Rugby World Cup 2019: Group C as "crunchy"

The favorite: England

His official goal: win the World Cup.

Its unofficial goal: make forget the previous edition of 2015, which rhymes with humiliation, or, with the choice, with elimination from the first round at home.

Its history: a title of champion (2003) – the only one of the northern hemisphere – in eight participations.

The player to follow: it is understood, Owen Farrell is annoying. For his systematic mimicry before taking a penalty, of course. For his propensity to animate the game of England (at hand as well as hand), then. At 27, the Saracens opener is now captain of the national team, which has just recalled, in a warm-up match against Ireland (57-15), that it will be one of the big favorites of the competition.

The anecdote: Australian father, American-Japanese mother, Eddie Jones became the first foreigner of the English selection. The native of Tasmania took office just after the World Cup 2015. That of the revelation for him and Japan, which he then coached (victory over South Africa). That of humiliation for the English (read above). Provisional balance: already two titles at the Six Nations Tournament, in 2016 and 2017.

The surname : the XV of the Rose. Report to the war known as the Two Roses, a conflict that brought together two noble families, in 1450: York and Lancaster; unrelated to Stuart, a priori.

The botanical haiku that would suit him well:

Ant!
You can climb the rose
The sun is still far away.

Shinohara Hôsaku (1905-1936)

The outsider: Argentina

His official goal: qualify for the quarter-finals.

Its unofficial goal: continue to torment the XV of France.

Its history: a third place (in 2007, in France and at the expense of France) in eight participations.

The player to follow: Plater, passer, puncher, Pablo Matera knows how to do a lot of things on a rugby pitch. The third-line had already helped Argentina in 2015, until the semi-finals of the World Cup. Here he approaches the 2019 edition with the status of "captain", just 26 years old. His preoccupation of the moment: tinkering with the Argentine melee, a monument now in peril. For the next year, the player has already planned the following: rally Paris and the French Stadium, as the opener Nicolas Sanchez.

The anecdote: twenty-five of the thirty-one Argentines selected for the World Cup play all year round together. With the "Jaguares" of Buenos Aires, and under the guidance of Gonzalo Quesada (former deputy of the XV of France), they affixent their mark in Super Rugby; a championship that has already made them travel this year between South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Until their final of July, lost against the New Zealand "Crusaders".

The surname : the Pumas. Legend says that, like Tatin Tart, this nickname is the result of an error. In 1965, the press wanted to find a nickname for the Argentine team. Go for the Pumas, so even though the team's coat of arms represents … a jaguar.

The feline haiku that would suit him well:

Devoured by a cat
The cricket's wife
Cry his mourning.

Takarai Kikaku (1661-1707)

The spoilsport: France

His official goal: qualify for the quarter-finals.

Its unofficial goal: avoid losing from the start against Argentina and become, three weeks later, the first XV of France in history to be eliminated in the first round of the World Cup.

Its history: three finals (1987, 1999 and 2011) in eight participations.

Coach to follow: you have to dedicate a boundless passion to the series Josephine guardian angel to remember that Fabien Galthié has already played a role, his, that of coach. It was in April 2009 (between his experiences at the Stade Français and Montpellier), on TF1. This is the same channel that will broadcast the 2019 World Cup, where Galthié will play another score, that of assistant coach of the XV of France. And future successor of the coach, Jacques Brunel, soon after the competition. A baroque status for a team of odds and ends who are going after the defeats (fourth at the last Six Nations Tournament), seems farther than ever from a world title, and is still looking for a typical team, despite the offensive promises of an Antoine Dupont or a Damian Penaud.

The anecdote: and yet, French rugby knows how to win, and nothing less than a World Cup. Certainly, in the under-20 category, whose team has signed a resounding doubled at the highest level, raising the world trophy in 2018 and 2019. Two of its Blueberries are also traveling to Japan with the big boys. XV of France, the pillar Demba Bamba and the Roman opener Ntamack. Like talismans.

The other anecdote: On the French side, the strongest chance of appearing in the World Cup final is perhaps Jérôme Garcès. The referee Pau had already led a semifinal at the 2015 edition, South Africa – New Zealand, in London. Also present in Japan, three of his compatriots: Romain Poite, Pascal Gaüzère and Mathieu Raynal. The quartet will make France the most represented country among the twelve main referees of the World Cup.

The surname : Blues. Simply.

The disillusioned haiku that would suit him well:

Butterfly
In a world
Hopeless.

Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828)

The two big odds

Tonga

Their official goal: qualify for the first time in their quarterfinal history.

Their unofficial goal: continue to torment the XV of France (the kingdom of Tonga, though less populated than the number of licensees to the French Rugby Federation, had beaten the Blues in the first round of the 2011 World Cup, notable feat, although inconsequential at this tournament … )

Their history: elimination in the first round at each of their seven participations.

The player to follow: In the fall of 2018, Nasi Manu was fighting against testicular cancer. Not only has he replayed rugby, but the 30-year-old from New Zealand is preparing for his first World Cup. The third-line Treviso has only three games in the national team. Fragile team, it must be said: the Tonguans may well argue the strength of their forwards, they lost their last game of preparation on the relatively unequivocal score of 92-7, against New Zealand …

The anecdote: like the All Blacks, the Tonguans (some of whom are just born in New Zealand) also have their pre-match haka. In their case, the warrior song is called "sipi tau". Even though the capital of the country, Nuku'alofa, means in Tongan the "homeland of love".

The surname : Ikale Tahi (Sea Eagles). Tonga is made up of three archipelagos (and more than a hundred islands), which gives at least three good explanations for this nickname.

The marine haiku that would suit them well:

Persistent rain
The seaweeds
Come back to life

Yosa Buson (1716-1784)

United States

Their official goal: qualify for the first time in their quarterfinal history.

Their unofficial goal: win a match.

Their history: elimination from the first at each of their seven participations.

The player to follow: like four teammates, Blaine Scully is temporarily unemployed. Without a club and no contract, the captain of the United States is already focusing this fall on his third World Cup, in a team that seems the weakest group C. The former back of Cardiff Blues, 31, is one of those American players to have discovered rugby at university. That of UCLA, California, where he finished with a degree in history. It was 2011, the year of his first World Cup.

The anecdote: France – USA has already served as a final at the Olympics. For two American victories, in Antwerp (1920) and Colombes (1924). Whistles from the public, invasion of the field: the second defeat and its stormy turn caused the end of rugby in the Olympic program, and the beginning of a very long absence until the return of the oval ball in 2016 (under its variant to seven).

Their nickname: the "Eagles" (the "Eagles" for short, those of the air, not to be confused with Tongan "sea eagles"). Even if the symbol of the United States actually corresponds, more precisely, to a bald eagle.

The winged haiku that would suit them well:

An eagle descends
On the white plains
Of the year that goes up.

Takano Suju (1893-1976)