Rugby World Cup 2015 Dates and Prices Announced

The full list of dates, times, and prices for the 2015 Rugby World Cup has been released, with England kicking off the tournament at Twickenham against Oceania 1 at 8.00pm on Friday the 18^th of September. 

World Champions New Zealand will begin their title defence against Argentina on Sunday the 20^th, against Argentina at Wembley Stadium.

The cheapest tickets (band D for first round matches between tier 2 and qualifying teams) cost as little as £15, dropping to £7 for child tickets. 41 of the 48 games (including the third place play-off match) have discounted prices for children.

England pool games are the most expensive for that stage of the tournament, rising to £315 for category A tickets for the host’s games against Oceania 1, Australia, and Wales.

Tickets for all quarter-finals range in price from £95 to £250, and those wishing to attend semi-finals face prices between £125 and £515.

The most expensive tickets are for the final, with category A seats costing £715, lowing to £515, £315, and £150 through the different pricing levels.

The first batch of tickets, numbering around 500,000 will be handed out via RFU affiliated clubs in May, with the general sale for the public starting in September, with a ballot system being used for oversubscribed games. Any unsold tickets will be sold via Ticketmaster from December.

The full schedule can be found below:

Wales v Tonga Squads and Predictions

This is the seventh time these two teams have met and, despite Wales winning every previous encounter, their recent record against Pacific Island teams has not been good. Both teams will be fired up; Wales will be looking to build on their impressive display against Argentina from last week, whilst the Tongans will want to avenge the perceived insult of Shaun Edwards’ words regarding their indiscipline, and end their three match losing streak.

Although the gap in rankings suggests that this could be a one-sided affair, the last encounter (in 2003) was close, with Wales edging it by seven points. Some may have worried that the absence of several high profile Welshmen would hinder their performance, but the display given by several young players against Argentina suggests otherwise.

Warren Gatland has rung the changes, with only four players from the victory over Argentina starting. One to watch will be teenager Hallam Amos, who makes his debut on the wing. The half-back pairing of James Hook and Lloyd Williams is another area of interest, with the selection policy indicating that Gatland is using these tests to assess many players at his disposal, with an eye to building the best squad for the 2015 World Cup.

This is a game that Wales should win, and by some margin if they can capitalise on their chances. The final quarter will be especially important, with Wales’ superior fitness likely allowing them to finish the game with fireworks.

Prediction: Wales by 14 points.

Squads:

Wales: 

15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Owen Williams, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 James Hook, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Ryan Jones (c), 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Andrew Coombs, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Rhodri Jones, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Paul James

Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Dan Lydiate, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Jordan Williams

Tonga: 

15 Vunga Lilo, 14 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 13 Siale Piutau, 12 Sione Piukala, 11 Viliami Helu 10 Latiume Fosita, 9 Taniela Moa, 8 Viliami Ma'afu, 7 Nili Latu Langilangi (c), 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Joe Tu'ineau, 4 Lua Lokotui, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Vaea Taione, 1 Eddie Aholelei

Replacements: 16 Suliasi Taufalele, 17 Taione Vea, 18 Tevita Mailau, 19 Hale T Pole, 20 Opeti Fonua, 21 Samisoni Fisilau, 22 Fangatapu 'Apikotoa, 23 David Halaifonua.

England v New Zealand Player Ratings

Mike Brown: Gave a solid display under the high ball and a resolute performance in defence. One of England’s stars of the series. 8/10

Chris Ashton: Another forgettable display, with some dreadful decisions to kick away possession. 4/10

Joel Tomkins: Beyond poor; has done nothing to justify his selection in this series. With a series of knock-ons and failures to release, he was one of England’s biggest disappointments. 3/10

Billy Twelvetrees: Unremarkable. Strong enough in defence but brought none of the attacking flair that England desperately needed in the backline. 5/10

Ben Foden: Held his own playing out of position, but will be disappointed with his limited attacking involvement. 6/10

Owen Farrell: Kept England in it with his kicking from the tee, but made some questionable decisions in attack and again failed to get the rest of the backs firing at full pace. 7/10

Lee Dickson: Produced plenty of quick ball and helped keep the tempo high, but posed little threat in attack himself. 7/10

Joe Marler: A decent performance at scrum time and well involved with the general effort from the forwards. 6/10

Dylan Hartley: Excellent line out throwing and strong in defence. His departure from the field helped New Zealand reassert themselves. 8/10

Dan Cole: Also strong in the scrum and put the effort in around the field. 6/10

Joe Launchbury: Scored England’s only try and made his presence felt in the loose. 7/10

Courtney Lawes: Formidable in open play, both in attack and defence, and managed the line out well. Another star of the series for England. 8/10

Tom Wood: Another strong performance from the back-rower. One of the team’s main pillars when defending. 7/10

Chris Robshaw: Battered by the end, the England captain gave a characteristically industrious performance. 7/10

Billy Vunipola: Carried lots but failed to smash any meaningful gaps in the New Zealand line. 7/10

Replacements: Ben Morgan made a massive impact, running good lines and breaking tackles. Tom Youngs’ appearance saw the lineout crumble at a crucial stage in the game, handing possession back to the All Blacks several times. Ben Youngs’ work at the breakdown was laboured and took pace out of the game when England needed it most.

Autumn Internationals Predictions: England, Scotland & Wales

England v New Zealand 

Following last year’s unexpected victory over the World Champions, England will be hoping to deliver a similar result this time around. However, unconvincing performances against Australia and Argentina have left many wondering if this England team is capable of recording back-to-back wins against the All Blacks.

