It’s interesting this year because England are fielding a squad so inexperienced that, combined, it’s been over 50 years since there was less caps between the players. A combination of bad behaviour on and off the pitch has seen the old crew decimated in favour of a bunch of lads so thrilled to finally get the nod that the hope is they fear losing their shirt more than they fancy flinging some dwarfs about. Stuart Lancaster has the terrifying job of trying to round up the youngsters into what vaguely looks like a challenging England side, whilst simultaneously crossing his fingers and praying to God that they ‘Seize the day’ rather than go down in flames – either outcome is a distinct possibility!

Surprisingly, non of Ireland’s squad got the customary P45 that was expected after the 2011 World Cup and as a result the squad is more than familiar so Declan Kidney is clearly going with proven experience over fresh young blood. And given that they have three home games, all of which are winnable, even if they did get their asses handed to them by Wales in the World Cup, they would then only have to go to Paris and London and look for a win to potentially win the Championship. No doubt, in familiar fashion, they’ll start off pretty badly, eeking out some wins so that as they progress and get better they’ll end up in a points difference battle that will have grown men shaking in anticipation and gnawing at their finger nails for hours on the last day of the tournament until some other team has won it and we all drink up and go home!

Wales on the other hand have momentum on their side – that is of course if momentum can last four months without actually playing a game! Still aggrieved by the loss to France in the World Cup semi final, it might actually spur them on to give them a taste of their own medicine when they meet in Cardiff on March 17th. I can only hope that they’ve been training hard though I’m sure I saw a few of them pop up in ‘Stella’ on Sky 1 recently, so not much rugby action happening there – actually there wasn’t even any acting involved if the odd one-liner was to be believed – stick to the day job lads. And as second favourites after France to win the title this year they may just do that.

The fixtures are below as are the odds for the tournament!

Sat 4th Feb 12 14:30 France v Italy Stade de France Preview
Sat 4th Feb 12 17:00 Scotland v England Murrayfield Preview
Sun 5th Feb 12 15:00 Ireland v Wales Aviva Stadium

Sat 11th Feb 12 16:00 Italy v England Stadio Olimpico
Sat 11th Feb 12 20:00 France v Ireland Stade de France
Sun 12th Feb 12 15:00 Wales v Scotland Millennium Stadium

Sat 25th Feb 12 13:30 Ireland v Italy Aviva Stadium
Sat 25th Feb 12 16:00 England v Wales Twickenham
Sun 26th Feb 12 15:00 Scotland v France Murrayfield

Sat 10th Mar 12 14:30 Wales v Italy Millennium Stadium
Sat 10th Mar 12 17:00 Ireland v Scotland Aviva Stadium
Sun 11th Mar 12 15:00 France v England Stade de France More

Sat 17th Mar 12 12:30 Italy v Scotland Stadio Olimpico
Sat 17th Mar 12 14:45 Wales v France Millennium Stadium
Sat 17th Mar 12 17:00 England v Ireland Twickenham

Rules state that ten changes are allowed in a Rugby World Cup year over and above international retirements (Lewis Moody, Jonny Wilkinson, Steve Thompson) and long-term injuries (Andrew Sheridan and Richard Wigglesworth) and Lancaster has used every last one of them.

The England squad will meet for their pre-RBS 6 Nations training camp on Monday, January 23 where no doubt they will all start to get used to each other.

Lancaster said: “Lots of players have been putting their hands up and there were some tough calls to make. However, in line with the selection philosophy about starting new era for English rugby, we have taken the chance to make changes and give players opportunities to be part of the journey towards 2015.

“We have lost some great players who have worn the England shirt with pride and distinction – Lewis, Steve and Jonny – and we should thank them for all they did. Others haven’t been selected for this EPS cycle and I have met them and explained the reasons why as we look for the next player to step up in that position to take us forward.

“We are looking both at the present and just as importantly the future. We wanted to get the right balance in potential and experience and giving us the flexibility to play in different ways. We need to use the upcoming games to build the collective experience and we are confident we have got the right mix to take England forward into this Six Nations and beyond.”

First on the agenda for the new squad is the RBS Six Nations Championship which kicks off in February and all of the latest and best odds for it are below…

Friday night the qualification picture in Pools 2 and 5 is likely to become clearer when Racing Metro 92 take on leaders, Edinburgh Rugby, at Stade Yves du Manoir in Paris, and when Ospreys go up against Benetton Treviso at the Liberty Stadium.

Munster Rugby, the only club with four wins in the pool stage to date, will continue their push for a coveted place in the last eight when they host Castres Olympique at Thomond Park on Saturday, 14 January 2012 before rounding off their Pool 1 campaign a week later against Northampton Saints at stadium:mk in Milton Keynes.

