SAM TOMKINS is the latest addition to the Barbarians’ squad for the Killik Cup match against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday 26 November.

The impressive Wigan full-back will complete a unique double by playing against the pride of Australian rugby from both codes on successive weekends. Last Saturday the 22-year-old featured for England against the Australian Kangaroos in the Four Nations’ Final at Elland Road, Leeds; seven days later he dons the famous black-and-white shirt of the Barbarians against Australia’s Wallabies in front of a 50,000-plus crowd at Twickenham.

Confirming the invitation, Barbarians’ commercial director Mike Burton said: “We are delighted that Sam, with the support of the coaches and management at Wigan, has accepted this opportunity to play in such a high-profile union match. The Barbarian club has a tradition of thinking outside the circle when inviting players with league backgrounds, and usually to everyone’s benefit.”

He added: “In recent years the likes of Mat Rogers, Lote Tuqiri, Wendell Sailor and, a few months ago,Willie Mason, have all made a mark when playing for us on the big stage. We are confident that Sam will be equal to the challenge this week.”

Ian Lenagan, chairman and owner of Wigan said: “The Wigan club and Sam are very pleased to accept the Barbarians’ invitation. Sam is an exceptional player in either code of rugby and his selection shows the growing mutual respect between the codes of rugby league and rugby union in England.  It’s a great opportunity for Sam to experience the Twickenham atmosphere and showcase his talents on another major stage.”

The Barbarians will be coached by Graham Henry and Steve Hansen who will select their starting line-up from a 22-man squad which promises to be one of the most experienced representative sides ever assembled. The players, drawn from 10 different countries, share an astonishing 1000-plus test caps between them.

The latest additions to the multi-national party include Italy’s Mauro Bergomasco (88 caps), Salvatore Perugini (83) and Marco Bortolami (88), France’s Sylvain Marconnet (84), Scotland’s Jason White (77) and Ireland’s Peter Stringer (98).

They join a squad that already had Springbok lock legend Victor Matfield, with 110 international matches under his belt, before making his final big-match appearance against the Wallabies. Two years ago Matfield captained the Barbarians to victory over the All Blacks.

Sonny Bill Williams has withdrawn because of a hamstring injury and is replaced by another of New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup squad, Richard Kahui, while further additions are Fiji’s Seru Rabeni and Nemia Kenatale.

Stephen Jones has been withdrawn from the squad as he is required by the Scarlets for their match against Newport Gwent Dragons on Friday evening.

Barbarians’ secretary Alan Evans explained: “We had very positive talks with the coaching staff at the Scarlets. They fully appreciated the honour it would have been for Stephen to play for us at this stage of his distinguished career but unfortunately their fixture commitments next weekend must take precedence.”

Mr Evans also confirmed that other Welsh players previously announced would not be available for the Barbarians as they will be in training camp ahead of Wales’ own match against Australia seven days later.

He said: “Obviously we are disappointed that they can’t play for us on this occasion but we also realise that the Welsh regions and the Welsh Rugby Union’s hierarchy have been incredibly supportive of us for similar matches in recent years. We look forward to inviting these players, and others, again in the near future.”

Barbarians squad:

Sam Tomkins (England RL), Bryan Habana (South Africa), Isaia Toeava (New Zealand), Robbie Fruean (Crusaders), Stirling Mortlock (Australia), Richard Kahui (New Zealand), Seru Rabeni (Fiji),  Danny Cipriani (England), Peter Stringer (Ireland), Nemia Kenatale (Fiji), Keven Mealamu (New Zealand), Adriaan Strauss (South Africa), Salvatore Perugini (Italy), Sylvain Marconnet (France), Eusebio Guinazu (Argentina), Victor Matfield (South Africa), Simon Shaw (England), Marco Bortolami (Italy), Jason White (Scotland), Jerome Kaino (New Zealand), Adam Thomson (New Zealand), Mauro Bergamasco (Italy).

The captain will be announced when the squad assembles in London on 22 November.

The 26-man playing group is composed almost entirely of players who recently competed in the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, where Australia beat Wales 21-18 to win the Bronze Final.  The injured pair of full back Kurtley Beale and fly half Quade Cooper are the only players from that starting XV not to be making the trip.

With the Barbarians, coached by All Black pairing Graham Henry and Steve Hansen, containing a star-studded list including five of the victorious World Cup New Zealanders (Sonny Bill Williams, Keven Mealamu, Jerome Kaino, Piri Weepu and Adam Thomson), Australia’s visit to Twickenham has all the ingredients of the toughest of Test matches.

The Baabaas have beaten New Zealand and South Africa in the last two years and will be determined to complete a hat-trick against the SANZAR nations, while avenging the 11-18 defeat suffered against a young Wallabies outfit at Wembley Stadium during the two teams’ last meeting in London four seasons ago.

