Rugby World Cup: what to know about it, where to watch it — and how to bluff your way through

This cheat’s guide with insider tips will help you get through the Rugby World Cup tournament at a pub, club or party.

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So you didn’t get the call-up from Australian coach Michael Cheika to make your Rugby World Cup debut for the Wallabies, either?

No matter, your place in the supporter team is ready and waiting — and this cheat’s guide is just in time to help bluff your way through this year’s tournament like a pro.

You might not lift the Webb Ellis at the end of it, but these insider tips on Australia’s biggest rivals to watch (and a few nuggets about our own boys) should have you primed to jibber with the best of them at a pub, club or party near you:

HOW ’BOUT THOSE … New Zealand All Blacks, who come into the tournament as favourites, not to mention, keeper of the Bledisloe Cup for 17 years straight. They will attempt to win their third Webb Ellis trophy in a row, a feat never done before.

WATCH OUT FOR … Aaron Smith, the team’s irrepressible no. 9 and an excitable new dad, whose son Luka was born on the same day he was named in the WC squad.

Aaron Smith poses during the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby World Cup Portrait Session. Picture: Getty

Rugby Union player Aaron Smith, with his new son at Dunedin Public Hospital. Picture: @aaronsmith_1112/Instagram

HOW ’BOUT THOSE … Ireland Shamrocks, who pipped the Kiwis to claim the world No1 ranking coming into the WC and lead the northern hemisphere charge.

WATCH OUT FOR … winger Jacob Stockdale, who was a schoolboy in 2011 when his Ireland rugby hero Tommy Bowe took an intercept off Wallabies star Quade Cooper, only to be chased down short of the tryline by this year’s comeback kid, James O’Connor.

Ireland's wing Jacob Stockdale (C) celebrates with Ireland's full-back Rob Kearney (L) and Ireland's centre Bundee Aki (R) after scoring Ireland's first try during the Six Nations international rugby union match between Ireland and Wales last year. Picture: AFP

HOW ’BOUT THOSE … England Roses, breaker of Aussie hearts in 2003 when fly-half Jonny Wilkinson booted that field goal to take the World Cup title.

WATCH OUT FOR … One-liners from England behemoth Kyle Sinckler, who enjoys delivering verbal sprays on-field and famously called the Wallabies “snitches” after the team sanctioned Kurtley Beale and Adam Ashley-Cooper for bringing women back to their hotel.

HOW ’BOUT THOSE … Les Bleus. France boast a strong World Cup pedigree, but have drawn one of the tough pools — facing Argentina, England, Tonga and the USA.

WATCH OUT FOR … French players turning on coach Jacques Brunel mid-tournament. France has a history of staging player-led mutinies and are in the pool of death alongside England and Argentina.

France's head coach Jacques Brunel looks on during a training session at the Fuji Hokuroku Park in Fujiyoshida on September 10. Picture: Getty

HOW ’BOUT THOSE … Japan Cherry Blossoms, who will feel the pressure as host nation, but will be hoping to make a good first impression against Russia in the opening clash at Tokyo Stadium next Friday.

WATCH OUT FOR … the official World Cup mascots Ren and G doing happy little dances on the sideline each time Japan (also known as the Brave Blossoms) scores a try. The two furry mascots are based on lion-like holy creatures from mythical Japanese stories who shake their thang when they’re happy.

Former Japanese football player Yasutaro Matsuki poses with mascots Ren (L) and G (R) during a photo session to unveil the official mascots of the Rugby World Cup 2019. Picture: AFP

HOW ’BOUT THOSE … Argentina Los Pumas, who come into this RWC with form they’d rather forget, going winless after four tests this year; before building much-needed confidence on the back of their demolition of club rugby side, Randwick 74-0.

WATCH OUT FOR … the excitement machine from that game, replacement winger, Bautista Delguy, came on to score four tries in just eight minutes.

Bautista Delguy of the Pumas scores a try during The Rugby Championship match between the Australian Wallabies and Argentina Pumas at Cbus Super Stadium last year. Picture: Getty

HOW ’BOUT THOSE … South African Springboks. They have the memory of late, great winger Chester Williams looming large and the legacy of that World Cup team of 1995 to honour.

WATCH OUT FOR … cries of “Beast” ringing out across stadiums each time prop Tendai Mtawarira touches the ball. It’s a nickname he’s earned for his imposing 116kg frame and powerful runs.

South African Nimber 8 Duane Vermeulen (Bulls) and Zimbabwean born prop Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks) react during a press briefing of the Springbok Rugby World Cup squad announcement. Picture: AFP

HOW ’BOUT THOSE … Scots. Scotland posed up for their World Cup team photo in front of Linlithgow Palace, the home of doomed Mary, Queen of Scots. Hope it’s not a bad omen.

