The four weekend matches that will help decide the Rugby World Cup
This is part of a series of commentaries and analyses that former Wallaby captain Simon Poidevin will write for the Financial Review during the Rugby World Cup in France.
It’s hard to recall an opening weekend of a Rugby World Cup with so many pivotal matches.
From the opener in Paris between favourites France and New Zealand, to face-offs between England and Argentina, South Africa and Scotland, and Wales and Fiji, the results will play a big part in deciding who qualifies and in what order from all four groups.
The biggest match is the opener. France will run out in front of a rabid, French-dominated crowd at the Stade de France at 9.15pm on Saturday (5.15am Sunday AEST) the favourites against an All Blacks team humiliated by current world champions South Africa two weeks ago.
Ben Donaldson runs the ball during a Wallabies training session in Saint-Etienne, France. Getty
It is not often we see the All Blacks monstered. But that’s precisely what the massive Springbok pack did in delivering a 35-to-7 lesson on neutral ground at Twickenham.
However, the French are not the Springboks. Les Bleus’ pack play a very similar athletic and ball-in-hand style to the All Blacks, with their front three playing the roles of jackals at the breakdown. That frees up their talented locks and back row to run riot in sync with a very dangerous French backline driven by scrum-half Antoine Dupont, arguably the best rugby player in the world. With practical referee Jaco Peyper in charge of two teams determined to attack, it promises to be a classic.
England face Argentina at Stade de Marseille, and if the Pumas play to their full potential with discipline, it will be a hard night for England. They have lost six from nine under new coach
Read more on afr.com
