"World Cup blown wide open by 6 Nations" - Nick Mallett

"Northern hemisphere teams are capable of playing with pace and skill, they have huge physicality and deadly goal-kickers," he told BBC Radio 5 live.

It was a great advertisement for northern hemisphere rugby."

he feels Steve Hansen's side will find it hard to retain the Webb Ellis trophy come October.

He added: "I don't think you can say New Zealand are necessarily very confident of winning this World Cup, coming to the northern hemisphere and having to play teams like Ireland, England or Wales, who have made appreciable improvements in the past few years."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/32027915

Whatever about retaining it - it's still going to be a tough slog to get it for any of the sides considered to be in contention.
Some furious physical games coming down the line.  I don't think the pace or offloading is going to be the major factor at all, not between the top sides.  It'll be heavy duty physicality and the ones that can't take it will fall to the side.
After Superslick Saturday, I think the business end of the World Cup will be very much back to bloody boxing matches.

The pool of death especially is going to be fascinating it will be a mini tournament in itself with a huge prize for the winner. An easier quarter final and more importantly a place on the opposite side of the draw to New Zealand and South Africa. You may say you have to beat the best eventually it doesn't matter when. But I think if you can reach a final avoiding the top two then all bets are off as France so nearly showed last time. England have HQ advantage all the way and a path to the final. They just have to top the toughest group in RWC history first. Wales and Australia can realistically hope to top it too. I could easily see a similar points difference finish here to the one we just witnesses.

Ireland too have that side of the draw in their sights with a French team that is consistently losing standing in their way. I know the French will be together longer and won't have Top14 distractions and they will be better. But there really is a tough but clear road to the final for Ireland. If somebody else could knock out the All Blacks before we get there that would be just lovely. Because I think we can beat any other team in a RWC final. For all the people fantasizing about a 1st win against the All Blacks in a RWC Cup final, let's be serious. I would much prefer anyone else to be between us and the trophy. The first win can wait.

France may well break our hearts. They may well fold against us and beat the All Blacks in the next round. Same old cliche with them. Who knows. But I can't imagine them winning the tournament. Any blowing wide open done by them will be knocking over one of the more serious challengers. I think any one of England, Wales, Australia and Ireland could take this side of the draw to the final. The finalist from the other side will be either New Zealand or South Africa, probably New Zealand.

I think New Zealand will only be really worried about South Africa and also France for historical reasons more than current form. I wouldn't say they are particularly worried of Ireland, England, Wales or Australia. Wary maybe but not worried. Of those four England could beat them with the Twickers factor. Ireland and Wales should be hoping someone else takes care of the New Zealanders for them, because they'd be happy to face anyone else.

So yes, it is probably more open than in previous years.

All a bit of fun. From England’s POV, they won’t be playing any games in the RWC like the recent one against France. It might be a laugh, and we’d put 5 tries on the ABs if we played them like that. Unfortunately they’d put 15 on us. The RWC will be a return to sanity. And defence. And a NZ win.

FecklessRogue wrote:The pool of death especially is going to be fascinating it will be a mini tournament in itself with a huge prize for the winner. An easier quarter final and more importantly a place on the opposite side of the draw to New Zealand and South Africa. You may say you have to beat the best eventually it doesn't matter when. But I think if you can reach a final avoiding the top two then all bets are off as France so nearly showed last time. England have HQ advantage all the way and a path to the final. They just have to top the toughest group in RWC history first. Wales and Australia can realistically hope to top it too. I could easily see a similar points difference finish here to the one we just witnesses.

Ireland too have that side of the draw in their sights with a French team that is consistently losing standing in their way. I know the French will be together longer and won't have Top14 distractions and they will be better. But there really is a tough but clear road to the final for Ireland. If somebody else could knock out the All Blacks before we get there that would be just lovely. Because I think we can beat any other team in a RWC final. For all the people fantasizing about a 1st win against the All Blacks in a RWC Cup final, let's be serious. I would much prefer anyone else to be between us and the trophy. The first win can wait.