Seven days after their fixture at the Home of England Rugby, the Wallabies move to Cardiff for their 14th and final outing of the year when they take on Wales for the James Bevan Trophy.  In a re-match of the Rugby World Cup Bronze Final, Australia will hope to make it three on the bounce,  having won their previous two encounters at the Millennium Stadium.

It might be a three week assembly, with just two games, but Qantas Wallabies Head Coach Robbie Deans is anticipating a difficult tour, and the squad has been selected accordingly, with the number of international appearances averaging 24 per player.

“While this is a relatively brief visit by current standards, both fixtures promise to be exceedingly demanding,” said Deans.

“Wales were arguably the most improved side at the Rugby World Cup, and their expectations will have risen on the back of that performance.”

Coming into the Wallabies squad is Western Force prop Pekahou Cowan and three of the next generation of internationals: the Queensland Reds pair, centre Ben Tapuai and full back Ben Lucas, and the NSW Waratahs loose forward Dave Dennis.

The World Cup squad members not able to be considered for the tour were full back Kurtley Beale (hamstring), winger Drew Mitchell (hamstring), inside centre Pat McCabe (shoulder), fly half Quade Cooper (knee), No 8 Wycliff Palu (hamstring), flanker Rocky Elsom (hamstring), lock Dan Vickerman (shoulder), Kepu (eye) and half back Luke Burgess, who has left Australia to continue his career with leading French club Toulouse.

Winger Lachie Turner and flanker Matt Hodgson, who both joined the Wallabies in New Zealand as the replacements for Mitchell and Palu respectively, have been retained in the touring group.

Quantas Wallabies Tour Schedule/Key Dates

• Tuesday 15 November: Squad assembles in Sydney (Coogee)
• Saturday 19 November: Squad departs for London
• Saturday 26 November: Qantas Wallabies v Barbarians, Killik & Co Cup, Twickenham Stadium, London, 2.35pm.
• Saturday 3 December: Qantas Wallabies v Wales, James Bevan Trophy, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, 2.30pm.
• Sunday 4 December: Squad returns to Australia (arrives Tuesday 6 December)

The Qantas Wallabies Spring Tour Squad

Ben Alexander
Adam Ashley-Cooper
Berrick Barnes
Pekahou Cowan
Dave Dennis
Anthony Faingaa
Will Genia
Scott Higginbotham
Matt Hodgson
Rob Horne
James Horwill (captain)
Digby Ioane
Ben Lucas
Salesi Ma’afu
Ben McCalman
Stephen Moore
James O’Connor
Nick Phipps
David Pocock
Tatafu Polota Nau
Radike Samo
Nathan Sharpe
Rob Simmons
James Slipper
Ben Tapuai
Lachie Turner

Dusautoir is the second Frenchman to win the Award, following in the footsteps of former national team captain, Fabien Galthié, who claimed the accolade in 2002.

New Zealand were named IRB Team of the Year and Graham Henry IRB Coach of the Year, to add to the Rugby World Cup crown they claimed at Eden Park with a hard-fought 8-7 victory over the French on 23 October.

Dusautoir was outstanding all season for France, including in the World Cup and particularly the final where his defensive effort and ball-carrying inspired the French against the hosts. He was picked ahead of five other nominees – New Zealand scrum half Piri Weepu, flanker Jerome Kaino and centre Ma’a Nonu and Australia flanker David Pocock and scrum half Will Genia.

The winners were selected by the Awards’ independent panel of judges, chaired by Rugby World Cup-winner John Eales and made up of former internationals with more than 500 caps between them. The panel deliberated on every major Test match played this year, starting with the first Six Nations match and finishing with the Rugby World Cup 2011 Final.

The glittering event, which also celebrated 125 years of the International Rugby Board, was a fitting finale to what IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset described as an “exceptional” Rugby World Cup and was attended by all four semi-final teams, royalty and stars from sport and entertainment.

Earlier in the day, an estimated 240,000 fans turned up to catch a glimpse of the All Blacks who were last to arrive at the Vector Arena with the Webb Ellis Cup.

IRB Sevens Player of the Year in association with HSBC – Cecil Afrika, South Africa

Cecil Afrika was the outstanding player from the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series and finished as the top try and point scorer. South Africa’s inspirational playmaker and sweeper, Afrika scored 40 tries and 385 points across seven events, returning from injury in double quick time to inspire the Blitzbokke to Cup success in Las Vegas, and was also key in their victories in London and Scotland.

IRB Junior Player of the Year – George Ford, England

George Ford becomes England’s first recipient of this Award after playing a key role in his country’s run to the IRB Junior World Championship 2011 final in Italy, where they ultimately lost 33-22 to New Zealand. The youngest player in the tournament at only 18 years and three months, Ford’s skills and vision belie his tender age, his maturity on the pitch giving the impression he always has options, more often than not taking the right one.

