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SLAM! Rugby
1999 World Cup
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Welsh stand tall in Group D
Backed by a raucous crowd of 70,000, the red-hot Welsh should play like men possessed.
"I have never been in a stadium that was so loud," said Victoria hooker Mark Cardinal, who played in Canada's 33-19 loss to the Welsh in August. "When Wales scored their first try, it was deafening. It hurt the ears, the noise."
The seventh-ranked Welsh, for whom rugby is a religion, have had to plenty to cheer about in recent months. They toppled world champion South Africa 29-19 in June -- just one year after being thrashed 96-13 by South Africa -- and are riding an eight-game win streak.
Fly half Neil Jenkins, with 838 points in 68 games, is a kicking machine who is just 74 points from surpassing Michael Lynagh's world-record points total. Jenkins will punish a team with his boot from anywhere in the opposition half. He also has some nifty moves and is a skilful playmaker; Canadian fly half Gareth Rees tips him as a player to watch at the World Cup.
Jenkins' partner is Robert Howley, a world-class scrum half, while centre Scott Gibbs is one of the hardest-tacklers in international rugby.
Coach Graham Henry, a New Zealander who took Auckland to the top of the Super 12 heap, has transformed the Welsh. There hasn't been much of a turnover in players from his predecessor but the players believe in themselves again. They are also in great condition, thanks to fitness guru Steve Black
Should Wales win all three pool games, the team will match its all-time record of 11 consecutive victories set between 1907 and 1910.
Still Henry has spent recent weeks downplaying expectations for his squad.
Australian back Jason Jones-Hughes, subject of a tug of war between the Welsh and Australia rugby unions, will be on the substitutes bench for Wales when the tournament opens. Jones-Hughes is eligible for the Welsh because his father was born there.
The bruising Samoans won't be scared off by the Welsh. They beat Wales 16-13 in Cardiff at the 1991 World Cup.
The ninth-ranked Samoans have been hot and cold this year but they remain a team rich in talent with the likes of No. 8 Pat Lam, hooker Trevor Leota and backs Va'aiga Tuigemala and Afato So'oalo.
Argentina, No. 10 in unofficial world rankings, is another unpredictable team.
"Argentina have a lot of talent but don't make the best use of it," said Canadian coach Pat Parfrey.
The Puma buildup to the World Cup has been anything but smooth. Hector (Pipo) Mendez quit the coaching staff in mid-September rather than take a backseat to former All Black Alex Wyllie. Mendez came on board in July after coach Jose Luis Imhoff left in the wake of two losses to Wales.
There were also internal dissent over the squad chosen for the World Cup.
Scrum half Augustin Pichot is the key man for the Pumas.
The 14th-ranked Japanese are coming off the Epson Cup Pacific Rim championship, including a 37-34 win over Samoa, thanks to some non-Japanese reinforcements. There are five New Zealanders in the Japanese squad -- Andrew McCormick, Jamie Joseph, Graeme Bachop, Rob Gordon and Greg Smith -- prompting some to dub the team the Cherry Blacks instead of Cherry Blossoms. Bachop played fly half for the All Blacks in the '95 World Cup.
Japan attracted such players when the game turned professional and the imports were eligible to dress for Japan after meeting three-year residency requirements.
The Japanese boast a fine homebrew talent in fly half and goal kicker Keiji Hirose.
The new-look Japanese have come a long way since the embarrassing 145-127 loss to New Zealand at the '95 World Cup.
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Predicted order of finish: 1. Wales; 2. Samoa; 3. Argentina; 4. Japan.
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