.

France are marginal favourites for the clash in the Japanese capital Tokyo - but it should perhaps be the other way around.

True, the Argentines have picked up the Wooden Spoon in the Rugby Championship in all but one of the eight years in which they have competed, including each of the last four.

But there are gradual signs that regular exposure to top level southern hemisphere rugby is having a positive effect.

For instance, the Buenos Aires-based Jaguares club became the first Argentine team to reach the Super Rugby final - and they now supply no fewer than 26 of Los Ticos' 31 players.

Argentina, of course, are no strangers to the latter stages of a World Cup, having reached the semi finals in both 2007 and 2015 - so another deep run cannot be discounted this time around either.

Tonga and the United States - the Sea Eagles and the Eagles respectively - complete the Pool C line-up, and their tie in Osaka on the last day of the group phase will likely to decide which of the teams finishes in fourth place.

Now, undoubtedly, the Tongans have previously had some fine days at the Rugby World Cup, not least their 19-14 victory over France in 2011, a repeat of which will take place in Kumamoto on 6 October.

However, in their most recent outings, the Sea Eagles finished down in fifth place in the Pacific Nations Cup before being hammered 92-7 by New Zealand.

By contrast, the Americans have had some pretty decent results inside the last 15 months including victories over Scotland and Samoa twice.

A fourth win in World Cup matches is within the grasp of the Eagles' talons. 

POOL D
AUSTRALIA - WALES - GEORGIA - FIJI - URUGUAY

WALES face some familiar foes in Pool D as they attempt to reach a first ever World Cup Final at the third attempt under long-serving legendary Kiwi coach Warren Gatland.

Under Gatland, Wales have reestablished themselves as a major force in world rugby, rising from 10th in the rankings when he took over to their present position of fifth.

On the way, the Welsh have won the Grand Slam in the Six Nations on three occasions and reached a World Cup semi final in 2011, only to lose to eventual runners-up France.

This time, Gatland's charges have again been grouped alongside Australia, the pair having been pooled together at the last World Cup with both qualifying for the knockout stages at the expense of hosts England.

Australia went on to reach the Final, where they were soundly defeated by an all-conquering All Blacks side - but hopes Down Under of a repeat of appearance in the showpiece event on 2 November are unusually low.

The Aussies have dropped to sixth in the rankings and, since the last World Cup, hold a losing record against all of the sides above them, except for Wales.

In fact, Australia have lost all six of their most recent matches against England and also suffered a home series against Ireland for the first time since 1979.

Moreover, the most recent match against Pool rivals Wales ended in defeat - hardly an encouraging sign - while, astonishingly, it is now 17 years since the Wallabies have held the annual Bledisloe Cup series contested against New Zealand.

Australia will no doubt take some confidence from their excellent 47-26 win in Perth over the All Blacks just over five weeks ago - but a lot of the positivity from that was rapidly extinguished by the chastening shut out seven days later at Eden Park.

Certainly then, it would be fair to say that the Welsh would fancy themselves in the clash between the expected top two on 29 September in Tokyo.

However, it would equally fair to say that Wales have mixed memories of facing Pacific islanders Fiji in previous World Cups.

In 2007, the Fijians stunned the Welsh to win 38-34 in an incident-packed match laden which had nine tries altogether.

The Welsh, however, got their revenge four years later in Hamilton by becoming the first team in World Cup history to shut out Fiji in a 66-0 thrashing.

Fiji took a while to recover from that humiliating reverse but won four successive Pacific Nations Cups between 2015 and 2018.

Nevertheless, the most recent edition of that tournament this year saw Japan finish above the Flying Fijians - and so it would be most sensible if the islanders focused instead on their game against Georgia on 3 October in Osaka.

After all, the Georgians appear to be the real wildcards in Pool D. Four years ago, victories over Tonga and Namibia ensured a top-three group place and automatic qualification for this tournament.

However, that highly credible achievement will be tough to match with Fiji in the group - and Georgia missed their cue in their most recent big fixture against Italy last November.

Billed as a possible opening to a Six Nations place for the Georgians as a replacement to the tiresomely ineffective Italians, Georgia were beaten 28-17 by the Azzurri.

And so the likelihood of the biggest European teams visiting Tbilisi regularly has receded - for now.

Lastly, Uruguay complete the line-up for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, meaning Pool D distinctly resembles Pool A in 2015, only with Georgia in place of England.

Back then, the Uruguayans were, rather romantically, the only remaining amateur team at the tournament.

But things have moved on a touch in the intervening period and Los Teros can now boast total of 18 professional players in their ranks.

That is still short of a full squad, of course - and, in such a competitive section as this, the South Americans will do well to make much impact at all.

PREDICTION
▪️ Pool winners: Ireland, New Zealand, England, Wales
▪️ Pool runners-up: Scotland, South Africa, Argentina, Australia
▪️ Semi finalists: New Zealand v England, South Africa v Wales
▪️ FINAL South Africa beat England