Reigning champions Leinster, who are unbeaten in Pool 3, travel to Firhill on Sunday, 15 January where they meet a resurgent Glasgow Warriors, while in Round 6 they will look to reach the knockout stages once again when they host Montpellier at the RDS on Saturday, 21 January.

All the latest and best odds for the Heineken Cup are below…

The 2010/11 competition was incredibly disappointing for Munster and their fans as it was the first campaign in 13 seasons when they didn’t qualify for the quarter finals. Older players, retirements and a general need for an injection of youth has meant an overhaul at Thomond Park. And with so many young fresh players on the pitch you would have been forgiven for thinking that it would take some time for them to gel.

Not so, with incredible discipline, patience, stamina and skill the machine that it Munster has hit the ground running and managed two wins from two in their opening games. Scarlets currently top the group due to an additional Try bonus point so the next match, Munster V Scarlets, is going to be a cracker, with the winners almost certainly going through to the knock-out stages!!

It takes place on the weekend of December 9th/10th/11th along with all of the other Round 3 games so if you’re a fan get your money on your team as all of the latest and best odds are below.

Pool 1 sees Castres Olympique do battle with Munster, Northampton Saints and the Scarlets which, by anybody’s standards is the group from hell. After failing to reach the knockout stage of the Heineken Cup for the first time since Keith Earls was in nappies, Munster will be extra anxious to prove that the empire isn’t crumbling. They’re up against Northampton in their first game and although their performance in the 2nd half of the final last year will be remembered as one of the more famous chokes in the history of the competition, the truth is that is was a steep learning curve and the Saints will no doubt want to shake it off and prove themselves as worthy on Sunday.

Pool 2 is home to Cardiff Blues, Edinburgh, London Irish and Racing Metro. Not a lot to say about this group really – London Irish look like they could be top at the end as Racing Metro have had a horrendous season so far in the french league and will be lucky to come away from the group with any points, this will be Edinburgh’s big chance to win a game but that’s about it for them. So you’re left with the Blues who have some solid, decent players in their squad and London Irish to battle it out for the group win…

Pool 3 is host to Leinster, Bath, Glasgow Warriors and Montpellier. Up until a few days ago, all looked rosy in the garden of the defending champions Leinster. Their returning World Cup stars were easing their way back into top form and in their absence, the team had been going along nicely. Since then however the most open secret in rugby was confirmed – Brian O’Driscoll has been playing with an injury for months, if not years, and needs surgery. He’s expected to be out for about 6 months, but most of the reports relating to the story included a line along the lines of ‘he is expected to be fit for the quarter-finals in April’ – an addition with the whiff of arrogance which pretty much tells us all we need to know about the draw the Blues have been handed. It’s pretty easy and they’re expected to progress as pool winners.

Pool 4 consists of Leicester, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Aironi and Ulster – I wish had some interesting and exciting insight to this group but frankly if the Leicester players can’t stroll through to the top of the group then they should start re-considering their career choice – maybe, just maybe Clermont might give them a run for their money but that’s only wishful thinking…

Pool 5 is Benetton Treviso, Biarritz, Ospreys and Saracens and initially you think ‘oh please, Biarritz are going to piss that group’ but on closer inspection Saracens’ capture of their first Premiership title in the club’s history and a start to the domestic season like team on fire AND John Smit (Springbok) can only help their European challenge. In contrast, Biarritz have had a terrible start to their season, Treviso are only there to make up numbers so that leaves the Ospreys to challenge but sadly over the summer, they’ve lost enough talent to make a top class sevens team and that will be hard to replace.

Pool 6 – last but not least Toulouse, Connaught, Gloucester and Harlequins – only second to Pool 1 in the toughness stakes. No least becuase Toulouse are expected to sail through but Gloucester have had a great start to the season and Harlequins top the Aviva Premiership – sadly Connaught don’t have a shot in hell so the others will no doubt be hoping to rack up the points against them to bolster their own chances and perhaps get enough points for a best-runner-up spot.

Leading up to the narrow final defeat Lièvremont grew increasingly eccentric, hitting out at his squad on the eve of the biggest game in world rugby, describing them as “spoiled brats” after their unconvincing semi-final win over Wales.

France tasted defeat twice during the pool stages against the All Blacks and Tonga but rallied to defy free bets (http://www.bigfreebet.com) placed in the knockout stages to beat England and Wales before just missing out in the final by a point.

