Right from the beginning of the tournament there are fixtures galore taking place at all different times throughout the week, as to be expected. To keep up with who is playing who and when, click here for a downloadable fixture list - there are 48 matches available on ITV for your viewing pleasure (40 pool games and 8 finals), and it's impossible to stay on top of them all. Hopefully the available guide will allow you to do so, and ensure that you catch as many matches as possible.
In terms of venues, there are 13 that have been selected to host matches, these are - Brighton Community Stadium; Elland Road; Kingsholm Stadium; Leicester City Stadium; Manchester City Stadium; Millennium Stadium; The Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park; Sandy Park; St James' Park; Stadium MK; Twickenham Stadium; Villa Park; and Wembley Stadium. The matches at these venues will then be commented on by a huge line-up, as announced by ITV here. For the lucky ones who have bought tickets, let me know where you are going in the comments below - it will be interesting to see which venues you are off to explore, maybe for the first time!
So that is it for your basic information, most of which I am sure you knew anyway, but it helps to have everything all in one place. Now, Aaron Homewood gives us his pool previews below.
Pool A: Australia, England, Wales, Fiji, Uruguay
In what is the most competitive pool, England, Australia and Wales will be in a three way battle for just two places in the quarter finals. Australia, having beaten New Zealand this year, will go in full of confidence, and with Mario Ledesma overseeing the forwards they should be stronger than recent years come set piece time. This will make them extremely dangerous considering the potent backline they possess. England head into the World Cup under the added pressure of it being at home, and it would be inconceivable for them to crash out in the pool stages. They will be looking towards a vocal Twickenham to roar them on in the vital matches against Australia and Wales. Key for England will be the set piece, where the forwards will have to provide a stable platform up front in order for them to utilise their dangerous wingers. Wales may potentially be facing an injury crisis after events in Cardiff this weekend, but will be hoping those to Webb and Halfpenny will not be as serious as they first appeared. For Wales to progress, they will see their match against Australia as a must win, but they must overcome a run of ten straight losses to the Wallabies. Fiji are always a dangerous opponent and will be looking to crash the party against their more fancied opponents. The South Sea islanders play a very loose style of rugby and can trouble teams, as Wales found out when they lost to them in the pool stages of the 2007 World Cup. Uruguay look to play for a bit of pride, as the prospect of four hefty losses looks incredibly likely, especially given they lost 40-0 in their most recent outing against Japan.
Pool B: South Africa, Samoa, Japan, Scotland, USA
South Africa headline Pool B, and they are easily expected to top it with Scotland and Samoa contesting for second place. South Africa have struggled this year however, only recording a single victory, but surely will find their form when it matters in this World Cup. The main questions surround the centre spots, where the partnership of de Allende and Kriel has really flourished this year. But, Jean de Villiers is the team’s captain and, despite barely playing any rugby this season, you would expect him to start in one of the centre spots. Samoa have assembled a strong squad containing many players plying their trade with professional clubs. They will be formidable opponents, and their match against Scotland will likely settle second place in the pool. Scotland have been showing improvement under new coach Vern Cotter, and he will be hoping their latest foreign recruits will add an extra impetus to the squad to push them onwards. Japan have made good improvements since the last World Cup, and will be looking to put in a strong showing ahead of hosting the next one in 2019. The USA, coming off their biggest ever win over North American rivals Canada last month, will head into the competition in their best shape ever, and will be targeting a victory over Japan as a minimum.
Pool C: New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga, Georgia, Namibia
Pool C appears to be the easiest one to call, with New Zealand expected to comfortably progress as pool winners along with Argentina. New Zealand head into the tournament as favourites and it’s difficult to see them being challenged in the pool. They have terrific squad depth and the only possible question surrounding them will be whether several ageing players will be able to sustain their fitness and high levels of performance over a six week tournament. Argentina have been tough opponents in recent World Cup’s and they will be looking to upset New Zealand, but will more than likely have to settle as qualifiers behind the All Blacks. For Argentina to succeed they will have to decide on who will play in the number 10 jersey. The options being Nicolas Sanchez, who has been the incumbent much of the last couple of years, or Juan Martin Hernandez, with the possibility that he can revive some of his 2007 World Cup magic. Tonga will be targeting victories over Georgia and Namibia, but having upset France in the last World Cup, they will believe an upset win over the Argentinians is not completely out of their grasp. Georgia have dominated the second-tier of European rugby in the period ensuing since the last World Cup and they will be looking for their backs to offer more as an attacking threat to complement their strong forward pack. For Namibia they will be looking to record their maiden Rugby World Cup victory and will most likely see Georgia as the most realistic chance to do this.
Pool D: France, Ireland, Italy, Canada, Romania
Pool D is a Northern Hemisphere affair, with Ireland and France battling it out to top the pool. Yet again we head into a World Cup with no idea what to expect from the French. On paper they appear strong, but increasingly they are underwhelming and questions remain around the fly half position where Michalak appears to be the frontrunner for the jersey. The pressure will mainly be on Ireland, who need to carry forward their impressive form of the past year and deliver come the knock out stages - if they can, they may see a path to their first ever World Cup final. The growth of Italian rugby seems to have been in a constant state of stagnation for several years and nothing has changed now heading into another World Cup. They will be looking to upset France and Ireland but realistically this looks to be out of their capabilities. Comparatively, Canada have really grown recently and, despite not getting the results they would have wanted this year, they will head into the World Cup feeling confident. They have an abundance of sevens talent and will want to beat Romania along with really pushing the Italians. Romania, much like their Eastern European counterparts Georgia, possess a powerful forward pack but have often lacked fire power in the backline. They will be looking towards Saracens' outside back, Cătălin Fercu, to provide some spark out wide.
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