Editorial: Relish the quiet before RWC storm

Chelsea players hug teammate Diego Costa, center left, after he scored 3-0 during the Champions League match with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Photo / AP

Opinion

By certain yardsticks, this will be the biggest Rugby World Cup yet. More people than ever will watch matches at stadiums throughout England and Wales. Even before this weekend's kickoff, the record for ticket sales set by the 2007 event in France had been surpassed, despite some eye-watering prices. And more people will view games from the comfort of their armchairs. The tournament will be beamed into 772 million households, an increase of more than 15 per cent on the number in 2011. For the first time, matches will be shown live in Germany (24 in all) and China (22). Rugby's governors have every reason to be pleased.

Will it be the best tournament yet? That is more debatable. There will not be the breadth or intensity of local interest that characterised New Zealand's hosting of the event four years ago. Such is inevitable when the games are played in a country and, indeed, in stadiums where another sport reigns supreme.

In the lead-up to England's opening match against Fiji, the sports columns of British newspapers were more concerned about the Chelsea Football Club's awful start to the defence of its Premier League title.

That is not to say there will not be strong support for many of the teams, not least England. As hosts, much of the pressure will be on their players. And the absence of wall-to-wall coverage of the event in Britain could yet work in favour of the All Blacks as they seek to become the first team to win back-to-back Rugby World Cups.

There will not be the suffocating environment that made the lead-up to and playing of the 2011 final against France the tensest of experiences for fans and the players themselves.

As much has been noted by Sir John Kirwan. "In 2011, there was pressure on the nation and pressure on the players to win. It feels a lot better now," he said this week. Sir John was not implying that the All Blacks would be any less desperate to win, especially given this is a swansong for several outstanding players. Rather, he was pointing to public expectation, and an appreciation that, while this country has every reason to enter this tournament as favourites, nothing can be taken for granted. That, in turn, indicates an understanding drawn from previous tournaments of just how many things can go awry.

For the All Blacks, there are two obvious concerns. The first is the weakness of the pool in which they will play their first four games. That is a consequence of the premature reckoning of seedings. It has set the scene for one of the weaknesses of this Rugby World Cup. But it has also created the so-called Pool of Death featuring England, Wales, Australia and Fiji. Which two teams emerge from that will be the focus of the event's first three weeks.

All Blacks fans should also be mindful of the risk of injuries. This provided the harshest of obstacles four years ago, and first five-eighth Dan Carter has been injury-prone since. He is not alone in this among the team's more experienced players, while the fitness of winger Waisake Naholo remains questionable.

Yet those are only the most obvious areas of concern. World cups always throw up the unexpected. That is what makes them great. But if all goes well for the All Blacks and they create history, New Zealanders will have every reason to regard this one as not only the biggest but the best.