Lièvremont frequently cut a frustrated figure throughout the tournament and appeared at a loss over how to get the best out of his talented but unpredictable side, and Harinordoquy, who was key as Les Blues rallied back from their morale sapping defeats in the pool stages, revealed that after losing to Tonga the players took matters into their own hands.

“After the defeat against Tonga I did not attach too much importance to what Marc said,” Harinordoquy told Midi Olympique.

“It was our adventure. It was meant to be the nice experience of 30 men. We had to free ourselves from his supervision.” He added.

The experienced number eight added that the players felt unsure of what to do under Lièvremont’s supervision and that led to them becoming the free bet underdogs for the tournament because of their under-par play: “He cast the stone at us too often. When something goes wrong, we’re all in the same boat. There are no good or bad guys. I felt he was lost, I will not miss him.”

Toulon head coach Phillipe Saint-Andre has taken up the reins following Lièvremont’s exit having agreed to take over the role before the World Cup got underway.

The All Blacks have the hopes of a nation on their shoulders ahead of this weekend’s clash with Australia, but Hansen is convinced that it is something they are more than capable of handling.

Referring to playing under pressure, he said: “I’d say it’s been like that for four years. Everyone feels pressure, it’s how you react to it that’s the key.”

“We’re really excited and looking forward to the challenge of the semi-final. It doesn’t get any bigger. As long as you can walk towards the pressure then you’re in control of it, it’s not in control of you.”

Hansen also believes that his side are mentally prepared for the battle with Australia. He is also fully aware that the team who knocked out those in 2011 South Africa Shirts () in the last round are a dangerous side.

He continued: “The preparation’s got to be dead-set genuine and you’ve got to take yourself to the right places mentally. You’ve got to make sure you’ve got your game plan clarity right.”

“Once you’ve got clarity you can have intensity and purpose about what you do and that gives you accuracy as well.”

“If we can get those things tidied up, then we get on the track on Sunday night and it’s going to be all on.”

“Your top players in the big games have to play as top players, you can’t afford them not to be world class and that’ll be what it’s like on Sunday.”

New Zealand v Australia is the second semi-final, following Wales v France on Saturday as four teams aim to take part in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final.

Pisi and Tagicakibau are currently on track to make it, but Tuifu is further away from being available for the fascinating Pool D clash.

As things stand, both teams are in with a chance of making the quarter-finals with Samoa in 2nd position and Fiji a point behind in 4th.

Wales – who defeated Samoa in their last game – sit between the two as it looks likely to be a three way tussle for the runners-up position behind holders South Africa.

Samoa coach Titimaea Tafua is aware of how close things are at the moment and believes his players have recovered from the Wales defeat and are ready for Fiji this weekend.

He said: “The team will bounce back. At the moment the boys are trying to forget about the game last week. This is a big game this week, so we’re looking forward to it.”

“This game is the clash of the islanders, so it will be a big one. There are a lot of islanders around here so I don’t think there are enough tickets for everybody to see the game.”

The players will certainly be under plenty of pressure in front of a packed crowd. Defeat for either side could spell the end of their quarter-final hopes too, so to say this is a big game is a massive understatement.

In other news concerning those in a Samoa 2011 World Cup Jersey, they will be hoping that the Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu Twitter rant will not distract them from focusing for the Fiji game.

The centre used his page on the social networking site to complain about scheduling for Samoa, saying that if they had more time to prepare for the Wales game, they would have defeated Warren Gatland’s side.

The Samoa Rugby Union have since apologised for the players action and they will be hoping that it is their victory over Fiju that makes the headlines this weekend.

However with a small player base, and lacking frequent or strong competition, the team has deteriorated in recent years. Their record in the World Cups has been poor and they have never managed a win. Their record defeat, 142-0 against Australia in the 2003 tournament, led to some questioning the presence of the minor teams at the tournament.

As the lowest ranked team at the start of the 2007 World Cup, they were given no chance in their opening game of against Ireland. However, they frustrated Ireland, then the 5th ranked team in the world, and scored two tries for their narrowest World Cup loss of 17-32. They were convincingly beaten in their games with Argentina (63-3) and France (87-10). At the game in which they were seen as having more chances to win, they suffered a disappointing 30-0 loss to Georgia, to end the tournament win less.

2011 does not look any better for Namibia with an exceptionally strong group and all four other competing teams look likely to triumph over them but undoubtedly, teams like Namibia are good for the sport and their participation and unwavering passion for the sport should be applauded.

