Stuart Lancaster’s England side will get the 2015 World Cup underway in front of a sell-out crowd at Twickenham Stadium on 18th September. England supporters are hopeful of World Cup success on home soil and will be expecting their side to get off to the perfect start with victory over the South Pacific minnows. England are currently odds on to beat Fiji with Coral and should not find the opener too much of a strain, winning the tournament on the other hand could be a bigger ask with current favourites New Zealand hard to look past. England finished second in the Six Nations for the fourth consecutive year but Lancaster’s side will be looking to get over that disappointment with an excellent performance in the World Cup. Their squad for the Six Nations tournament was severely depleted and the likes of Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchberry all missed out on the action. Ahead of the opening match of the World Cup, England have no fresh injury concerns and Lancaster will have the tough choice of selecting his final 31-man squad later this month. With two warm-up fixtures against France to come, England’s coach will have two more opportunities to assess his players before finalising his squad. From what we already know, a number of England’s places have already been taken. Lancaster will select five props for the squad, with Joe Marler, Mako Vunipola and Dan Cole all guaranteed a place in the side. The final two places are reportedly up for grabs, and David Wilson, Kieran Brookes and Alex Corbisiero are set to compete for those slots. There is some debate over whether Stuart Lancaster will select rugby league convert Sam Burgess in the squad. The England coach has given the Bath star an opportunity to prove his worth in the friendly matches with France and one would assume that, if he impresses, he is one of the favourites for a surprise inclusion. Meanwhile, Fiji have also announced their preliminary 38-man Rugby World Cup squad ahead of next month’s competition. Veteran utility back Seremaia Bai has returned to the side after a spell out with injury, while danger man Nemani Nadolo has also been included in the squad. Fiji’s coach John McKee has selected a solid, reliable team that could surprise a few throughout the tournament. The Pacific Nations Cup winners are a hardworking side and can play some exceptional attacking rugby on their day. After being paired with England, Australia and Wales, Fiji have nothing to lose and will be eager to enjoy their group stage matches. While England won’t find it easy to break down a confident Fiji side, Lancaster’s side should be too strong in the tournament’s curtain raiser. The likes of Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes and Jonathan Joseph ended the club season in fine form and will be looking to continue their excellent performances in the World Cup. The South Pacific side will prove stern opposition but England will be too strong in front of a sell-out crowd. Continue reading
Tag Archives: 2013
AFL Grand Final Recap
Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2013 Premiers are the Hawthorn Hawks. In a clash of the best attack in the league and the best defence, attack has won, with coach Al Clarkson bringing his 2nd premiership to the brown and yellow fans and their 63,000 members. Commiserations for Ross Lyon and his troops, who were perhaps … Continue reading
AFL Round 21 Preview
Joint Brownlow Medalists, both key to the big stories this week Another hectic week in the AFL, highlighted by the ongoing dramas at Essendon as 4 of their senior staff were charged of ‘conduct unbecoming’. As far as the AFL is concerned this is the only way they can show their power whilst the ASADA … Continue reading
AFL Round 20 Preview
Jeremy Cameron: Fired up after GWS’s first win for the season What a crazy round we just had, possibly the Best Showdown finish ever played out in Adelaide, the Bulldogs almost out-Sydneyed Sydney, and both the top teams on the table suffered losses, while the Bombers were awful against the Pies. Throw in GWS first … Continue reading
AFL Round 19 Preview
Don’t think they’ll be so chummy this weekend! Another week and more news develops in the Essendon drugs saga. When will this ever end I can hear you say? Hopefully before the finals is all I’ll say. The previous round had some very unfashionable ugly footy, the scorelines of some games were downright awful, and … Continue reading
2013 NFL Post Season Predictions
So here in my hypothetical world we have reached the January 2014. I’ll conclude my 2013 season preview by announcing to the world my way off the mark Post Season predictions! Remember this is just my opinion. Here goes… NFC NFC East New York Giants 10-6 Dallas Cowboys 9-7 Washington Redskins 6-10 Philadelphia Eagles 4-12 … Continue reading
AFL Round 17 Preview
Match of the round, Richmond hosting the Dockers at the MCG, who will be triumphant? Firstly apologies for no preview last round, as it was though we witnessed a typical Lions last qtr surge, a typical Kangaroos fade, a typical Geelong mauling at Kardinia Park, a heart-stopper up in Cairns, and another GWS thumping. Oh, … Continue reading
2013 NFC Preview
Here’s the second part of my 2013 NFL preview, this time it’s the NFC’s turn… NFC East Dallas Cowboys Last season: 8-8 After another middle of the road season GM and Owner Jerry Jones fired Defensive Co-ordinator Rob Ryan, the pressure is now really on Head Coach Jason Garrett to succeed in 2013. A shootout … Continue reading
AFL Round 15 Preview
Can he do it again for the Cats in this week’s match of the round? Another week and yet more denials from the Bombers on the whole Peptides issue. Now their CEO is claiming the drug in question isn’t a performance enhancer, technically he may be correct. But this drug, AOD-9604 is still banned. If … Continue reading
2013 AFC Preview
The football beast is stirring again and training camp is just around the corner. Hopefully we’ll have another season of drama (the lights going out in the Super Bowl), controversy (remember replacement refs?!) and excitement (Falcons / Seahawks, anyone?). Can the Niners go one better? Can Peterson reach 2500 yards? Can Tebow start at TE … Continue reading