Rugby: How the Pool of Death united a country

England's Anthony Watson smiles after scoring a try against Ireland. Photo / AP

Tough draw means host’s mood for this Rugby World Cup has real edge to it

Of all the things the All Blacks were expecting to encounter on arrival in England, glorious late summer sun was probably not one of them.

Warm beer, bad food, angry taxi drivers and not particularly athletic types wearing athletic gear... that's the London these All Blacks know. They also know it as a city with dull grey skies, chill winds and horizontal rain.

And they know it like that because they usually only come to these parts in November and encounter the savagery of winter.

No doubt those players who have been to England many times before will have it tucked in the back of their minds that this World Cup will be played on heavy ground and in wet conditions.

Some of them have been coming to this part of the world for more than 10 years without once clapping eyes on the sun. Nor, really, have they had much sense that they are a big enough ticket item to gain much traction with the general populace.

In a city of 10 million people, even the All Blacks don't register. Rugby is usually a dot on the landscape - football's little brother that only has a sphere of influence in and around Twickenham on match day.

How much different this World Cup will be to an end of year tour scenario is hard to assess. But it will be different.

For the duration of the pool round at least, this World Cup is going to be played on fast tracks. Probably with a dry ball, too. That will likely change in the knock-out rounds. Conditions will deteriorate the more summer retreats - creating an almost split tournament.

What's also clear is that the mood of this tournament is going to be vastly different to that which gripped New Zealand four years ago. Much of that is due to the predicament the hosts find themselves in without a ball yet having been kicked.

The so-called Pool of Death, in which England vie with Wales, Australia and Fiji for two quarter-final spots, has created an immediate edge. As much as the organisers want a festival atmosphere, they are unlikely to get one for the simple reason the local fans won't be in the mood.

It's dawning on everyone that England are vulnerable: that they could suffer the indignity of being dumped out of their tournament before the quarter-final.

No host has ever faced such a tough battle to progress, which is why the focus isn't going to be on having a good time.

The upside, though, is that the intensity of England's pool has won nationwide attention.

There's nothing like a stiff challenge to bring the English together. This is a nation that works best when the odds are stacked against them and they sense that what they are entitled to expect is being threatened.

Which is also why those coming through Heathrow with Kiwi passports can expect to be quizzed by immigration officials. Not about the contents of their luggage or intended duration of stay, but about their thoughts on the All Blacks.

This isn't normal. Nor is it typical to have a passport stamped while the bloke doing it explains why Leigh Halfpenny's injury has decimated Wales' chances of victory and that if opponents can shut down Johnny Sexton, Ireland have got nothing much to offer.

It would appear that England is prepared, en masse, to partly shelve it's obsession with the round ball game for the next two months and have a butchers at this rugby carry on.

Pubs that would typically be enticing casual drinkers with the lure of big screen coverage of the Premiership football clash of the week are promoting instead their access to the Rugby World Cup.

It's not that London has gone mad for the World Cup - it's too big, too diverse for the city to be consumed by it the way Auckland was four years ago. But there is tangible evidence that people are aware it is on.

No doubt, too, the All Blacks will create a slightly bigger ripple than normal. They might not quite earn the same status as Chelsea and Arsenal but, for the next few weeks, London will be an entirely new experience for the All Blacks.