Fiji have participated in every world cup since it’s inauguration in 1987, except for 1995, and haven’t faired too badly, all things considered. In 1987 they made the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup and nearly beat France in the match. But in 1991,they lost all three of its matches and finished bottom of its pool. As mentioned previously, they didn’t qualify in 1995 and in 1999 a rebuilt Fiji, under new coach Brad Johnstone, set out optimistically. They made a winning start by beating Canada and Namibia and again seemed about to beat France in Toulouse when things went wrong. A controversial refereeing performance from Paddy O’Brien was felt to have cost them a win over France, Fiji losing 28–19.

In 2003 they battled well but ultimately came third in the group missing on the elusive quarter-final spot and in 2007 they faired better getting to the quarter-finals which is again what they will be hoping for in 2011. They have beaten Wales in the World Cup and will be planning on doing it again but this is a tough group with three teams easily capable of competing for one 2nd place spot after South Africa!

Under their new coach, the All Blacks legend Michael Jones, Samoa worked hard to create a side able to compete effectively in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, where they were grouped with England, South Africa, Tonga and the USA. However, Samoa had a dismal World Cup campaign, defeating only the USA and finishing fourth in their group, which forced them to go through qualifying for the 2011 World Cup.

Thankfully they comfortably qualified and since 2009 have been coached by former sevens coach Titimaea “Dicky” Tafua. Their 2011 group is difficult with both South Africa and Wales ready and able to take points but if they play their cards right and throw a few curve balls into the proceedings they may just be able to scrap a few wins and leave with their dignity in tact. I wouldn’t bet against them getting the 2nd place in the pools, especially if Wales don’t perform on the day!

Most famously, South Africa was selected to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and there was a remarkable surge of support for the Springboks among the white and black communities in the lead-up to the tournament. This was the first major event to be held in what Archbishop Desmond Tutu had dubbed “the Rainbow Nation.” South Africans got behind the ‘one team, one country’ slogan. By the time they hosted the 1995 World Cup, the Springboks were seeded ninth. They defeated Australia, Romania, Canada, Western Samoa and France to play in the final.

South Africa narrowly won the epic 1995 Rugby World Cup Final 15–12 against traditional rivals the All Blacks. A drop goal by Joel Stransky secured victory in extra-time. Wearing a Springbok shirt, Nelson Mandela presented the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar, a white Afrikaner. The gesture was widely seen as a major step towards the reconciliation of white and black South Africans. Mandela’s enthusiasm and support for the Springboks is portrayed in the 2009 film Invictus.

Their World Cup history is one of mixed fortunes. They did not participate in the 1987 and 1991 World Cups because of the sporting boycott that apartheid brought against them and their introduction to the event was as hosts. They defeated defending champions Australia in the opening match, and went on to defeat the All Blacks in the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final.

In 1999 South Africa suffered their first World Cup loss when they were defeated 21–27 by Australia in their semi-final and their worst ever South African performance at a World Cup was in 2003 when they lost a pool game to England, and then were knocked out of the tournament by the All Blacks in their quarter-final. In 2007 the Springboks defeated Fiji in the quarter-finals and Argentina in the semi-finals. They then defeated England in the final 15–6 to win the tournament for a second time.

This will be Russia’s first Rugby World Cup having qualified as Europe 2 through their second place finish in the 2009-10 ENC. Previous qualification campaigns saw elimination to Portugal ahead of the 2007 tournament and expulsion from 2003 qualifying for breaches of eligibility rules. Spain, who Russia had beaten in qualifying, protested the fielding of three South African-born players (Johan Hendriks, Reiner Volschenck and Werner Pieterse), who the RUR claimed had qualified through ancestry. However, the RUR did not produce documentation deemed acceptable by the IRB, and Spain were re-instated in qualification in Russia’s place.

This is clearly going to be a baptism of fire for the Russians and unless they really bring their A game then they are going to get decimated by the likes of Australia, who they’ve never even played so it’ll definitely make for great TV! They’re about 5000/1 to win the tournament and frankly that’s generous.

Having been invited to the inaugural world cup in 1987, they qualified for it again in 1991 but failed to do so in 1995. Despite this disappointment they were successful again in 1999 when they played in Wales. They subsequently qualified for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, finishing fourth in their pool winning one game against Japan. They qualified for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France by beating Uruguay home and away to clinch the Americas 2 spot but went home with out a win despite some excellent performances against some of the top teams.

2011 doesn’t see them fair any better with exceptionally tough opposition in their group – Australia, Ireland and Italy all look set to dominate them but maybe a win against Russia could be on the cards. If the tournament goes as predicted this is likely to be their only win but they do fly under the radar, are heavily underestimated and are, ultimately, American which means they never give up!