New Zealand come into the game on an impressive unbeaten run, looking to become the first team in the professional era to go an entire season without a defeat. As if such a record was not motivation enough, they will be aching to avenge the upset from last year. Few would argue that there is a better team in the world than New Zealand; everything they do is to the highest standard. That does not make them unbeatable, but it does make playing against them incredibly difficult.

England will need to bring their very best game to be in with a shot. If their concentration slips like it has done against other Southern Hemisphere sides, New Zealand will capitalise ruthlessly. With a centre partnership that is far from threatening, and second choice wingers on both sides of the field, there are more weak spots in the squad than there arguably should be. To be in with a shot, England will need to score tries, and I am not convinced this is something they are capable of doing consistently, especially against the world’s number one team.

Prediction: New Zealand by at least 10.

Wales v Argentina 

Wales will be aching after last week’s disappointing loss to South Africa, a brutal encounter which saw several more key players sidelined through injury. Warren Gatland is now without both of his first choice centres, and the front row will not be the fortress it usually is with Adam Jones missing. Strength in depth has been a real weakness of this Welsh side, as the summer tour to Japan demonstrated. Whilst the loss of key players is not ideal, this will give Gatland an opportunity to blood some new players and develop the squad beyond the all-star starting fifteen.

It is fortunate that Argentina are the side that he has to do this against; the Pumas have had a woeful season that has yet to feature a win. Despite England going to sleep for a good thirty minutes last week, they never really looked threatening. A lot can certainly change in a week, and the Argentines will be hoping to demonstrate as much in Cardiff. A loss for both teams would be a massively disappointing result, but this is very much Wales’ game to lose. With home advantage, they will want to put in a scintillating display in order to get the march towards World Cup Glory back on track.

Prediction: Wales by 10.

Scotland v South Africa

Scotland come off the back of a convincing win against Japan. Such a result is hardly surprising, but it should serve to give the side winning confidence as they come into this clash. The gap in the rankings between these two sides may make the result appear predetermined, but previous encounters at Murrayfield have proven otherwise. Scotland have a good record of playing hard, attritional rugby against the world’s top sides, and will look to do the same in this match.

Despite this, South Africa will be expecting a win. They looked comfortable for much of the game against Wales and seem to have cemented their reputation as the world’s number two side. If conditions allow, they will hope to play a more expansive game, taking on Scotland in the backs. However, if it comes down to it, the Boks are more than capable of playing the power game up front, something they did with tremendous effect against New Zealand in the Rugby Championship.

Prediction: South Africa by two scores.

England v Australia Predictions

The long-awaiting Autumn Internationals kick of this weekend, with Japan v New Zealand playing prologue to England hosting Australia. With the World Cup on the horizon, there has never been a more important time for all sides to start building a run of form. Stuart Lancaster’s men will be wanting to turn Twickenham into a fortress. The result on Saturday will go some way to determining if the foundations will be laid on quicksand or granite. Here are our predictions:

Alex H-B:

Conditions may well play an important part; poor weather could prevent the Australian backline from firing, giving England the chance to grind out a win through their forwards. Setpieces will be vital; England must ensure that Australia are not able to use scrums and lineouts as a platform for attack. Dominating these areas will give either side a huge advantage; if form is anything to go by, England should have the upper hand in the scrum, but lineouts could still present a problem, especially with Parling out through injury.

It’s hard to know what to expect from a lot of the English players, given their very limited international pedigree. Club form does not always translate to the international stage, especially when Twickenham debutant nerves come in to play. The performance of the new centre partnership of Twelvetrees and Tomkins will be crucial; the 12 and 13 pairing will need to click immediately if they are able to threaten in offence, whilst a strong defensive display will be needed to nullify the star-studded Aussie backline.

The introduction of Marland Yarde to the wing presents another unknown quantity. Australia will prove to be a step up from the games v Argentina during the summer, and England fans will be hoping that the London Irish star marks his first home cap with a try or two. On the other wing we have Chris Ashton, a player who is in desperate need of a shining performance on the international stage in order to see off the challenge of Christian Wade.

This is a tough game to call; Australia are looking to be on an upward curve following a tough Championship, whilst much of this England team are untried. I believe home advantage might just tip it England’s way, but not by more than a score.

Alex D:

Twickenham opens its gates once again this Autumn as Stuart Lancaster looks to guide England to success against their Southern rivals starting with an Australian team on the rise and searching for redemption. Not one month ago this game would be considered almost a given but after a spate of injuries have robbed England of their lions stars as well as Australia’s recent performances against Argentina and the All Blacks makes this game suddenly look a lot harder to call. 

England are looking to show their depth after being shorn of their main scrummaging weapon Alex Corbisiero as well as lineout gurus Geoff Parling and Tom Croft. Also robbed of their biggest running threat Manu Tuilagi into the fray steps Marland Yarde currently six tries from six games in all club competitions for London Irish looking to prove himself in front of an 82,000 strong home crowd. His ability to transfer his domestic form into International colours will be crucial to England’s success. 

Onto a prediction then and despite a resurgent Aus and the wheels of England’s chariot wobbling due to injuries it all points to a close one. Once again it comes down to flair verses grunt with the weather forecast set to hurt the visitors more than the hosts in this game now expected to go right to the wire. England by a nose.