Pool B South Africa have it made...cannot see Samoa and Scotland posing any threat there...the battle for second place will be between these 2. Japan and USA really are no threat to Samoa or Scotland.
Pool C is the same for NZ, only Argentina stands to come second...it's a clear road for NZ but there is a possibility that Georgia could challenge Tonga and even Argentina on a good day...at least there are interesting challenges here for a win or 2.
Pool D is France or Ireland in first and second place...Italy could get lucky but I doubt ...Canada and Romania should be an interesting game though.
However Pool A is really a farce...maybe Russia could beat Fiji but really a very long shot...if Uruguay qualifies, they really cannon fodder.
I think to be the WC challenging they should put all the minnow and tier 2 nations in one pool, ie Georgia, Romania,Canada,USA and Namibia together...this would add another dimension to the excitement of the competition...simply knocking them out every year is a futile and dishearting thing...especially to the players of these countries.
The IRB should do something more enterprising and creative here.
POOL A
- Australia
- England
- Wales
- Fiji
- Playoff Winner
- South Africa
- Samoa
- Scotland
- Japan
- USA
- New Zealand
- Argentina
- Tonga
- Georgia
- Namibia
- France
- Ireland
- Italy
- Canada
- Romania