Their World Cup history isn’t much better and despite having competed at every Rugby World Cup since the first tournament in 1987, they have yet to progress beyond the first round. Their best showing thus far has been in 2003 and 2007 where they managed two wins during the pool stages.

With both Australia and Ireland in their group, it is highly unlikely that will get beyond the pool stages but the USA and Russia are there for the taking so they may still beat their personal best and notch up a few memorable wins against them.

Their path will not be easy and with Australia in their group they will praying for a miracle if they hope to top it but a second place will give them a quarter final against winner of Group D, which right now, looks to be South Africa and unfortunately, many speculate that that is where the dream will end. Statistically they only have a 20% win rate against them but South Africa are capable of a bad day as well so you never know!

Should they manage to escape the clutches of elimination in the quarter final they look set to face the All Blacks in the semi, on their home turf…as I said, the path is not easy and it’s going to take everything the Irish, and their fans, have to muster up the mental and physical stamina required to progress in this competition.

School boy errors, inter-camp fractions and nerves have all gotten the better of Ireland in recent years, but if they can just get it together then maybe…just maybe…

Australia have competed in all six Rugby World Cups, and have won the World Cup on two occasions, in 1991 against England, and in 1999 against France. Australia also lost in the final after extra time to England in the 2003 competition. 2007 saw them equal their worst World Cup result when, after finishing first in their group, they only progressed to the quarter finals where they were beaten 12-10 by England.

2011 brings very high hopes for Australia. If they top their group they’ll meet the runners-up of Group D who, at least right now, look likely to be Wales, against whom they have a 60.7% win rate. If things pan out as predicted it mean meeting France in the Semi-Final which could be quite an evenly matched game if the French are on form. As expected, odds on them going far in the competition are high!

Rugby union is one of the most popular sports in Georgia. The Georgian national sevens team became the first national side from Georgia to compete in a major tournament, playing in the IRB Sevens World Cup in Argentina.

However, it took until the 2003 Rugby World Cup for the full national team to qualify, with the Georgians playing against rugby powers such as Ireland and France. They also qualified for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France when they beat Namibia by 30-0 for their first ever World Cup win.

They have been drawn in Pool B which is looking like one of the toughest group with four good solid teams up against them and although there’s no doubt they will give their absolute best on the day, it’s unlikely they will get out of the group stage or make any real impact on the tournament, unfortunately.

Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside of the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the European Nations Cup, where most recently in the 2008-2010 competition they finished third.

Their World Cup record speaks for itself:
1987 Invited. One win in pool stages
1991 Qualified. One win in pool stages
1995 Qualified. No wins in pool stages
1999 Qualified. One win in pool stages
2003 Qualified. One win in pool stages
2007 Qualified. One win in pool stages

It could be argued that in order for Romania to improve they need to be part of the Six Nations tournament, which would enable them to get some real experience under their belts and of course ultimately make them competitive enough to challenge for major tournaments. No plans for that at the moment though…

They have competed at every Rugby World Cup staged since the inaugural tournament of 1987, and are undefeated against all American nations, with the exception of Canada, against whom they have suffered two losses out of eight test matches.

Their best world cup date was in 2007 where a surprise victory over the hosts France in their first game took them to fourth in the IRB World Rankings. The team were undefeated in their pool, and reached the semi-finals for the first time, beating Scotland 19–13 in their quarter-final. The were defeated 37–13 by eventual winners South Africa in the semi-finals.

Such is their reputation, and the expectation on them for 2011, that they are already 4/6 on to qualify from Pool B with England, ahead of Scotland.

Scotland have competed in all Rugby World Cups since it’s inauguration in 1987 and their best finish came in 1991, where they lost to the All Blacks in the third place play-off.

They are placed in Pool B for the 2011 tournament, along with arch rival’s and nearest neighbours England, who have dominated in recent years. They will also face tough challenges from a formidable Argentina who are a real threat as well as an ever-improving Romanian side which will only increase the pressure to finish in first or second place in the group stages.

Odds on them winning the tournament are a distant 175/1, in fact I’m not even sure they’ll get out of the group!

They are the most successful team in the annual Six Nations Championship history, having won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam and until recently Johnny Wilkinson held the world record for number of points scored, until he was overtaken by Dan Carter of New Zealand.

England have an incredible World Cup history and have contested every Rugby World Cup since it began in 1987, reaching the final three times and winning it once in 2003. In the inaugural tournament they finished second in their pool before losing to Wales in the quarter-finals. In 1991 they reached the final but suffered a 12–6 defeat to Australia.

In 1995 England topped their group and defeated Australia 25–22 at the quarter-final stage before being beaten by the All Blacks in the semi-final. And again the 1999 competition saw them go out of the tournament in the quarter-finals, losing 44–21 to South Africa.

