Andy BarnhamThere Will be Blood
Riddle takes a look at the home nations in the upcoming Rugby World Cup
Article by Andy Barnham
The first match of the Rugby World Cup, hosted by England, kicks off with the host nation against Fiji on Friday 18th September at Twickenham. August saw a slew of warm up games which helped shaped the 31 man squads with the final announcements being made only recently. For those who don’t agree with their country’s selections, there will be injuries and players will be called up.
England
Pool A w/ Australia, Wales, Fiji and Uruguay
Odds of winning: Was 9/2. As of 13th Sept 4/1
World ranking: 6th
Record: Champions (1), Quarter Finals (3), Runners- up (2), Fourth (1)
Fixtures: Fiji Friday 18th Sept, Wales Saturday 26th Sept, Australia Sat 3rd Oct, Uruguay Sat 10th Oct
Drawn in the so called ‘Group of Death’, England have blown hot and cold in their warm up games. Their traditional forward power has yet to be seen with inaccurate line outs, poor scrummaging and weak rucking. The ever uncertain centre pairing (13 different combinations in last 42 Tests) includes players who have barely been seen in the warm up games and new caps which is cause for grief for the wingers and fullbacks who have pace to spare. England have strength in depth, but are lacking an out and out No7 in the squad which reduces the chance of precious turnover ball. It is conceivable that every side in the Pool will lose one game and that the escapees will be confirmed on points difference. They are going to need every ounce of home advantage to do well.
Ireland
Pool D w/ France, Italy, Canada and Romania
Odds of winning: 9/1
World ranking: 3rd
Record: Quarter Finals (5), Quarter Final play off (1), Pool Stage (1)
Fixtures: Canada Sat 19th Sept, Romania Sun 27th Sept, Italy Sun 4th Oct, France Sun 11th Oct
The current 6 Nations winners and in Joe Schmidt, Ireland have a very canny coach. His selection of only two loosehead props and two scrum halves has raised eyebrows (especially as one of the props has only just been given a clean bill of health) and he will be praying that none of these players pick up an injury. However Ireland have a terrible Rugby World Cup history, not even getting out of the Pool Stages in 2007. They need to top the group to avoid the All Blacks (expected group winners themselves) at the Quarter Final stage, though after the nail bitingly close loss in the November 2013 test between the two countries, coming second in the group may not mean the end of their tournament. This group will be decided in the final group match against France.
Wales
Pool A w/ Australia, England, Fiji and Uruguay
Odds of winning: Was 18/1. As of 13th Sept 25/1
World ranking: 5th
Record: Third (1), Fourth (1), Quarter Finals (2), Ninth (2), Eleventh (1)
Fixtures: Uruguay Sun 20th Sept, England Sat 26th Sept, Fiji Thurs 1st Oct, Australia Sat 10th Oct
Notorious slow starters, Wales have used their warm up games to generate momentum and bring themselves to the boil. Coach Warren Gatland has been ruthless in culling experienced players in favour of form over reputation. Strong at the breakdown, Wales will punish any penalties in the opponent’s half through Leigh Halfpenny’s boot and can beat anyone on their day but their Achilles heel is their lack of depth. They also risk potential official sanctions should anything happen to their hookers, as having chosen just two No2s an injury would lead to lack of cover. Their current record against Australia is ten straight losses and they have slipped up against the Pacific Island teams in the past; this time Wales face Fiji with only a five day turnaround after facing England taking on Australia in their final group match. They can’t afford to field a weakened team, but neither can they afford to suffer any injuries.
Scotland
Pool B w/ South Africa, Samoa, Japan and USA
Odds of winning: Was 100/1. As of 13th Sept 75/1
World ranking: 10th
Record: Fourth (1), Sixth (3), Eighth (2), Ninth (1)
Fixtures: Japan Weds 23rd Sept, USA Sun 27th Sept, South Africa Sat 3rd Oct, Samoa Sat 10th Oct
Scotland come into this World Cup after a disastrous 6 Nations campaign where they finished with the Wooden Spoon, losing every match albeit by fine margins, but playing attractive rugby. Coach Vern Cotter’s squad has been chosen with an eye on the size of the opposition and his selections have favoured new and foreign imports, who qualify through ancestry and residency, some of whom have little to no international experience (one player only qualifies after all the warm up games have finished and another has never played international rugby) over hard edged domestically born players. One hopes recent wins will help galvanise the squad against any potential negative factors in squad selection. South Africa will be smarting from coming last in the Rugby Championship and will be keen to reassert themselves while the rest of the group have all recently competed in the Pacific Nations Cup with Japan coming fourth behind the Island teams ahead of USA and Canada. 
*Since this was first published all the home nations played a final warm up Test. England beat Ireland at Twickenham which has helped generate momentum as they are propelled into a cauldron of three tough games in a row. Although going to the competition with a loss, Ireland do not need to peak for several weeks and have time to fine tune their game before facing France. The loss has also managed expectations of the 6 Nations champions who never handle the tag of favourites well. Wales have suffered injuries to two key players including their primary goal kicker, though it is the loss of their scrum half that will be more keenly felt due to his outstanding form and all round quality in the game. While this may galvanise the squad, Wales’ chances of escaping the group, realistically, have been reduced. True to form, Scotland played well, with their new caps throwing themselves into action, but lost in the dying minutes to France. Hopefully they will be able to close out tight games during the RWC, otherwise the label of chokers risks becoming permanent.