IRB Development Award – USA Rugby’s Rookie Rugby programme

Rookie Rugby was designed by USA Rugby, the sport’s governing body in the US, to give young players between six and 12 years old a fun, safe and enjoyable sporting experience. It introduced a whole new raft of fans and athletes to the sport through programmes administered through schools, community-based and state-based rugby organizations and USA Rugby national events. The initial aim was to introduce 100,000 new children to rugby but the reality has far outstripped that and continues to gather momentum.

Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service – Jock Hobbs

Jock Hobbs was elected Chairman of the NZRU in 2002 and served with distinction, overseeing considerable success on and off the pitch while also securing New Zealand the right to host Rugby World Cup 2011. In December 2010 Hobbs stepped down from his position as Chairman of both the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) and Rugby New Zealand (RNZ) 2011 Limited due to ill health but continues to be an inspirational presence in the country.

IRB Referee Award for Distinguished Service in association with Emirates Airline – Keith Lawrence

Keith Lawrence refereed 14 international matches between 1985 and 1991 and went on to become an outstanding rugby administrator in the match official sphere. Lawrence worked as a Referee Manager both within his native New Zealand and for the International Rugby Board as Sevens Referee Manager, a role from which he retired earlier this year.

IRB Women’s Personality of the Year – Ruth Mitchell

Hailing originally from Liverpool in England, Ruth Mitchell played rugby in Hong Kong before becoming an administrator and ultimately reaching the post of Director of Development for the HKRFU. A driving force behind youth rugby, Mitchell has also been instrumental in growing the women’s Game.

Spirit of Rugby Award – Wooden Spoon

The IRB recognised the work of the Wooden Spoon and its volunteers for more than 25 years of work with underprivileged children across the UK by awarding them with the IRB Spirit of Rugby Award The prestigious award recognises the incredible feats that can be achieved through Rugby both on and off the field and recognises those who, through selfless action, influence the lives of others, make significant contribution to their communities and demonstrate the force for good that sport can be in all areas of the world. Wooden Spoon is the first charity to receive such an accolade.

IRPA Try of the Year – Radike Samo, Australia v New Zealand

The final Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup match of 2011 between New Zealand and Australia in Brisbane was a breathless encounter won by the Wallabies, inspired on the day by Radike Samo. The Fijian-born 35-year-old forward received the ball on his own 10-metre line and shrugged off a couple of All Black defenders before outsprinting the cover defence to score a remarkable individual try.

IRPA Special Merit Award

Former captain George Smith is one of the greatest flankers ever to play for Australia and a veteran of 110 Tests for his country. Smith made his international debut against France in 2000 and played his final Test for the Wallabies against Wales nine years later. The 31-year-old has played for the Barbarians four times since, including earlier this year against England and Wales.

IRB Hall of Fame

Nineteen founders, pioneers and legends of Rugby World Cup have been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame, including four men who made a major contribution to the creation of the tournament, the winning coach and captain of every edition from 1987 to 2007 and four players who have left an indelible mark for their moments of magic, inspiration or feats.

Full list of IRB Awards winners

IRB Player of the Year – Thierry Dusautoir
IRB Team of the Year – New Zealand
IRB Coach of the Year – Graham Henry
IRB Junior Player of the Year – George Ford, England
IRB Sevens Player of the Year in association with HSBC – Cecil Afrika, South Africa
IRB Women’s Personality of the Year – Ruth Mitchell
IRB Referee Award for Distinguished Service – Keith Lawrence
Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service – Jock Hobbs
IRB Development Award – Rookie Rugby
IRB Spirit of Rugby Award – Wooden Spoon
IRPA Special Merit Award – George Smith, Australia
IRPA Try of the Year – Radike Samo, Australia v New Zealand

IRB Hall of Fame inductees – Dr Roger Vanderfield, Richard Littlejohn, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, John Kendall-Carpenter, David Kirk, Sir Brian Lochore, Nick Farr-Jones, Bob Dwyer, Francois Pienaar, Kitch Christie, Rod Macqueen, Martin Johnson CBE, Sir Clive Woodward OBE, John Smit, Jake White, Gareth Rees, Agustín Pichot, Brian Lima and Jonah Lomu.

Note: John Eales, the 1999-winning captain, was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2007.

Ospreys prop Paul James comes into the front row in place of his regional colleague Adam Jones, who has a calf injury.
Cardiff Blues lock Bradley Davies starts in place of another Osprey, lock Alun Wyn Jones, with Jones moving to the bench.

Ryan Jones joins the back row in place of squad captain Sam Warburton, who is suspended, with Toby Faletau shifting from No8 to open-side flanker to accommodate the Ospreys flanker and fill the berth vacated by Warburton.

On the bench prop Ryan Bevington (Ospreys) provides front row cover in place of James and Sales Sharks back row Andy Powell is also added due to the promotion of Jones.

“We are sticking with the majority of the side which has put together a string of performances for us so far in this tournament, the one change which wasn’t forced, in the second row, is based on the fact that Alun Wyn ran himself into the ground when we faced 14 men against France last week,”  said Wales head coach Warren Gatland.

