Autumn Internationals week 1: 5 Rugby World Cup showdowns

With the World Cup a year away, this is the last time a lot of teams will get a look at each other before they face off in the biggest event on the rugby calendar. With that in mind, here are five battles this weekend that could be repeated at next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Sam Warburton vs Michael Hooper
RWC battleground: pool stages

Both openside flankers, both captains… but that is where the similarities end for these two. Michael Hooper has won a lot of plaudits for his form over the past couple of years, and is up there amongst the very best openside flankers in the world. He did, however, come in for some flak for publicly backing Kurtley Beale at a time when it would perhaps have been wiser, as captain, to have stood by the establishment. Sam Warburton, by contrast, has been dogged by injury and some mediocre form in the past year, but is certainly squeaky clean off the pitch, loved by the Welsh hierarchy and referees alike. Given that, injuries permitting, they will both likely lead out their countries when they do battle in the group stages of the World Cup next year, this is one of the biggest match-ups of the autumn.

Johnny Sexton vs Handré Pollard
Hypothetical RWC battleground: knockout stages

They should both qualify from their pools, which means there’s a good chance Ireland and South Africa will meet in the knockout stages somewhere. As with any high pressure game, the performance of the fly-half will have a huge outcome on the game. Johnny Sexton is, when fully fit and firing, one of the best in the world in his position, with no real weaknesses to his game. Fitness can be an issue, though, especially with him playing a lot of rugby at Racing Métro. It’s not an issue that should dog young Pollard, the precociously talented Springbok who has more international than Super Rugby starts to his name. He is a visionary attacker, as he showed against New Zealand, but his game management and tactical kicking – two areas that you only improve with experience – are yet to be tested in Northern Hemisphere autumnal conditions. That makes this weekend’s showdown a huge one.

Dylan Hartley vs Dane Coles
Hypothetical RWC battleground: knockout stages

Big things will be expected from both sides as hosts and holders respectively, and if (it’s a big if, mind you) they both live up to expectations, this could be the final. With that in mind, the set-piece will be absolutely vital (when is it not, to be fair). This weekend is a dry run for these two, then, and there’s no doubt their strengths lie in different places. Hartley’s line-out throwing is, more often than not, pinpoint, but his influence in the loose (aside from running dodgy, slightly-offside support lines) can be negligible. Coles, on the other hand, is a real livewire, with a jinking step and an aggressive turn of pace for the hooker. His line-out work is, however, sometimes suspect. Which is more important? We may well find out this weekend.

Mark Bennett vs Marcelo Bosch
Massively hypothetical RWC battleground: knockout stages

Ok, so the chance of these two both getting deep enough into the knockout stages to go head to head is negligible at best, but hey, we can dream, right? Mark Bennett has been one of the finds of the season (although followers of Scottish rugby will have known his potential for a while now), and has shot to prominence after two brilliant performances in the ERCC. He is quick and strong, and will be a great test of Marcelo Bosch’s usually excellent defence. The Argentine is capable of brilliance himself, but doesn’t always show it. He is better known for his booming boot, which will keep Scotland honest anywhere within sixty metres of their own posts. These two can both have a big influence on this weekend’s outcome.

Davit Kubriashvili vs Sila Puafisi
RWC battleground: group stages

To counteract the rather fanciful match-up above, these two will definitely meet, in pool C. The Georgian game is unquestionably built on their front five, where they have an immense amount of scrummaging power. Kubriashvili, as tighthead, is the linchpin of that power, and he and his mates will be tasked with winning penalties and generally shunting around the rest of the pool. Tonga, meanwhile, would much rather chuck the ball around. With that in mind, the job of Gloucester’s Puafisi will be to hold the Georgian power as best as he can so they can get the ball out as fast as possible to their wide men.

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images