Rugby World Cup: Last Spot Up for Grabs
With the 2011 Rugby World Cup fast approaching, there is only one spot left.The final spot in group B is being contested by Romania, Kazakhstan, Uruguay, and Tunisia, and after this weekend, only two of these teams will be left in the hunt.
Already Qualified
Several teams have already qualified for the 2011 World Cup, leaving one place in group B for the four sides competing this weekend. 12 teams qualify automatically for the tournament, as they finished in the top three of their group in 2007. Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga and Wales all earned automatic berths. While Canada and the United States qualified out of North America, Georgia and Russia advanced through Europe, and Japan and Samoa made the tournament through Asian and Oceanic. Whichever team earns the final spot in group B, will be placed with Scotland, England and Georgia.
Matches
The two matches this weekend are sure to be intriguing ones as Uruguay takes on Kazakhstan for the first time in their history and Romania faces-off against Tunisia for the first time in 20 years. The winners of these matches will go on to play one another for the final spot in the World Cup.
The match between Kazakhstan and Uruguay is set to go on Saturday and will take place in Montevideo. While the match between Romania and Tunisia will be played in Buzau, Romania. The two home teams are expected to be the favorites this week, but the strong play of both Tunisia and Kazakhstan in recent tests, demonstrates they could possibly upset.
Kazakhstan vs. Uruguay
Kazakhstan is playing their best rugby right now, having already knocked off Korea and Hong Kong, and are going into their match against Uruguay feeling confident standing at 26th in the International Rugby Rankings. Uruguay is not to be undersold, however, as they stand 22nd in the international rankings and have done well throughout qualifying.
Romania vs. Tunisia
The Romanian team is the favorite to qualify for the World Cup, and is therefore favored to beat Tunisia at home this weekend. The two sides have had very different years approaching qualifying. Romania has had a very successful year and are looking to expand on that come 2011, while Tunisia has struggled, losing at home in the African finals against Morocco. Romania also finished second in the International Rugby Nations Cup in June.
Heading into the match, both teams have also recently made coaching changes. The Romanians made a change at the end of European qualifying, parting ways with Serge Lairle, and replacing the Frenchman with the coaching tandem of Romeo Gontineac and Steve McDowell. Tunisia is still in limbo, having fired South African Danie de Villiers. They are now monitored by in-term coach Mohamed Sahraoui.
Perhaps the most interesting development of the match is the fact that a great deal of Romania’s forwards will be missing. In an attempt to give their professionals some time off, players such as Marius Tincu, Bogdan Balan, Sorin Socol, and Iulian Dumitrus will not suit up Saturday. The news of such a depleted unit can only help underdogs Tunisia. However, perhaps Romania’s top player Valentin Calafeteanu has finally recovered from injury and will be ready for the weekend. With so many veterans out for this week’s match, McDowell and Gontineac have had to select a very young side.
Gontineac had this to say of preparing his young team for such an important match. “One of the main objectives is to bring them back to earth, to concentrate on basics and apply the game plan. We must learn to walk before we can run and this is our job with this young team. We must identify the leaders and give them responsibility in the new more complex game plan.”
Regardless of who comes through successful in this weekend’s qualifying matches, they should be prove to be exciting with a great deal on the line.
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