What Will the Wallabies Look Like in 12 Months’ Time?

If any rugby-playing nation has proved how fast your fortunes can change it is Australia. At the end of 2014 they had crashed to a first defeat to Argentina, their coach had been jettisoned and one of their star players was the subject of a serious breach of squad discipline. At the end of 2015 they are second in the world, reigning Rugby Championship winners and World Cup runners-up. It rather makes a fool’s errand of the task of predicting where they will be a year from now. But we can, at least, make a decent fist of assessing the personnel they may be using as they arrive back in Europe... 

What Will the All Blacks Look Like in 12 Months’ Time?

Planning for the future is a major strength when it comes to the New Zealand national rugby team, an institution that’s stood at the pinnacle of its field for decades and is now officially its most illustrious ever. The All Blacks made history after claiming this year’s Rugby World Cup to become the first team ever to win back-to-back tournaments, but their crowning moment also came with the realisation an era was at its end. Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Tony Woodcock and Keven Mealamu have all retired from the international arena, per the New Zealand Herald on Sunday,... 

5 Potential Stars of the 2019 Rugby World Cup

As the post-2015 Rugby World Cup era commences, it’s time to peer into the tea leaves to predict the men who might be the box office hits of Japan 2019. Since John Kirwan tore up the inaugural tournament in 1987, the World Cup has given rise to players who went on to become legends of the game. The tournament this year was no different, with the likes of Nehe Milner-Skudder and David Pocock carving their names into the history books as some of the star performers of the eighth edition. In 2011, no one would have picked either of those two as a potential standout performer four years later.... 

5 Bold Predictions for the 2019 Rugby World Cup

Fresh after securing a second successive Rugby World Cup crown, questions are being raised as to whether New Zealand can make it three in a row at Japan 2019. Japan will open its doors to the planet in four years time as the country becomes the first Asian nation to host a Rugby World Cup, and the pressure is high following the team’s hugely successful 2015 competition. Will the Cherry Blossoms be able to maintain their 2015 surge in front of a home audience? Can the All Blacks complete a hat-trick of triumphs? Which players can we expect to see flourish at the next tournament? We predict... 

How Can World Rugby Make the 2019 Rugby World Cup Even More Exciting?

Both on and off the field, Rugby World Cup 2015 succeeded in raising standards. The All Blacks became the best team in the game’s history by becoming the first to retain the trophy and, in doing so, playing a brand of rugby better than anything we’ve seen. And England (with a little bit of Wales) put on a tournament that has been widely trumpeted as the best so far. Stadiums were packed, fan zones were vibrant and the smaller grounds in particular added a great amount of colour and passion to the matches they hosted. Kingsholm was jumping out of its skin when Argentina played Georgia... 

James ‘Manuel’ Haskell in the Dark over England Rugby Review

James Haskell has told Bleacher Report that he is the equivalent of Manuel from Fawlty Towers with regard to the current England rugby review. England crashed out of the 2015 Rugby World Cup on home soil at the pool stage, following defeats to Wales and Australia. Coach Stuart Lancaster is clinging onto his job, but a thorough root-and-branch review is being undertaken. Players and officials have been consulted to gauge their thoughts on the state of the game at the top level in England. Haskell, as a senior member in the squad, was consulted—but he has now returned to club rugby with Wasps... 

5 Biggest Disappointments at the 2015 Rugby World Cup

For the rousing success that the 2015 Rugby World Cup unquestionably was, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There were a few clouds hanging over the tournament; some produced by players, others by the organisers. Collectively, we must label the northern hemisphere’s big guns a disappointment. We’ll get to England in a moment, but France were abysmal, Italy worse. Wales failed to reach the heights of 2011, and Ireland did what Ireland always do. Scotland were unfortunate. But, ultimately, the sum of those six parts was failure. We shall get a little more specific for our list... 

5 Biggest Surprises at the 2015 Rugby World Cup

The Rugby World Cup 2015 saw stadiums packed and stars born and gave us the best edition of the tournament there has ever been. We were treated to tighter contests between giants and minnows than has been the case before, with far fewer totally one-sided affairs. And in the scraps between the lower-tier nations, we witnessed gripping encounters that often went down to the last knockings. To top it off, the best team we have ever seen walked off with the prize. No tournament will ever feel complete again without a shock to rival the one we saw on opening weekend, and it’s Japan’s triumph... 

Ranking the Best 20 Players at the 2015 Rugby World Cup

An anxious four years of waiting began anew this week after New Zealand’s 34-17 victory over Australia on Saturday brought an end to what many are now regarding as the best Rugby World Cup to date. The 2015 competition reached record audiences was declared the biggest of its kind by the official Rugby World Cup website, which was in no small part thanks to the ocean of top-tier talent on display. Too many to name in one article, that’s for sure, but we can do the cream of the crop justice by selecting the very best to have taken part in this year’s tournament. Regardless of how... 

How Can the Northern Hemisphere Close the Gap on the South Before 2019 RWC?

By the time referee Craig Joubert went scampering from the field, we were left with only southern-hemisphere participants in Rugby World Cup 2015. The last four teams were the same four who fight it out for the Rugby Championship on an annual basis. Indeed, the only side from north of the equator to topple a member of the big four during the tournament was Japan. Scotland played two of them and lost both, as did Wales, while England, France, and Ireland were all beaten by one of the big beasts. Scotland may point to the narrow margin and dodgy decision that saw them miss out on a semi-final spot,... 

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