WATCH OUT FOR … flanker Hamish Watson will need to use his pinball style in attack to make valuable yards if his team are to have any chance of challenging the big guns, especially in their first-up pool clash against Ireland next Sunday.

Hamish Watson of Scotland runs in with the ball to score a try during the international rugby union test match between Australia and Scotland at Allianz Stadium in Sydney a few years ago. Picture: AAP

HOW ’BOUT THOSE … Wales. The Welsh are still smarting after they were “robbed” in 2011 by a referee’s red card for then skipper Sam Warburton, which sunk the team’s chances in that infamous 9-8 semi-final loss to France at Eden Park, NZ. Sets up a great redemption story.

WATCH OUT FOR … captain Alun Wyn Jones, who celebrates his 34th birthday on Thursday, admits this may just be his last chance to lift the Webb Ellis trophy for his country.

Alun Wyn Jones of Wales looks on during the RBS Six Nations match between Wales and France at the Principality Stadium in 2016. Picture: Getty

HOW ’BOUT THOSE … The Flying Fijians will face off against the Wallabies in their opening clash this Saturday, arguably the best prepared they’ve been for a World Cup.

WATCH OUT FOR … Semi Radradra, the former NRL star who left the Parramatta Eels to play rugby for his country and French side Bordeaux. The “semi-trailer makes history as the first player to appear in three codes of World Cup: union, Sevens and rugby league.

RC Toulon's Fijian winger Semi Radradra runs with the ball during the French Top 14 rugby union match between RC Toulon and Castres last year. Picture: AFP

AND FINALLY …

HOW ’BOUT THOSE … our own Australian Wallabies, who farewell some of their greatest servants this WC, including Will Genia, Sekope Kepu and David Pocock.

WATCH OUT FOR … the smack talk between Cheika and former Wallabies coach, Eddie Jones, at the England helm. If we lose against Wales and they win their pool, brace for a battle royale in the knockout quarter-finals.

David Pocock of the Wallabies looks on during the International Test match between the Australian Wallabies and Manu Samoa at Bankwest Stadium this month. Picture: Getty

PANDA’S BEST OF THE REST: “The other nine teams who will compete in this tournament are regarded as rugby minnows, but watch out for Georgia, Italy and USA to take it up to the big guns.”

‘WALLABIES ARE THE DARK HORSES’

Craig Wing could well be the smartest fan, pumped and ready, for this week’s Rugby World Cup to explode.

The former NRL favourite, who switched codes 10 years ago and spent six years playing club rugby in Japan, got his chance to represent the Cherry Blossoms at the 2015 WC.

It’s that experience which gives him special insight into what to expect this tournament when the Land of the Rising Sun plays host.

Former Rugby player Craig Wing with rugby fans Monique Som, Rita Lanciano, Annaliese Woodford and Amelia Scorgie. Picture Rohan Kelly

“I think Japan will put on one of the best World Cups in history,” Wing says. “It will be a completely new experience compared to other World Cups — there’s so much to see and do in Japan, and there’s so much culture. Public transport is the best in the world, and if anyone knows how to handle a crowd — it’s the Japanese.”

His pick for the title is England, led by former Wallabies coach, Eddie Jones, himself part-Japanese; while he rates the Aussie this year’s dark horses.

* Don’t miss every nation, every game on Foxtel and Kayo

WHERE TO WATCH THE RWC

Craig Wing could well be the smartest fan, pumped and ready, for this week’s Rugby World Cup to explode.

The former NRL favourite, who switched codes 10 years ago and spent six years playing club rugby in Japan, got his chance to represent the Cherry Blossoms at the 2015 WC.

It’s that experience which gives him special insight into what to expect this tournament when the Land of the Rising Sun plays host.

“I think Japan will put on one of the best World Cup in history,” Wing says. “It will be a completely new experience compared to other World Cups — there’s so much to see and do in Japan, and there’s so much culture. Public transport is the best in the world, and if anyone knows how to handle a crowd — it’s the Japanese.”

His pick for the title is England, led by former Wallabies coach, Eddie Jones, himself part-Japanese; while he rates the Aussie this year’s dark horses.

While he’d love to be there, he’s signed up to rub shoulders with rugby diehards, in a VIP seat at The Star’s sports bar, primed to air Fox Sports’ coverage on its mega-wall 34m screen, 24/7.

There will also be a virtual reality booth for rugby fans to get a sense of what it would be like to be at the games; while for an added dimension, Fox Sports will also screen its cutting-edge 4K coverage at the Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest, Ettamogah Hotel, Kellyville Ridge, Carringbah Hotel, Caringbah and Honeysuckle Hotel, Newcastle.

The Coogee Bay Hotel is also one of two Heineken live sites for those wanting to bunker down for the game with the official beer — with plans to screen Fox Sports (ad-free) at an opening party at its sports bar and Selina’s this Saturday.

Originally published as Rugby World Cup: what to know about it, where to watch it — and how to bluff your way through