“We face Australia back home at the Millennium Stadium in just over a month’s time and we are single-minded in our assertion that we want that home-coming to be a celebration of us achieving the status of one of the top three teams in the world.

“We have come a long way and put together a string of performances that the nation can be proud of so far in New Zealand and we need to ensure that the history books reflect what we know we are capable of – and it is only by beating the Wallabies on Friday night that we feel this will be achieved.”
WALES: Leigh Halfpenny; George North, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Shane Williams, James Hook, Mike Phillips; Gethin Jenkins (c), Huw Bennett, Paul James, Bradley Davies, Luke Charteris, Dan Lydiate, Toby Faletau, Ryan Jones,
Replacements: Lloyd Burns, Ryan Bevington, Alun Wyn Jones, Andy Powell, Lloyd Williams, Stephen Jones, Scott Williams.

The scans confirmed that D’Arcy and O’Connell have picked up hamstring strains and both players will be monitored over the coming days on the progress of their recovery.  No decision on their availability for the game against Russia will be made until the team is announced at lunchtime (local New Zealand time) on Friday.

In other team news, the Ireland squad enjoyed a down day following the transfer of their team base from Auckland to the beautiful surroundings of Lake Taupo as they prepare for their Rugby World Cup Pool C game against Russia on Sunday.

Ireland second row Donncha O’Callaghan was certainly keen on getting the balance right between rest and work: “With a bit of a longer turnaround this week then we had for the Australia game, it’s great to be able to have that extra day to let the bumps and bruises settle before we hit the training pitch again.  Some guys might head out for a look around Taupo. The area sounds a little bit like Queenstown, with some really good outdoor activities to help the lads relax.   Others might be happy to hang around the hotel, so It’s good to have that flexibility and the down days have been great whether we do something together as a group or do our own thing.

“There was an incredible buzz around the lads when we were setting off from Auckland to come down here (Taupo). You sort of expect that after a good win, but something we have all been chatting about is that we need to remain focused on the job at hand.  Our goal has always been to qualify from our pool and just because we had a big win on Saturday night, it guarantees us nothing.  We have two games left against two teams who will challenge us physically across the park, so we want to get ourselves right for that.

“We worked really hard last week with the coaches both on and off the pitch to get things right.  The work ethic was always very high over the last couple of months, but it was about making sure we did that work justice by delivering it on the pitch.  I think we managed to do that, but the challenge is now to keep the standards of our preparations up this week to reach the Russia game in as good a shape as possible.  We don’t know what the coaches have in mind for selection (for the Russia game), but there is such a good vibe at the moment, with lads busting a gut on the training field wanting to be involved, I don’t think anybody will want to be left out for the Russia game.

O’Callaghan also made a special mention of the support that the team has experienced both on and off the field. “The amount of green in the stadium was incredible on Saturday night in Eden Park, just as it was in New Plymouth.  Even the days before the games, the numbers of expatriates and travelling Irish as well as local people, shops and bars that we saw supporting Ireland was great.  It has all added to create incredible atmospheres and hopefully we can get similar support in Rotorua this weekend.”

Sean Cronin has been named in the replacements for the Rugby World Cup Pool C clash with Australia on Saturday following the withdrawal of Flannery.

A decision has been made to call up Damien Varley to the squad and he is expected to arrive in New Zealand by Saturday.

Commenting on the injury to Flannery, Ireland Team Manager Paul McNaughton said: “Obviously it is particularly disappointing for Jerry to have suffered this injury at this point in the tournament. With the fact that he is out for four to six weeks, we needed to make the decision to fly Damien Varley down as soon as possible.

"Sean Cronin will step into the replacements seamlessly this weekend which shows the importance of having experience and depth in the squad.”

IRELAND Team & Replacements

(v Australia, 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C, Eden Park, Saturday, September 17, kick-off 8:30pm local time/9:30am Irish time):

15 – Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster)*
14 – Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
13 – Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster) (capt)
12 – Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
11 – Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
10 – Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
9 – Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
1 – Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)*
2 – Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
3 – Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
4 – Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
5 – Paul O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster)
6 – Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)
7 – Sean O’Brien (Clontarf / Leinster)*
8 – Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)

Replacements:

16 – Sean Cronin (Leinster)*
17 – Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
18 – Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
19 – Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
20 – Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
21 – Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
22 – Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)

*Denotes RWC Debut

Up front Cian Healy returns to the starting line up at loose head prop having recovered from an eye injury and is joined in the pack by Sean O’Brien who comes in to the back row alongside Stephen Ferris and Jamie Heaslip.

Eoin Reddan (pictured) will start at scrum half partnering Jonathan Sexton, while Rob Kearney makes his first start of the tournament coming into the team at fullback.

