England
Coach Stuart Lancaster
Captain Chris Robshaw
World ranking 6 World Cup best Winners, 2003
Can Stuart Lancaster’s team build a new Jerusalem? That triumph in 2003 seems a long time ago and nothing less than success in the final on 31 October will please the coach’s paymasters. The key will be to win the most difficult of the four pools. If they do, anything is possible. Lancaster has strength in depth but then so do all England coaches. England have to harness the attacking talents of the Bath trio George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson and the power of the rugby league convert Sam Burgess. Burgess seems certain to be used as an impact replacement and, while learning the skills of an international centre in such a short time is a big ask, that impact could be considerable.
England will have to cope with enormous expectation and even their first game against Fiji is a difficult obstacle but the power of their pack, in particular the tight five, will make them hard to beat at Twickenham. Hooker is still a bit of a problem following the dumping of Dylan Hartley, and the recent defeat in a warm-up in Paris a big setback, but a place in the final is realistic. Beating the All Blacks will be another matter.
Australia
Coach Michael Cheika
Captain Stephen Moore
World ranking 2 World Cup best Winners, 1991, 1999
The Wallabies are back on these shores with a spring in their step despite a heavy defeat in Auckland by the All Blacks that followed their victory over the world champions in Sydney a week earlier. Cheika has bags of talent at his disposal but has ditched the Harlequins-bound lock James Horwill and the scrum-half Nic White, a match-winner in Sydney. Quade Cooper has made the cut despite a less than glorious performance in Auckland and Dean Mumm of Exeter is preferred in the second row to Horwill. Australia’s decision earlier this year to play their France-based players such as Drew Mitchell and Matt Giteau adds enormous experience to their backline. The pair have 160 caps between them. The Wallabies may have problems at the set piece but their talent and Cheika’s nous may just help them to a third World Cup, if they can overcome England.
Wales
Coach Warren Gatland
Captain Sam Warburton
World ranking 5 World Cup best Third, 1987
Wales will look to score a pile of points in their opening fixture against Uruguay but they will be wary of their last pool match against the Wallabies on 10 October. Their record against Australia is not a cause for comfort and the last thing they needed was an injury to their captain Alun Wyn Jones, who picked up a ligament strain in the otherwise encouraging warm-up victory against Ireland in Dublin. The lock is a vital figure for Wales, who have drafted in Bath’s Dominic Day as cover.
The front five are not a source of strength – England exposed this area in Cardiff in the Six Nations – but the back row certainly are, and it will be interesting to see how Gloucester’s former England Under-20 flanker Ross Moriarty fares if he is given a run-out by Warren Gatland. Wales, semi-finalists four years ago, will fancy their chances and Warburton has some unfinished business from that last-four defeat by France. The meeting with England at Twickenham promises to be tumultuous.
Fiji
Coach John McKee
Captain Akapusi Qera
World ranking 9 World Cup best Quarter-final, 1987, 2007
England are their first opponents and Wales, for one, will need no reminding of how dangerous Fiji can be once a World Cup comes around. They have made the quarter-finals twice, most recently in 2007, and, although a place in the last eight this time is surely beyond them, Wales, England and Australia will be given searching physical tests.
Led by the former Gloucester flanker Qera and coached by McKee, they have dangerous men across the pitch, from the hefty Clermont flanker Peceli Yato to the Leicester three-quarter Vereniki Goneva. Fiji are expecting good things from the Crusaders wing Nemani Nadolo, a Jonah Lomu-esque player certain to make an impact on the big stage.
Uruguay
Coach Pablo Lemoine
Captain Nicolás Klappenbach
World ranking 19 World Cup best First round, third, 1999
Los Teros, making their third appearance in the World Cup finals, are probably the weakest of the sides in the competition. A win over Fiji on 6 October in Milton Keynes looks beyond them but they do have a crop of decent players who are based in France, including the fly-half Felipe Berchesi who plays for Carcassone in the Pro2 League. The 24-year-old has a good understanding with his half-back partner Agustín Ormaechea of Stade Montois.
Lemoine, the 40-year-old former Bristol prop, will make the best of his limited resources, but Uruguay face a hard month.
