JAPAN WORLD CUP REVIEW

So what does the Six Nations outcome mean to our projections for Rugby World Cup in Japan in 6 months time?

(1) Wales' Slam means they could win it, as having put together an unbeaten 14 match run, they have clearly showed they could win the 7 consecutive games required to lift the trophy. That now means there are (probably) six teams in the mix, from NZ, Australia and South Africa to England, Ireland and now Wales.

(2) Whilst Scotland will not win the tournament, having put 38 unanswered points in 55 minutes on England at home, they could have an important influence on the QF or SF line ups - Ireland will certainly be feeling less comfortable about their head to head group fixture on that opening weekend of the tournament. And if the Scots win Group A, they avoid NZ in the Quarter Finals, forcing the Irish to play the All Blacks, a match up everyone thinks will not happen until the final.

(3) England, despite winning the first half of every game, showed their mental frailty and lack of leadership under pressure persists from the Autumn, in failing to close out games from a winning position against Wales and Scotland. This will give France some hope in the Group stages, as it will Australia, who they may face in the QF's.

Whilst the Top 8 seeds in the World rankings remain unchanged today versus when the Groups were originally drawn over a year ago, what is interesting is the rise of teams like Fiji (9th), Japan (11th) and Georgia (12th). What odds on Japan beating Scotland in their final group game (at altitude) to reach their first ever QF, or Fiji turning over Australia in the real Group of Death to make a QF against England?

The bookies would project the RWC Quarter Finalists to be as follows:

England v Australia
New Zealand v Scotland (or Ireland)
Wales v France
Ireland (or Scotland) v South Africa

This would then lead to England v NZ and Wales v Ireland SF's, with final being NZ v Ireland (top two teams ranked in the world).

The hopeless romantics would project the RWC Quarter Finalists to be slightly different:

France v Fiji
South Africa v Japan
Australia v Argentina
Ireland v New Zealand

This would then lead to France v South Africa and Australia v NZ SF's, with final being South Africa v New Zealand.

Summer warm up games will be upon us before you know it, so will publish a full list of dates in due course.