Rugby World Cup Fixtures 2015: Top Storylines for Week 2 Matches
As we await next installment of pool matches in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, we are already anticipating what the next big shock might be.
With Japan having pulled off the seemingly impossible against South Africa, there are a couple more David vs. Goliath contests approaching with the potential to match or surpass that feat.
But before we begin to wonder whether Namibia, without a win in their World Cup history, can topple the All Blacks, or whether Romania, once regular wreckers of lofty rugby reputations, can fell the French, there is much else to savour in the coming round of matches.
Here are the stories to follow as we get set for Week 2.
Welcome to the Wallabies
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The final top-tier nation to get their campaign underway will be Australia.
The Wallabies make their bow at the Millennium Stadium when they take on Fiji, who have a rather unfair four days between facing England and the Aussies.
Australian coach Michael Cheika will have seen England struggle to cope with Fiji’s work at the breakdown at Twickenham, so the performance of his side’s much-heralded back row will come under the spotlight in direct comparison with the Red Rose trio.
The combination of Michael Hooper and David Pocock could prove hard to live with for many sides, effectively doubling Australia's manpower in terms of players able to get over the ball at the breakdown.
With both players selected to start against Fiji, this will be an area to watch out for.
Can Japan Back It Up?
2 of 7Vern Cotter’s video-analysis man must have been working long into the night on Saturday to find out just how Japan pulled off that stunning win over South Africa.
The Brave Blossoms are the first opponents for Cotter's Scotland in Pool B, when they meet at Gloucester's stadium, Kingsholm, on Wednesday afternoon.
And what looked like a dead cert for the Scots before the tournament will now have their full attention.
For Eddie Jones’ Japan, it will be a test of their professionalism to see how successfully the players have pulled themselves out of cloud nine and re-focused on a fixture that now holds real possibilities for them.
Scotland know any neutrals in the crowd will now be firmly behind the men in cherry and white—no strange colour scheme for the denizens of the Shed to throw their vociferous support behind—and a fast start will be important if they are to deny Japan the chance to build confidence as they did against the Springboks.
Third Time's a Charm for Burger
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New Zealand’s next encounter takes place at the Olympic Stadium when the world champions take on lowly Namibia.
The Africans’ talisman is Saracens back rower Jacques Burger, who will run out at his third Rugby World Cup.
The gnarled Saracens blindside flanker is famed for his raw-boned commitment to the tackle, and he will need all of that aggression if the qualifiers are to prevent the All Blacks running riot in Stratford.
Burger was voted one of the best five players of the 2011 World Cup and achieved that feat despite heavy losses for the Namibians, as well as a considerable amount of personal pain, per the Guardian’s Simon Burnton, who recalled Burger endured "pain-killing injections to play through a serious knee injury that was eventually to rule him out of rugby for 18 months, which says something both about his ability and his application."
If enough Saracens fans have secured tickets for this contest, expect Burger and his boys to receive plenty of support on Thursday.
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Will Slammin' Sam Start?
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England’s rather stuttering win over Fiji really only found any fluency when coach Stuart Lancaster began using his replacements.
One of those was Sam Burgess, who did more in an attacking sense in his 19-minute opportunity than Brad Barritt had in the previous 61.
The latter was also a regular cause for referee Jaco Peyper to put his whistle to his lips. Burgess’ impressive cameo was not lost on Lancaster’s staff, as reported by the Belfast Telegraph:
"When asked if Burgess, who has spent only 10 months in rugby union, would cope with starting against Wales, (attacking skills coach Mike) Catt replied: 'Yes'.
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Should England opt to go with the rugby-league convert, it will pit him against the vastly more experienced Jamie Roberts.
The two-tour Lions test starter would provide a stern test for Burgess' defensive positioning and his famed power in the tackle.
If anything, the gravitas carried by the Harlequins-bound No. 12 will encourage England to stick with Barritt's greater experience for the fixture, sacrificing the added bite Burgess could bring to their attack.
Will TMO Time-Wasting End?
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In just three days of World Cup action, the protocols surrounding the use of the TMO have been causing consternation among spectators.
On opening night, Fiji’s Niko Matawalu was awarded a try by the referee Jaco Peyper in real time and his colleague was setting up his conversion attempt.
Then the ref saw the replay on the stadium screen and noticed the scrum-half had lost control of the ball in the act of scoring.
Only then did the South African official decide to have the score scrubbed off.
It happened again in the game between France and Italy when Craig Joubert halted Freddie Michalak seconds before the Frenchman was about to kick a conversion attempt, after the screen once again highlighted a loss of control in the act of scoring by Noa Nakaitaci. Decision reversed.
The laws currently allow until the moment the conversion is to be taken for a referee to review a call, but this is being shown to be too long a period.
Casual rugby observers will be turned off by what seems little more than the farcical scenario whereby a replay on a JumboTron screen intended for the fans turns out to have a game-changing impact.
What would be wrong with the TMO having a look first then having a word in the ear of the man in the middle, suggesting he might want to take another look? Or is that just too much like common sense?
Let’s see if the mess continues in Week 2.
New Balls Please
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A story about a problem with World Cup balls is about as established a tradition as a whinge over ticket prices or a shot of Prince Harry leaping from his seat.
And it has taken less than four days since his Royal Highness opened the show for 2015's ball debate to begin.
Romania took the prize for first team to pipe up about this year's edition, with coach Lynn Howells claiming they had not been 'kicked in' enough according to ESPN.
This leads to shorter distances and reduced accuracy, claimed Howells.
And so when the Oaks take on France at the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday, it won't be the vast disparity in resources, time spent together or talent that leads to defeat for this proud rugby nation.
No. Romania will lose because they haven't had enough time kicking their own balls.
Watch out for South Africans Bearing Arms
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It has emerged that there was more than complacency to blame for South Africa's shock defeat to Japan on Saturday.
Far from taking the 66/1 outsiders too lightly in their opening Pool B game, the Springboks' preparations were wrecked by an invasion of seagulls on their training pitch, per the Independent.
The facility at Eastbourne College was reportedly the scene of several raids by the birds during the Boks' training sessions:
"According to reports emerging out of the South African camp, the Springboks' training sessions at Eastbourne College in Sussex have been disrupted by hundreds of birds dive-bombing the pitches and covering the surface in poo.
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So, watch out for South Africans taking the problem on themselves with shotguns or catapults to keep the birds away from their next team run-through.
Either that, or the pupils at the £32,000-per-year establishment could earn themselves some pocket money cleaning the muck off Bryan Habana's boots.
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