IRELAND Team & Replacements

(v Australia, 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C, Eden Park, Saturday, September 17, kick-off 8:30pm local time/9:30am Irish time):

15 – Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster)*
14 – Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)
13 – Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster) (capt)
12 – Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
11 – Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
10 – Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
9 – Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
1 – Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)*
2 – Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
3 – Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
4 – Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
5 – Paul O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster)
6 – Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)
7 – Sean O’Brien (Clontarf / Leinster)*
8 – Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)

Replacements:

16 – Jerry Flannery (Shannon/Munster)
17 – Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
18 – Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
19 – Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
20 – Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
21 – Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
22 – Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)

*Denotes RWC Debut

Australia v Italy (Auckland, Sunday 11th 04:30 GMT)

A proud sporting nation with a terrific World Cup record, Australia will be hoping to put things straight after a shock quarter final exit in 2007. A convincing win for the Tri Nations champions would lay down the gauntlet to the Irish and should give the Wallabies the momentum to top the pool and hopefully avoid the South Africans in the quarter finals. Italy though have never reached the quarter finals, and feeling is that they’ll target the Ireland game rather than this one. However Italy have given Australia a few scares in past Autumn Internationals, and if they can get the better of the Australian pack and put in the defensive performance of their lives then they could make history. Big ifs though.

Prediction: Australia to win reasonably comfortably.

Ireland v USA (New Plymouth, Sunday 11th 07:00 GMT)

Former Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan will hope his USA Eagles side puts in a performance that makes his former employers stand up and notice. His Ireland team struggled against the minnows fours ago and he wouldn’t mind a similar thing happening to his successors team. This will be an incredibly emotional day for the American players as this game will be played on the ten year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and this emotion could very well inspire the Americans into producing a once in a lifetime performance. However even with all the emotion and sentiment Ireland should still win comfortably. They went into the 2007 tournament with high expectations and fell flat on their faces, and after a winless summer warm up period they will be desperate not to let history repeat itself. When’/if Ireland produce a massive lead expect both teams to make mass substitutions as Ireland will want to conserve strength ahead of the Australia clash, and the USA will do likewise ahead of the more winnable game against Russia on Thursday.

Prediction: Ireland to win comfortably.

Russia v USA (New Plymouth, Thursday 15th 08.30 GMT)

Arguably the most eagerly awaited of all the minnow v minnow clashes. The Cold War may have ended twenty years ago, but Russo-American sporting clashes still remain fiery affairs. This will be Russia’s first ever World Cup match and beating the USA is the perfect way to celebrate it. The USA have the disadvantage of going into this game only four days after playing Ireland, but will be hoping that their experience of the big stage will see them through. Whoever wins this game will throw the kitchen sink at Italy in the hope of automatic qualification for 2015.

Prediction: Depends how the USA recover from the Ireland game but imagine Russia will win a close affair.

Pool A:

New Zealand – The host nation and heavy favourites in the eye of most – failure to win this tournament would be a disaster. While New Zealand did win on home soil in 1987, hosts rarely do well in World Cups. Only two of the six World Cups to date have been won by the host team, although it must be stressed that New Zealand’s home record is better than most. New Zealand have not lost at home for two years, and have only lost three times at home since 2007. Some will point to their recent defeat to Australia as a bad sign ahead of the World Cup, but it’ll probably do them the world of good. The 2007 team was used to thrashing pretty much everyone, and after an easy pool group came unstuck against a tough French team. However this team actually knows what losing feels like, having lost their last two games as well as being white washed by the Boks in 2009. If the All Blacks keep the pain of defeat at the back of their heads and just concentrate on winning the game then they’ll do well. One potential weakness is a desperation to play the perfect game – their 2007 defeat was very much down to looking for tries that never came rather than dropping goals when on offer.

France – Producer of two of the biggest World Cup upsets and the best team to never win the World Cup. France famously knocked out the All Blacks in 1999 and 2007 but are also the only team to reach a final but never win the trophy. The stereotype of France blowing hot and cold seems to be fair when applied to World Cup performances – they will produce a huge win and then lose in disappointing fashion the week after. The All Blacks will count themselves lucky that they will be meeting France in the pools and not in the quarters or semis. However the possibility of France being the first team to beat New Zealand in the pool stages look slim as there is rumour that France will field a second string team against them. The big question for France is how they get to the final while saving up their one awesome performance for that final. They will probably face England in the quarter, and England are the one team who know how to beat France having knocked them out in 1991, 2003 and 2007. The problem for France is that if they are to turn round their record against England they’ll probably have to pull out one of those famous performances and then suffer one of their infamous hangovers in the semi final.

Tonga – A real show stopper in 2007, they were one bounce of the ball away from defeating eventual champions South Africa and qualifying for the quarter finals. They famously defeated their rivals Samoa despite a red card and got themselves automatic qualification for this tournament. Tonga suffer from not playing too many tests against top level teams but they do have some quality players. Captain Finau Maka made a name for himself in 2007, and prop Soane Tonga’uiha the Northampton prop has thoroughly impressed in the Aviva Premiership and Heineken Cup and it’s time for him to show that he can replicate those performances on the world stage. Their minimum aim will be to replicate their 2007 third place in the pool and gain automatic qualification for 2015, but it’s unlikely they’ll upset France or New Zealand. They will do well to make sure not all the talk is about New Zealand after the tournament opener.

