The 2007 Rugby World Cup starts this weekend in France, as well as locations in the UK. I’ll be watching the games on delay thanks to the the IRB website. It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to watch a full International Rugby match, so I’m extremely excited to be able to watch all 48 matches of the World Cup. I should stress the words “able to” though, because in Rugby, the World Cup quarterfinals are easier to predict than the ending to any/ all Hugh Grant movie. That being said, here’s my two cents for the upcoming tournament including my predicted winner:

Semifinals:
New Zealand defeats Australia
South Africa loses to France

Wold Cup Champion:
New Zealand over France

Potential Tournament Sleepers:
Argentina - if there is any team that might be able to break into the quarterfinals I don’t have listed in the table above, it’s Argentina in Pool D. Other than that, the 8 teams in that table will be the tams in the quarters… and honestly there are only a handful of first round games that are “must see”.
Wales - I think that Wales has an App. State kind of chance against South Africa in the quarterfinals. It would take their best game, but they have the ability to surprise. Wales could also fall flat on their face and their game against Fiji might go the other way.
Pool Games to Watch:
France vs Argentina - 9.7
England vs South Africa - 9.14
Wales vs Australia - 9.15
France vs Ireland - 9.21
Scotland vs New Zealand - 9.23
Wales vs Fiji - 9.29
Scotland vs Italy - 9.29
Ireland vs Argentina - 9.30