Talking Points: Day 1 & 2

Star Man: New Zealand’s Richard Kahui was instrumental in the AB’s curtain raiser victory over Tonga. The winger scored twice and was heavily involved during the build up to three others.

Fiji’s First: Fiji wing Vereniki Goneva crossed the line four times to become the first Fijian to score a World Cup hat-trick in their game against Namibia.

Goal kicking glitch: Jonny Wilkinson and Dan Carter were both out of sorts with their goal kicking in the opening games; Wilkinson missed five penalty attempts.

Bulky Back-line: The All Blacks fielded a starting backline with an average weight of 98.7kgs, that’s 15 stone 7lb in old money. Staggering.

Group C Banana Skins: Both England and Scotland narrowly avoided defeat to teams that they were expected to beat. From that showing, the Argies’ will be handful for Scotland, possibly too much. 

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RWC - Ones to Watch

Two days and counting until the 2011 RWC kicks off in New Zealand, with the hosts taking on Tonga in Auckland. Tournament Talk looks at the competitions potential Players of the Tournament in ‘Ones to Watch.’

                    

 Quade Cooper


 Australia’s charismatic playmaker has come of age in sparkling fashion this season with an array of eye-catching performances. His quick feet and eye for a gap are sure to cause havoc in the even the best of defences.

                                           

Conrad Smith

In amongst the All Blacks’ star-studded squad, Conrad Smith often goes unnoticed. Often seen as one of the games’ most under-rated players, Smith oozes class. His gliding running style and clever lines of running make him a sure contender for player of the tournament.

Will Genia

The form player coming into the tournament, Genia is a model scrum-half. Quick around the base with an accurate kicking game and precision passing, the Australian number nine is my bet for the tournaments’ top accolade.

Sergio Parisse

The influential Italian number eight may seem an odd choice to many people as a potential player of the tournament. However, if the Italians can topple the out of form Irish in the group stage and make it through to the quarter finals, anything can happen. If they do manage this, Sergio Parisse is sure to be one of the main reasons.

Dan Carter

Very little needs to be said about DC; New Zealand are odds on favourites to lift the World Cup and Carter will no doubt play a huge part in any potential success. The Kiwi’s talisman has been dominating International rugby for a number of years now and there is no reason to think he won’t continue doing so, come September 9^th.