Canada – Gave Wales a real scare in 2007 but ultimately that tournament was a disappointment as they failed to win a single game. Their minimum will be to avenge their draw against Japan in 2007 and beat them this time. A very physical team, the Canadians will be hoping to beat Tonga and gain automatic qualification for 2015 and to give the All Blacks and French a good run for their money.

Japan – Scored a memorable try against Wales in 2007, they showed great attacking prowess, and very nearly beat the Fijians. However this was combined with a weak physical presence and were often bullied off the ball – but they did physically stand up against the hard nosed Canadians in the final game. They will hope to go one better against Canada this time, as well as upset the Tongans. The hope will be that Japan show a greater physical presence without compromising their attacking flair.

Pool B:

Argentina – They were the real story of 2007 – upsetting the French in the opening game, reached their first quarter and semi finals, before upsetting the French again to claim third place. While the team is ageing and the talismanic Agustin Pichot has since retired, the Argentinians will look at their pool and thoroughly believe that they can top the pool for a second time. As s well as World Cup success, they will be keen to show the big Southern Hemisphere teams that they won’t be whipping boys when they join the Tri Nations next summer.

England – The only northern hemisphere team to win the Webb Ellis trophy, and did so the last time the tournament was held in the Antipodes. While England are the current Six Nations champions they don’t look like world beaters – however they didn’t look like world beaters in 2007 and shocked both Australia and France to reach the final. England should top their pool, and if all goes to plan will be presented with France and Australia again, and thus a third successive final wouldn’t be too out of the question. However Argentina and Scotland are both capable of beating England, thus while England could get a winnable path to the final they could also find themselves getting knocked out by the All Blacks in the quarters or even not reaching the quarter finals at all.

Scotland – The only Celtic side to have reached the quarter finals of every World Cup to date – a record they are very proud of. This pool could either present them with their first ever failure to reach the quarters or their first time as pool winners since 1991. Scotland lost to England in the 1991 semi finals and Argentina in the 2007 quarter finals, but Scotland will go into both games with confidence. They won a test series down in Argentina last year, and have both an unbeaten home record against England since 2004 as well as giving them a run for their money at Twickenham earlier this year. Scotland shouldn’t be favourites for any of the knock out matches, but they have beaten Australia and South Africa in the past two years, so shouldn’t be completely written off.

Georgia – Famously came close to beating Ireland in 2007 in what would have probably been the biggest upset in all rugby history. With a big strong pack they’ll hope to give the English, Scottish and Argentinian packs a real run for their money. While Georgia probably won’t win those games, those teams will be very worried about possible injuries. Having said that nobody predicted their result against Ireland four years ago, so perhaps Georgia could famously upset one of those three teams, although if those teams had any sense they would have learnt the lesson from Ireland.

Romania – Came within six points of upsetting Italy in 2007, they’ll hope to produce a similar performance against the big three teams. Another physically tough team for the others to contend with but chances are they’ll get beaten fairly comfortably (on the score board at least). Romania’s main goal should be beating Georgia.

Pool C:

Australia – One of only two teams to win the Webb Ellis trophy twice and have just won their first Tri Nations title in a decade. They’ll hope to avoid their disappointing quarter final exit in 2007 and repeat their 1991 and 1999 tournament wins. It wasn’t that long ago when one might have suspected Ireland could defeat them, but with Ireland winless in their four warm up matches, and Australia winning away in South Africa and then beating the All Blacks to win the Tri Nations it looks pretty likely that Australia will finish pool winners. Their scrum was their undoing in 2007, and should they meet South Africa or Wales in the quarters this could be another big worry. However the Australian scrum held up well during their win in the Republic, and Wales have a tendency to not beat big Southern Hemisphere teams even when they play well. If Australia meet England in the semis, they will have to reverse three successive World Cup defeats to their great rivals. If the Wallabies reach their fourth final you wouldn’t want to write them off regardless of opposition.

Ireland – Despite going into the 2007 tournament being seen by many as the northern hemispheres best hope and tipped to the semi finals, they failed to reach the quarter finals. It wasn’t just their defeats to France and Argentina that summed up their failure, but also their performances against the minnows. They cruised to an unconvincing win over Namibia and very nearly lost to Georgia. Head Coach Declan Kidney and this current generation of Irish players did win a famous Grand Slam in 2009 and many of those players impressed on the Lions tour. However they weren’t too impressive in the Six Nations, England game aside, and lost all four warm up matches. While Italy will be hoping to upset Ireland, Ireland if they keep their minds focused should reach the quarters. While Ireland will be hoping for Wales rather than South Africa, the core of this Irish team will have experienced victory over the Boks at some point in their career. If Ireland do progress far in the tournament then their potential weakness might be a psychological one, as they haven’t got the best of records in this tournament and won’t have much past experience of winning big World Cup matches to draw on.

