The Rugby World Cup 2011 starts on the 9 September until the 23 October 2011. The following article is an outline of the teams that will be featuring from pool A.
Canada - Maple leafs
Canada have competed at every World Cup since the tournament was first staged in 1987, the only North American team to do so. Canada achieved their best result at the World Cup in 1991; they achieved a quarter-final match. They are the dominant power of North American rugby and considered second only to Argentina in the Americas. The strong group Canada is in will make progressing to the next round very tough, don't under-estimate though how far an excellent team spirit may get them. Star player is James Pritchard.
France - Les Tricolores
France has competed at every World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987, though they have never won the competition. France have played in the quarter-final stages of every tournament, and have twice reached the final but never triumphed. Les Tricolores are the third highest World Cup point's scorers of all time, and hold the reputation as great rugby entertainers. A crunch earlier tournament game against New Zealand is one game not to miss! The French always step up a gear against the All Blacks and the game's are classics, with their quality and style France are always considered as possible champions. Currently coached by Marc Lièvremont, Star player to watch is Morgan Parra.
Japan - Brave Blossoms
Japan has participated in every World Cup since its start back in 1987. Despite appearing in every tournament so far, they have experienced little success, with just one solitary victory over Zimbabwe in 1991, and one draw with Canada in 2007. Pool A is tough for the brave blossoms but what they traditionally lack in pack size is offset with agile and quick play a feature of their style. Just like Canada and Tonga they will struggle to get out of pool A, games against these two teams will be key. Star player - Takashi Kikutani(c).
New Zealand - All Blacks
The All Blacks have won a record 75 percent of all rugby matches they have ever played since 1903 and they were named the International Rugby Board (IRB) team of the Year in 2005, 2006, 2008 and a record fourth time in 2010. The 2011 tournament is in their back yard and with a home crowd behind them lifting the World Cup for only the 2nd time since its inception is a strong possibility for the players in the All Black shirts. New Zealand has for the past decade always been tournament favorites but they have never produced the big performance required to go on to win the World Cup; a huge expectation 2011 will change that. In a team full of super stars fly half Daniel Carter stands out as there Star Player with the golden boot amassing 1,188 points from 79 Tests so far.
Tonga - Sea Eagles
Tonga's World Cup performances always seem to improve and in the 2007 World Cup Tonga won two of their pool matches and nearly defeated the eventual champions South Africa; it was one of the most memorable and exciting games of the tournament; Tonga eventually going down 30-25.
No comments:
Post a Comment