I can only hope that Japan 2019 will build on this. This World Cup was fantastic, we have seen a lot of great talent. We have seen an(some) amazing upset(s).
The questions I cannot wait to be answered, as a rugby fan are:
What will the NH teams do now? Who is going to burst onto the stage? But I don't really think it works like that up there, does it? Amazing talent just BURSTING onto the scenes. How is England going to implement their JWC winning players, to attempt to make a NH behemoth?
South Africa, oh boy, how good is that team going to be.. The will lose a few players by 2019, but having De Jager, Etzebeth, Pollard(Who I feel is going to be a thorn in NZ's side), Kriel, De Allende, players that I only assume are going to make a fantastic team.
Those Argentinians, well... We must all worry about this country. They have really put themselves on the radar, not like they hadn't in 2007. But with their involvement in the Rugby Championship, and their new Super Rugby team, the only way is up, perhaps, unfortunately for every other rugby nation. We will see.
With Australia getting an ITM-like rugby provincial competition, how good can Cheika make this team, having 4 years and not just 1. I am sure we are going to witness some game breaking players come into the Australian team. What people don't understand is that, Australia didn't have the grassroots rugby like some countries, super-athletic players stop playing because it's quite hard for them to progress. I've had people tell me there are absolute athletic freaks over there, typically, they are of Aboriginal or Fijian decent.
The players from NZ specifically that I am highly interested in watching over the next few years are:
Akira Ioane
Ardie Savea
Mitchell Karpik
Aaron Cruden
Damian McKenzie
NMS
Ngani Laumape
Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi
Rieko Ioane
Seta Tamanivalu
Probably forgotten a couple of people, but those are the ones that I'll be keeping an eye on, for sure.
The questions I cannot wait to be answered, as a rugby fan are:
What will the NH teams do now? Who is going to burst onto the stage? But I don't really think it works like that up there, does it? Amazing talent just BURSTING onto the scenes. How is England going to implement their JWC winning players, to attempt to make a NH behemoth?
South Africa, oh boy, how good is that team going to be.. The will lose a few players by 2019, but having De Jager, Etzebeth, Pollard(Who I feel is going to be a thorn in NZ's side), Kriel, De Allende, players that I only assume are going to make a fantastic team.
Those Argentinians, well... We must all worry about this country. They have really put themselves on the radar, not like they hadn't in 2007. But with their involvement in the Rugby Championship, and their new Super Rugby team, the only way is up, perhaps, unfortunately for every other rugby nation. We will see.
With Australia getting an ITM-like rugby provincial competition, how good can Cheika make this team, having 4 years and not just 1. I am sure we are going to witness some game breaking players come into the Australian team. What people don't understand is that, Australia didn't have the grassroots rugby like some countries, super-athletic players stop playing because it's quite hard for them to progress. I've had people tell me there are absolute athletic freaks over there, typically, they are of Aboriginal or Fijian decent.
The players from NZ specifically that I am highly interested in watching over the next few years are:
Akira Ioane
Ardie Savea
Mitchell Karpik
Aaron Cruden
Damian McKenzie
NMS
Ngani Laumape
Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi
Rieko Ioane
Seta Tamanivalu
Probably forgotten a couple of people, but those are the ones that I'll be keeping an eye on, for sure.