Italy – Despite nearly losing to Romania and being unimpressive against Portugal they were only a missed kick away from reaching their first ever quarter finals in 2007. While they probably won’t reach their quarters this time around, they did very nearly beat Ireland in the Six Nations, produced a famous shock win over France, and have run Australia close in Autumn Internationals in recent years. If talisman Sergio Parisse can rally his troops then they might yet reach their first quarter finals. However a lack of concentration and they could risk being mugged by Russia or the USA and even miss out on automatic qualification for 2015.

USA – Scored the try of the 2007 tournament against South Africa when Takudzwa Ngwenya gassed Bryan Habana. Their main goal will be winning their ‘Cold War’ match against Russia, while they’ll also be hoping that they can upset Italy. Head Coach Eddie O’Sullivan will be hoping to get one up on his former employees when they take on Ireland. Eyes will be on Ngwenya to see if he can produce another magical try.

Russia – This will be the first ever World Cup for the Russians whose rise in the last few years has impressed many, and two of their players have even be awarded professional contracts for English clubs after this tournament. They will savour every moment of the World Cup experience and while they might think they can upset Italy all eyes will be on the USA game. Northampton and Sale fans will be keen to check out their new signings.

Pool D:

South Africa – Reigning World Champions and have the best World Cup record of all the teams. While critics will say that they had an ‘easy’ route in 2007 and were lucky to avoid New Zealand and Australia, South Africa effectively went about doing their business and were deserved winners. South Africa dominated world rugby in the summer of 2009 when they defeated a very good Lions team before winning the Tri Nations, beating New Zealand in all three of their games. South Africa have called on many of the players that won in2007, and not only will they know what it takes to win a World Cup they also know better than most what it takes to win on New Zealand soil. Two of New Zealand’s three home defeats since 2007 have been at the hands of South Africa. South Africans would like to think that they are favourites along with New Zealand, and you wouldn’t necessarily disagree with them.

Wales – Will be hoping history doesn’t repeat itself. Although they came third in 1987 they have since failed to reach the quarter finals on three occasions, including the last tournament. Unfortunately for Wales the two teams that knocked them out on those occasions are both in this pool. Samoa and Fiji know that they can upset Wales, and South Africa have only once lost to Wales (back in 1999). However the Welsh team is full of quality players and come into the tournament on the back of some much needed confidence boosting warm up results. While in theory Wales could come 3rd or even 4th in this pool, the smart money would be on them reaching the quarter finals, where they’d be confident of taking on either Australia or Ireland. However the smart money in 2007 was on Wales beating Fiji.

Fiji – Famously upset Wales in 2007, reaching the quarter finals where they gave eventual champions South Africa a good run for their money. They will be hoping for at least automatic qualification for 2015, if not producing another upset and thus another quarter final appearance. They will also be hoping to defeat local rivals Samoa.

Samoa – Twice upset Wales in the 1990s and even came close to upsetting England in 2003, and famously won in Australia this summer. Samoa have to produce at least one more famous upset if they are to progress from the pool stages for the first time since 1999. Having lost to Tonga in 2007 they will be keen to avoid another defeat to fellow Islanders, and will set beating Fiji and gaining automatic qualification as a minimum priority, especially as they missed out on automatic qualification for this tournament.

Namibia – Easy to feel sorry for these guys as they are in a pool with four very physical teams. While they will be the only team in the pool not talked up as potential quarter finalists and seen as the whipping boys of the pool, Saracens flanker Jacques Burger, recently an Aviva Premiership winner, will hope to rally his troops and upset at least one other team.

Five first-half touchdowns and another just after the break looked to have secured a third successive victory for the tourists but a second half fightback saw the home side notch up 14 unanswered points to close the gap to 19-36 with 15 minutes left on the clock. But led by skipper Dominic Barrow, England rallied and a penalty and converted try in the closing stages finally secured the win and earned the praise of coach John Fletcher.

“The first half was as good as it gets,” said Fletcher afterwards. “I knew we were that capable, we often train like that, but to do it when it really mattered was really pleasing.

“We’ve left some good players at home and we had three unavailable to select because of injury but today was about the boys on the park. It was an outstanding performance.”

The win means the squad fly home tomorrow with an unbeaten three victories from three matches. “It was a great way to finish the tour – and the season,” acknowledged Fletcher. “I’d like to say a big thank you to the academies and the schools. The vast majority of the work gets done there. We just put the icing on the cake.”

