This is the moment the rugby world has been waiting for. The whistle will at last sound and the 2007 Rugby World Cup will be under way. What a thrill!
When the opening ceremony is over at Stade de France and Tony Spreadbury blows on the ancient whistle, the world will let out a gasp of relief. The waiting is over. It will be like lancing a boil as the players burst into action and the crowd breaks out into cries in the ground and in bars and rugby clubs and homes all around the world. For some it will be late at night, for some early in the morning, for the people of Argentina a convenient time, just after siesta.
Now it will be team against team, player against player, hero against hero in a pool regarded as especially tough. Two teams from Pool D will go on to the quarter-finals - two out of three of the top teams in the world - France, ranked third, Ireland, ranked fifth, and Argentina, ranked sixth. The winner of this opening match will go through to the quarter-finals, barring mathematical peculiarities.
Apart from that call to arms for France and Argentina, there is also the added spice of propinquity. The two countries may be separated by ocean and hemisphere but so many of the Pumas are Europe-based and more particularly France-based, that there is something of civil war in this, and everybody knows the bitterest wars are civil wars.
That is going to demand greater than usual discipline of the teams and Bernard Laporte's France has been remarkably disciplined during his coaching time.
France have conceded slightly fewer penalties than Argentina - only four against Wales - and neither side has been heavily sanctioned with yellow cards. Spreadbury referees with chirpy words and a smile which can become a giggle but he is also not shy of punishing what is wrong. Good discipline will be important.
For the Pumas this is the third World Cup in a row that they will have played in the opening match - against Wales in 1999, against Australia in 2003 and now against France. The idea of hosts against reigning champions was an accident of 1991 and 1995. In 1987 the hosts All Blacks played against Italy, a one-sided, feeble start to the World Cup. This match in Saint-Denis is unlikely to be one-sided.
The two teams met in Paris last November. France won 27-26 - the same two countries with the same referee on the same field. But things were slightly different. The Pumas were on a roll at the time with victories over England and Italy. France were coming off a string of four defeats. Things are slightly different this time.
France are on a roll after satisfying victories over England (twice) and Wales in their warm-ups while the Pumas beat Chile and lost to Wales. France at the moment are playing with confidence and with all 15 players involved. The Pumas were doing that in November. If they can revive that there will be a contest.
France have the huge advantage of the home ground. Not that French soil will be all that foreign to the Pumas but here the support will all be for the home nation which is also the host nation. The French take great glee in winning trophies. This one has eluded them. The surge of the nation will be behind France. The Pumas who play in France will be used to shared support, not the passion that is likely to burst forth from Stade de France on Friday night.
Ones to Watch: You will watch Agustín Pichot who is so valuable to the Pumas' effort but may just be losing his edge now. After all, his great year was 1999. You will also want to see Cédric Heymans, the French fullback, something of a surprise choice for the sturdy player with the booming boot and thrustful running, as he has played mostly on the wing.
Head to Head: The more interesting individual performances will be in the match-ups, of which there are several. In group contests, France would seem to have the better of the three-quarter battle with greater experience, speed and creativity. If the battle can be won here, France will win it.
If the match is to be won up front, honours are likely to be even, though the Pumas may well win the battle of the front rows. France are never to be underestimated up front.
If the match is to be won through the loose forwards, France seem to have a decided edge, especially in the speed of Rémy Martin and Serge Betsen.
There is not much to choose between the main goal-kickers - David Skréla (France) and Felipe Contepomi (Argentina), though if dapper Federico Todeschini enters the fray, the Pumas will have the better goal-kicker, and fly-half Juan Hernandez is no slouch with the boot either.
Two of the finest hookers in the world face each other - veteran Raphaël Ibañez (France) against Mario Ledesma (Argentina), both sturdy men who cane get about the field effectively, Ledesma slightly more so than Ibañez.
Then there is the contest at inside centre - stronger Yannick Jauzion against cleverer Felipe Contepomi.
