Black and white

New Zealand, England are main contenders for World Cup

By Charles Froggatt, CNN

LONDON, England (CNN) -- This year’s Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in Australia in October, promises to be the closest fought in the history of the competition.

New Zealand appears to be the team to beat on current form after it was was crowned Tri-nations champion for the second year running Saturday following its 19-11 win against a hard-nosed South African side.

John Mitchell’s side has demolished the other Southern Hemisphere teams this season, recording record wins in their first two games (52-16 in South Africa and 50-21 in Australia).

But, prior to that in June, the All Blacks suffered a rare 15-13 home defeat to England -- their first loss against the English on home soil in 30 years and their second in a row following a 31-29 loss at Twickenham in November.

While touring Southern Hemisphere teams have blamed their past losses in Europe on end-of-season fatigue, Clive Woodward's England have encountered no such problems. After winning in Wellington the Six Nations Grand Slam winner flew to Australia and smashed the Wallabies, 29-17.

But where England is now at the top of the world rankings, defending world champion Australia has seen its position slip.

The Wallabies have not managed to recreate the form they showed against the British and Irish Lions two years ago. John Eales’ side beat Graham Henry’s over-trained Lions in the last game of grueling tour. But World Cup-winning captain Eales has retired, his former team is unsettled and no longer exudes the confidence characteristic of the Wallabies at their best.

After losing successive matches to England, South Africa and New Zealand over June and July, the team does not look capable of regaining its title.

Australian Rugby Union (ARU) chief executive John O'Neill was not afraid to speak his mind Monday, voicing his concerns that the team might not even advance as far as a scheduled semifinal appointment with New Zealand.

"Look, my worst nightmare is getting beaten in the quarterfinals," O'Neill told a business function in Canberra. "A lot of great players have retired. The rebuilding maybe should have started a bit earlier," he added.

And South Africa doesn't look capable of regaining the trophy either. The 1995 World Cup winner ground out a controversial 26-22 victory over Australia in the opening game of this year’s Tri-nations -- in which it was suggested the Springboks had benefited from viewing unauthorized training footage of their opponents -- but since then has looked out of its depth.

Only an inspired defensive performance against the All Blacks on Saturday has buoyed supporters and earned coach Rudi Straeuli a couple more games at the helm.

Argentina has also shown that it is no longer a world rugby minnow. The Pumas are renowned for having a massive pack of forwards, but also for fizzling out before the full 80 minutes are up.

But since the last World Cup, when they were knocked out by France in the quarterfinals after beating Ireland in the group stages, the team has demanded to be taken seriously. Three consecutive wins over the French in Buenos Aires, victories against Wales and Scotland and some encouraging performances against the top-ranking teams have boosted the Pumas' confidence.

Ireland, runner-up in the Six Nation’s tournament has also shown promise, not least after its emphatic win over Australia in Dublin last year.

Despite losing to the same opposition in June with a weakened team, the Irish have the potential to beat any team on their day. But to advance far at the World Cup, Keith Wood's side will likely need to score a revenge win over Argentina to secure the runner-up berth behind Australia in their first round pool.

Now, with New Zealand winning the Tri-nations and England beating every team on the planet, this year's World Cup looks set to be the best so far.

 

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