ENGLAND CAN RULE THE WORLD
New format could work for coach Tony Smith
THE World Cup has a contrived format designed to avoid the heavily one-sided games that spoiled the last tournament in 2000.
Favourites Australia, New Zealand and England, along with unlucky Papua New Guinea, are in Group One, which will produce THREE semi-finalists. Group Two features France, Fiji and Scotland, with Tonga, Ireland and Samoa in Group Three
The fourth semi-finalist will be decided by a knockout game between the winners of Group Two and Group Three.
The tournament kick offs with Australia v New Zealand in Sydney on Friday followed by England v Papua New Guinea on Saturday. The November 22 final is in Brisbane.
Australia have won nine of the 12 previous tournaments, with Great Britain landing the other three in 1954, 1960 and 1972.
GROUP ONE
ENGLAND
ENGLAND have a great chance of winning the World Cup if coach Tony Smith can convince his players they have enough skill, brawn and ability to think on their feet, go toe-to-toe with the Aussies and beat them.
The squad oozes quality and bags of experience. Captain Jamie Peacock is joined by seven Leeds team-mates, who won the Grand Final, along with seven from losers St Helens.
Expect tiny scrum half Rob Burrow to excel on the hard grounds. He is so inventive and quick enough to make big men around him look stupid.
Elsewhere, the two youngest players - 22-year-olds James Roby and Lee Smith - are also set to shine.
AUSTRALIA
RED-HOT favourites at 9-2 on to retain the trophy and extend their winning World Cup run to seven victories.
Coached by Ricky Stuart, who also bosses the Sydney City Roosters, they have phenomenal strength in depth and in centre/winger Israel Folau the potential star of the tournament.
He made his debut a year ago against the Kiwis as Australia’s youngest ever player aged 18 years and 194 days.
Falou checks in at 6ft 5in and 16st 3lb, and is nicknamed ’Big Man’.
Elswehere, stand-off Terry Campese is the nephew of rugby union legend David.
NEW ZEALAND
PUMMELLED 3-0 by Great Britain last autumn and could struggle again because Sonny Bill Williams has been lost to union, and the influential Brent Webb and Jeff Lima are ruled out through injury.
But in massive winger Manu Vatuvei, who weighs 17st 9lb and goes by the name of the ’The Beast’, they have the equivalent of the All Blacks’ Jonah Lomu.
The Kiwis have an extremely physical pack, led by David Kidwell, who is still dining out on his thunderous shoulder charge on Australian enforcer Willie Mason in 2006.
Ex-Hull FC second rower Stephen Kearney is the coach, backed up by former Australia coach Wayne Bennett as his advisor.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
FORMER Wigan scrum half Adrian Lam is in charge of a ’rugby daft’ nation.
After losing to Wales in the last eight in 2000 the squad was greeted by 70,000 fans on their return home.
This time they’ll be struggling, after being squeezed in alongside the ’big three’ heavyweights.
Captain John Wilshere, who has done wonders in the centre for Salford this season, could easily transform that form to the world stage but PNG will struggle to last 80 minutes in each group match.
ENGLAND GROUP GAMES
Saturday, October 25: v Papua New Guinea (Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville)
Sunday, November 2: v Australia (Telstra Dome, Melbourne)
Saturday, November 8: v New Zealand (Energy Australia Stadium, Newcastle)
POOL 2
FRANCE
FIJI
SCOTLAND
POOL 3
TONGA
IRELAND
SAMOA
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