The most interesting of all the individual battles is likely to be at fly-half - David Skréla (France) against Juan Martín Hernández (Argentina). Both are big men - Skrela at 1,91m and 95 kg, bigger than Hernández at 1,87m and 90kg, but Hernández has the advantage of speed and creativity. He is more likely to ignite a spark than the sturdy Skréla. Skréla has greater experience in the position than Hernández who has been mainly a fullback and a wing. Adding to the spice of this contest is the fact that they come from the same club - Stade Français. Hernández has for some time wanted to play fly-half but Skrela has been the one to keep him in remoter places.
Recent Results:
France have the better record overall, as the full list of match results below suggests, but the Pumas have had the better of contests in recent times.
2006: France won 27-26 at Stade de France, Paris
2004: Argentina won 24-14 at Stade Vélodrome, Marseilles
2003: Argentina won 33-32 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
2003: Argentina won 10-6 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
2002: Argentina won 28-27 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
1999: France won 47-26 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin in the quarter-final of the World Cup
Prediction: France are just so good at the moment that we expect them to win by ten points or more.
Teams:
France: 15 Cédric Heymans, 14 Aurélien Rougerie, 13 Damien Traille, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Christophe Dominici, 10 David Skréla, 9 Pierre Mignoni, 8 Imañol Harinordoquy, 7 Rémy Martin, 6 Serge Betsen, 5 Jérôme Thion, 4 Fabien Pelous, 3 Pieter De Villiers, 2 Raphaël Ibañez (captain), 1 Olivier Milloud.
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Sébastian Chabal, 19 Julien Bonnaire, 20 Thierry Dusautoir, 21 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 22 Frédéric Michalak.
Argentina: 15 Ignacio Corleto, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Manuel Contepomi, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Agustín Pichot (captain), 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 7 Lucas Ostiglia, 6 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Martín Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 17 Santiago Gonzalez Bonorino, 18 Rimas Alvarez, 19 Martín Durand, 20 Nicolás Fernandez Miranda, 21 Federico Todeschini, 22 Hernán Senillosa.
Date: Friday, 7 September, 2007
Kick-off: 21.00 (20.00 BST, 19.00 GMT)
Venue: Stade de France, Paris Scattered clouds, clearing, with a high of 21°C, dropping to 12°C and a breeze from the northeast of some 7 km/h. What a perfect night for a great rugby occasion!
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
Touch judges: Stuart Dickinson (Australia), Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Television match official: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Assessor: Michel Lamoulie (France)
Results down the years
2006: France won 27-26 at Stade de France, Paris
2004: Argentina won 24-14 at Stade Vélodrome, Marseilles
2003: Argentina won 33-32 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
2003: Argentina won 190-6 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
2002: Argentina won 28-27 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
1999: France won 47-26 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin in the quarter-final of the World Cup
1998: France won 34-14 at Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
1998: France won 37-12 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
1998: France won 35-18 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
1997: France won 32-27 at Stade Maurice Trelut, Tarbes
1996: France won 34-15 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1996: France won 34-27 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1995: France won 47-12 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1992: Argentina won 24-20 at Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
1992: France won 33-9 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
1992: France won 27-12 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
1988: France won 28-18 at Stadium Nord, Villeneuve d'Ascq
1988: France won 29-9 at Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
1988: Argentina won 18-6 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
1988: France won 18-15 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
1986: France won 22-9 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
1986: Argentina won 15-13 at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
1985: France won 23-15 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1985: Argentina won 24-16 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1982: France won 13-6 at Parc des Princes, Paris
1982: France won 25-12 at Stadium Municipal, Toulouse
1977: Draw 18-18 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1977: France won 26-3 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1975: France won 36-21 at Parc des Princes, Paris
1975: France won 29-6 at Stade de Gerland, Lyon
1974: France won 31-27 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1974: France won 20-15 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1960: France won 29-6 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1960: France won 12-3 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1960: France won 37-3 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1954: France won 30-3 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1954: France won 22-8 at Ferro Carril Oeste, Buenos Aires
1949: France won 12-3 at Estadio Maldonado, Buenos Aires
1949: France won 5-0 at Estadio Maldonado, Buenos Aires
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