In 2003, after a tense match and a 20 minute period of extra time, Johnny Wilkinson kicked over the magic drop goal and England triumphed 20–17 over Australia to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.

The 2007 defense of the cup in France got off to a poor start, but with grit and determination they clawed their way back to second successive final appearance which was played in Paris on 20 October against South Africa, who won by 15 points to 6.

Having never been held outside a rugby strong hold, the World Cup could certainly do with a fresh venue and with New Zealand hosting the 2011, England hosting the 2015 the time has finally come and Japan are destined to host the competition in 2019. And if the success of the 2002 football world cup is anything to go by then we should be in for a real treat.

It may not be the first team to come to mind when thinking about rugby but the facts are staggering with Japan having the 4th largest number of registered rugby union players in the world (125,508), behind only England, South Africa and France and has a proud rugby history, culture and tradition developed over the past 112 years, since it’s introduction in 1899.

Despite all of this, Japan are highly unlikely to make it out of Pool A, especially with New Zealand and France breathing down their necks but lets hope that it doesn’t stop them and they give the other teams a good run for their money!

Their history in the Rugby World Cup isn’t the greatest. In 1987 they were drawn to play Wales and, despite a poor Welsh performance, they lost 29-16. They failed to qualify for the 1991 Rugby World Cup and though they qualified for the 1995 World Cup, ahead of Fiji on points difference, they managed only one victory against the 29-11 Ivory Coast.

1999 didn’t fair any better, again with only one win, this time against Italy. With staggering defeats racked up against them, including the humiliating 102-0 (including 15 tries) by New Zealand in 2000, Tonga are not likely to cause any major upsets in the 2011 Rugby World Cup and are currently about 750/1 to win the tournament.

With both New Zealand and France in their group it’s unlikely that they will even get out of the group stages. In saying that, it would good to see them rack up some points and get a couple of wins under their belt this year.

However, that’s where the good news ends, as in every other tournament they didn’t even make it out of the group stages and as they are up against New Zealand and France in this years pool games, it doesn’t look like they’ll go very far this year either.

As indicated by Outright Winners odds, Canada are currently 1000/1 to lift the Webb Ellis and unless you’re a serious risk taker then I’d keep my money in my pocket! Undoubtedly Canada will bring their A game and give it everything they’ve got but I fear that this is simply not enough and the group games will be the beginning and the end of their tournament.

Since the inaugural World Cup in 1987, France have qualified for the knock-out stage of every tournament. They have reached the final twice, losing to the All Blacks in 1987 and to Australia in 1999. They hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup, where, as in 2003, they were beaten in the semi finals by England.

A notoriously difficult team to pin down, their ability to be staggeringly off their game is as likely as it is for them to be on it and as such are sometimes their own worst enemy. Many Rugby World Cup chances have come and gone and as one of the greatest teams in the world, they do deserve to win it so if they can overcome their temperament and put up a better performance than their football counterparts did in South Africa last year then they could be in with a great shot this year.

Winners of the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, New Zealand are the leading points scorers of all time and the only international rugby team with a winning record against every test nation they have ever played.

The All Blacks have held the top ranking in the world for longer than all other countries combined and in over 100 years only five of the top twenty ranked test rugby nations have ever beaten them. And if their star performer, and it’s trick y to pick one, Dan Carter is on form then the rest of the world better watch out.

He hold the record for most All Black Test pointswith 1,188 from 79 Tests and on 27 November 2010 Dan Carter scored a penalty against Wales to pass Johnny Wilkinson’s previous world record of 1,178 points. He also holds the record for points against Australia with 236 and with deadly accuracy is a huge cog in the All Blacks wheel.

The Rugby World Cup 2011 will kick-off on September 9th 2011, in Auckland, with the first game between hosts, New Zealand and their neighbours Tonga. This is the first of 40 group games, across Pools A, B, C and D, which will last until October 2nd 2011.

The event is scheduled to be played over seven weekends from the weekend starting 10 September and culminating the weekend starting 22 October 2011. The weekend of the final was chosen so it falls on a long weekend caused by the New Zealand public holiday of Labour Day (Monday, 24 October 2011).The final is scheduled to be played in Auckland at Eden Park.

So here’s how it’s going to play out. There are four Pools, each with five teams and they are:

Pool A

• New Zealand
• France
• Canada
• Tonga
• Japan

Pool B

• England
• Scotland
• Romania
• Argentina
• Georgia

Pool C

• Australia
• Ireland
• Italy
• USA
• Russia

Pool D

• South Africa
• Wales
• Samoa
• Fiji
• Namibia

Simply click on the name of any of the teams above to get a more in-dept analysis of the team and it’s chances of progressing through the competition as well as all of the latest match odds for that team.