France may well break our hearts. They may well fold against us and beat the All Blacks in the next round. Same old cliche with them. Who knows. But I can't imagine them winning the tournament. Any blowing wide open done by them will be knocking over one of the more serious challengers. I think any one of England, Wales, Australia and Ireland could take this side of the draw to the final. The finalist from the other side will be either New Zealand or South Africa, probably New Zealand.

I think New Zealand will only be really worried about South Africa and also France for historical reasons more than current form. I wouldn't say they are particularly worried of Ireland, England, Wales or Australia. Wary maybe but not worried. Of those four England could beat them with the Twickers factor. Ireland and Wales should be hoping someone else takes care of the New Zealanders for them, because they'd be happy to face anyone else.

So yes, it is probably more open than in previous years.

South Africa are in group B arent they? Meaning that whoever wins Group A would be likely to meet them in the semis? Or the other way round who ever comes runner up in the group of death will face south africa?

Barney McGrew did it wrote:All a bit of fun. From England’s POV, they won’t be playing any games in the RWC like the recent one against France. It might be a laugh, and we’d put 5 tries on the ABs if we played them like that. Unfortunately they’d put 15 on us. The RWC will be a return to sanity. And defence. And a NZ win.

I agree. Knock out rugby is very different to games against teams with nothing to play for and you are chasing points.

That said of the two main annual international tournaments the six nations format is much closer to knock out rugby particularly in the early rounds because there are no home and away legs and lose one game and there is a huge chance you are out as England and Wales will attest.

NZ are favorites of course but they can be defeated.

GavinDragon wrote:South Africa are in group B arent they? Meaning that whoever wins Group A would be likely to meet them in the semis? Or the other way round who ever comes runner up in the group of death will face south africa?

Whoever comes runner-up in Pool A (probably England, Australia or Wales) will face the winner of Pool B in the quarter-final (probably South Africa). The winer of that game will play either the winner of Pool C (probably New Zealand) or the runner-up of Pool D (Ireland, France or Italy). Therefore the winner of Pool A and the winner of Pool D will be on the opposite side of the draw to New Zealand and South Africa (again assuming they win their pools) and can't meet them until the Final.

France, Ireland, England and Wales hopes of being contenders in this World Cup probably hinge upon winning their pools. Winning Pool A gives you a likely quarter-final against Scotland or Samoa, likely runners up in Pool B. Winning Pool D gives you a likely quarter-final against Argentina, likely runners up in Pool C. Then the winners of those games meet in the semis.

Now we just need Argentina to beat New Zealand or Scotland to beat South Africa to put the cat among the pigeons.

Notch wrote:Now we just need Argentina to beat New Zealand or Scotland to beat South Africa to put the cat among the pigeons.

The cat amongst our pigeon??? Excuse me, but I need none of that

If Argentina beat New Zealand that's the ABs in our court for a quarter-final (if we won our pool that is - not a foregone conclusion by any means)?

But I suppose if that happened - Argentina beating the ABs - we'd have time enough to plan capitulation to the French! Our game with them comes after the ARG/NZ one.

Deadly goal kickers? I guess he didn't include France.or Italy in that. Ford too is solid at best, lacks a touch of range. Sexton gets the yips from time to time.

On the whole it does seem that the entire Internet is extrapolating some parts of one freakish weekend where the planets aligned to create a perfect storm of flattering to deceive. It's certainly been one of the better 6 nations of recent years but there's been a fair bit of dross from the bottom 3 and the winners were still the team that put the biggest onus on spoiling the opposition and kicking for territory.

And there's still little evidence that new Zealand and sa wouldn't beat these teams more often than losing to them.

Gooseberry well said.

SecretFly wrote:

Notch wrote:Now we just need Argentina to beat New Zealand or Scotland to beat South Africa to put the cat among the pigeons.

The cat amongst our pigeon???  Excuse me, but I need none of that

If Argentina beat New Zealand that's the ABs in our court for a quarter-final (if we won our pool that is - not a foregone conclusion by any means)?  

But I suppose if that happened - Argentina beating the ABs - we'd have time enough to plan capitulation to the French!  Our game with them comes after the ARG/NZ one.

Forget it SF- no-one can capitulate better than the French! We'll never beat them at their own game.

That would be some game. Both sides trying their damnedest to lose! Hansen would love it as a spectacle.