England wasted no time making the most of the near-perfect conditions at North Sydney’s St Ignatius’ College, scrum half James Lightfoot-Brown (St Paul’s Catholic College & London Irish) touching down in the third minute to get his side off to a flying start. Fly half Henry Slade (Plymouth College & Exeter Chiefs) kicked off a great afternoon with the boot by adding the conversion and although he failed to add the extras to Exeter Chiefs’ full back Jack Nowell’s try five minutes later, he was on target when skipper Barrow (Prince Henry’s Grammar and Leeds Carnegie), touched down with 15 minutes on the clock.

Although England’s 19-0 lead was a fair reflection of their forward dominance, their hosts were left to rue two missed chances as handling errors twice denied them a score on the rare occasions they broke out of their own half.

With England completely dominating the contest, it seemed only a matter of time before further points followed. This time it was talented inside centre Sam Hill, one of two Ivybridge College Sams playing in midfield (Sam Jones wearing 13) who touched down, rounding off some excellent interplay by the backs and earning his reward for a consistently high workrate.

As the half approached, the two teams traded tries, wing Mark Webber (Manchester Grammar & Leeds Carnegie) cancelling out Aussie fly half David Horwitz’s effort to ensured England maintained their 26-point advantage going into the break.

Despite scoring first, Slade capping an impressive all round performance with a try of his own, England went off the boil in the second period, as Australia stepped it up, finally matching the tourists up front. But despite recording two converted tries in eight minutes through stand out centre Jim Stewart and flanker Sean McMahon, a late England surge put the result beyond doubt as replacements Will Robinson (Twyford College & London Wasps) and Max Crumpton (Oaklands College & Saracens) added a penalty and converted try respectively, taking the final score to 46-19.

England U18 starting XV
15 Jack Nowell (Truro College & Exeter Chiefs)
14 Marcus Webber (Manchester Grammar & Leeds Carnegie)
13 Sam Jones (Ivybridge College & Exeter Chiefs)
12 Sam Hill (Ivybridge College & Exeter Chiefs)
11 Jack Arnott (Ivybridge College & Exeter Chiefs)
10 Henry Slade (Plymouth College & Exeter Chiefs)
9 James Lightfoot-Brown (St Paul’s Catholic College & London Irish)
1 Danny Herriott (Moulton College & Northampton Saints)
2 Scott Spurling (Harrow School & Saracens)
3 Kyle Sinckler (Epsom College & Harlequins)
4 Tom Price (Wyggeston & Queen Elizabeth 1st & Leicester Tigers)
5 Dominic Barrow (Prince Henry’s Grammar & Leeds Carnegie) (captain)
6 Joe Buckle (Bryanston & Bath Rugby)
7 Matt Hankin (Haileybury College & Saracens)
8 David Sisi (St Paul’s Catholic College & London Irish)

Replacements (all used)
16 Max Crumpton (Oaklands College & Saracens) for 2 (53mins)
17 Tom Jubb (Oaklands College & Saracens) for 6 (56)
18 George Sandford (St Paul’s Catholic College & London Irish) for 4 (35)
19 Tom Stephenson (Moulton College & Northampton Saints) for 13 (68)
20 Alex Day (St Joseph’s College & Northampton Saints) for 9 (40)
21 Oliver Rosillo (Harrogate Grammar & Leeds Carnegie) for 11 (60)
22 Will Robinson (Twyford College & London Wasps) for 10 (60)
23 Zach Kibirge (Yarm School & Newcastle Falcons) for 14 (68)

Scorers: T Lightfoot-Brown, Nowell, Barrow, Hill, Webber, Slade, Crumpton; P Robinson; C Slade (3), Robinson.

Coaches: John Fletch (Coach), Ian Peel (Asst Coach), Peter Walton (Asst Coach)

Australian Schools
1 Feleti Kaituu(St Joseph’s Nudgee College)
2 Maile Ngauamo (Ipswich Grammar School)
3 Allan Faalavau (Dandenong High School)
4 Curtis Browning (Brisbane State High School)
5 Michael Wells (St Ignatius’ College)
6 Sean McMahon (St Joseph’s Nudgee College)
7 Mark Baldwin (Newington College)
8 Caleb Timu (Marsden SHS)
9 Waldo Wessels (Endeavour SHS).
10 David Horwitz (The Scots College)
11 Alex Northam (Killarney Heights HS)
12 Jim Stewart (The Scots College)
13 Brogan Roods (Newington College)
14 Saia Tanginoa (Prairewood HS)

Replacements
16 Benjamin Lawley (Knox Grammar School)
17 Harry Scoble (Wanneroo SHS)
18 Feao Fotuakai (St Francis’ College)
19 Corey Thomas (Guildford Grammar School)
20 Will Miller (The Scots College)
21 Scott Malolua (Marist College Ashgrove)
22 Jake McIntyre (Alstonville High School)
23 Allan Alaalatoa (Dandenong High School)

Scorers: T Horwitz, Stewart, McMahon; C McIntyre (2)

Coaches: Stephen Phillpotts (Coach), Tim Rapp (Asst Coach)