Each team plays the other twice, accumulating bonus points as well as points for winning, drawing, even losing as they go. The top two teams from each of the four pools reach the knock out stages which are:

Quarter Finals:
08/10 – 18:00
Winner C V Runner-up D – Wellington

08/10 – 20:30
Winner B V Runner-up A – Auckland

09/10 – 18:00
Winner D V Runner-up C – Wellington

09/10 – 20:30
Winner A V Runner-up B – Auckland

Semi Finals
15/10 – 21:00
Winner QF 1 V Winner QF 2 – Auckland

16/10 – 21:00
Winner QF 3 V Winner QF 4 – Auckland

3rd Place Play-Off
21/10 – 20:30
Loser SF 1 V – Loser SF 2 – Auckland

Final
23/10 – 21:00
Winner SF 1 V Winner SF 2 – Auckland

For those of you who just want to back your favourite team to win World Cup outright then all of the latest and best odds are below and remember, as your team progresses, the odds will almost certainly get shorter!

The game marked Danny Cipriani’s return to action after a month on the sidelines following his suspension for off-the-field incidents, but the talented fly-half could do little about the outcome of the game as the Brumbies eased to a convincing win.

In fact it was Cipriani’s opposite number Matt Giteau who did most of the damage to the Rebels, putting in a consummate performance as he guided his side to maximum points.

In his last game for the Super Rugby side before departing for Europe to join p with Top 14 side Toulon, Giteau got the ball rolling with a delightful pass to send team-mate Christian Lealifano diving over the line after just three minutes.

The Brumbies stretched their lead before the half way point when Tyrone Smith skipped past Cooper Vuna to grab his side’s second try of the game, before Giteau was involved again as his quick thinking when the Brumbies were awarded a penalty resulted in the number ten touching down.

Cipriani’s penalty was all the Rebels had to show for their efforts as the half time whistle blew, and the visitors would have been fearful of a disastrous result with 40 minutes still to play.

While the Brumbies remained on top in the second period, the Rebels did at least give them something to think about, but as they looked to get a foothold in the game were knocked to their knees as Pat McCabe scored in the opening exchanges.

Jarrod Saffy and Afusipa Taumoepeau added a layer of respectability to the scoreline when he scored for the Rebels mid-way through the second half, but fittingly Giteau had the final word on the game, as the red adizero rugby boot wearer converted after Moore touched down for the second time in the game to secure a valuable bonus point.

In yet another hair-pulling, screaming-at-the-tv, swearing like a sailor (if you’re Irish), game on Sunday, Ireland looked about as useful as sieve in a sinking boat and despite getting themselves ahead and potentially even winning the game, the powers that be in the IRFU decided, once again, to take off O’Gara and replace him with the ever appallingly bad Johnny Sexton and therein lies the downfall of the team.

Now that isn’t to say that Wales weren’t up for the challenge but they were beatable and a very iffy quick line-out from Philips led to the winning try, about which, much debate still continues and it is for that reason that paddy Power Bookmakers decided on the refund!

Quoting from their site “the reasons why Ireland lost matter not a jot to you as we’re refunding on Ireland to win the match. That’s right – if that outrageous decision hadn’t have happened, we think Ireland were certs to win. (Don’t question it, just take the money and run) To ease the pain, we’re refunding all losing single outright and handicap bets placed on today’s match to the tune of £175,000. And as a cherry on top – it applies to In Running bets as well as the pre-match ones.”

Just another reason to join Paddy Power Bookmakers guys…(unless you’re Welsh of course, then you might take some offense – oh dear!)

This Saturday sees Italy v Wales, 14:30, England v France at 17:00 and on Sunday it’s the turn of Scotland to take on Ireland at 15:00. I imagine the Irish will be screaming for England to hand France their asses on a plate and send them packing back to Paris, if only because they hold out a teeny bit of hope that a win in Dublin on March 19th may keep them in with a shot of winning the tournament.

But they would have to see off Scotland first and coach Andy Robinson has dropped four players for Sunday’s Six Nations match against Ireland, including Dan Parks who is being replaced at stand-off by Ruaridh Jackson. Ireland, themselves, are set to start Ronan O’Gara this weekend, having come to their senses that Sexton is a bit wet behind the ears. If they could just drop D’Arcy aswell they might actually have a chance!

Clearly the French are not immune to bit of self-doubt France as they have rung the changes for Saturday’s crunch Six Nations encounter with England at Twickenham. Back row Sebastien Chabal, wing Vincent Clerc, scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili and centre Yannick Jauzion are recalled. Maxime Medard had been moved to full-back in place of Clement Poitrenaud, but is a doubt with a thigh injury.

Following an incredible start from Ireland, they were left wanting as they gave away school-boy error penalty after penalty allowing France to maximise what little possession that garnered in the first half.

With three tries under their belt, Ireland really did seem like they were going to storm the new Aviva Stadium in Dublin and romp home to victory but quel suprise, the French had other plans and with a bad mis-tackle from D’Arcy and some appalling mis-kicks from O’Leary and soon it was 15-25 to the Bleus.

A well deserved and well earned try 10 mins from the end left Ireland needing another score to level the playing but it was not to be and so ends another ‘always the bridesmaid, never the bride’ performance from Ireland!

England faired much, much better and their comprehensive win over Italy left them euphoric, particularly as history was made in the form of Chris Ashton. Ashton, 23, went over four times in the 59-13 thumping of Italy to become the first Englishman to achieve the feat in a Five or Six Nations match since 1914. And if their performance is anything to go by then France will have their work more than cut out for them when they next meet on February 26th.

For all of the latest and best Six Nations Odds, just check out the table below…

Saturday then has the two remaining weekend fixtures with Ireland traveling to Rome and the Scots heading to Stade De France. Typically France are always odds on favourites for the Six Nations but there appears to be an upset this year with England going in as favs with odds of 15/8 from Paddy Power Bookmakers. Despite some teething problems for Martin Johnson with the English Squad, confidence is high but the Welsh are no pushovers and are more than ready to put up an epic fight to get some points on the board.

Spirits are high in the Irish camp on the back of three significant new Ireland international contracts as Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll and his Leinster and Ireland colleagues, Jamie Heaslip and Jonathan Sexton, have all agreed new contracts to remain playing in Ireland. Though the Italians have certainly developed and improved over the 10 years that they’ve been in the competition, Ireland are favourites for the game with odds of 1/10 on with Paddy Power Bookmakers.

Bookmakers aren’t giving Scotland a cat’s chance in hell of beating France and going on the last few Six Nations performances I can see their point, however, the Scots are a fiercely proud nation and passionate about their rugby and suffering an opening embarrassing defeat is not going to be high on their list so prepare for them to give France a run for their money.

Here’s a quick crash course to the tournament (in case you need one) – 20 teams divided into five pools of four teams each. Each team plays the others in it’s pool twice – once at home and once away. Four points for a win and an extra bonus point if you get either a) four tries or b) lose but within 7 points of the winning score. The top team from each of the five pools automatically goes through to the next round along with the next three best teams (on points) from any of the groups.

Teams are then seeded based on their overall points tally from the group stages and ranked 1st to 8th. Generally, for the quarter finals 1st plays 8th, 2nd plays 7th, 3rd plays 6th and 4th plays 5th to determine the semi finalists. The final is then played in a pre-determine stadium in May.

Toulouse are the most successful Heineken Cup team followed by Munster who have made it out of the group stages every single year since the competition began – they also have the single best supporters of any team (ok, I’m biased but hey).

Now, what I find strange about this year is that Toulouse are not even top of their group and yet they’ve flown in as the favs – in fact Leinster, Ulster, Scarlets and Leicester Tigers all have more points than them and Toulouse were lucky to scrape a win at the weekend!

Though you can never rule them out, I don’t think it’s their year this year and would be looking to put my money somewhere else…Paddy Power Bookmakers are offering pretty decent odds, especially on Leinster and Munster who can never be ruled out – beware though – injuries are hampering both teams and now Brian O’Driscoll is looking likely to be ruled out of this weekends game against Saracens…

Check out Paddy Power Bookmakers for full odds on the tournament…

A tougher Irish team than we’ve seen lately took to the field on Saturday and dominated a weaker Welsh side taking them one step further to the Triple Crown and potentially back to back Six Nations – of course that will depend entirely on England’s ability to beat France next week but they will need to really step it up a gear if that’s to happen.

So it now all comes down to Saturday March 20th, and a rugby filled day with the three remaining games on one after the other, to determine who will reign supreme. My head says it will be France, my heart says Ireland and my fingers will be crossed for England…

Saturday, 20 March 2010
France v England, 19:45
Ireland v Scotland, 17:00
Wales v Italy, 14:30

Paddy Power Bookmakers odds are as follows – can you guess who they think will win?????

• France 1/950
• Ireland 50/1