Former England Boss Lancaster Eyes 'wide Open' World Cup

Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Aug, 2023 ) :Former England coach Stuart Lancaster will have a close-up view as the Rugby World Cup unfurls in France with 11 players from his new club, Racing 92, among those potentially in action.

"I think it's wide open," he told AFP adding that "France will embrace it and bring it to life." Lancaster, a former Scotland youth international, joined the club in the Paris suburbs this summer after seven years with Leinster in Ireland.

Racing kick off their campaign, shorn of 11 World Cup players, against Bordeaux-Begles on Saturday, the first of three Top 14 rounds before the league shuts down until October 29.

France, Wales, England, South Africa, Fiji and Georgia all have Racing players in their squads.

They include several members of Racing's latest star-studded set of summer recruits, including South Africa's 2019 World Cup winning captain Siya Kolisi, who is just returning from injury.

Lancaster is a realist about the likely attrition during the competition, saying that France fly-half Romain Ntamack, ruled out with a knee injury on Monday, "will not be the only one".

"Depth and quality of depth will be a big factor toward the end of the tournament," Lancaster said.

The former England coach, who lost his job after his side failed to qualify from their pool in the home 2015 edition, was cautious about picking a favourite, though he started with the nation he represented.

"Scotland will be really hard to beat," he said. "They're playing well at the moment." "Ireland, having worked with a lot of the players, they're in a strong position from the Northern hemisphere teams as well as France as the home nation." "The southern hemisphere teams, especially New Zealand, seemed to be improving in the Rugby Championship. South Africa are always going to be strong. Australia produced a really strong performance in the last game against New Zealand." But, he said, the top teams could not always control their destiny.

"The thing is about rugby, there are so many things that can happen in the context of one game that often the result you think is might happen sometimes doesn't." "It could be a red card, a yellow card, the bounce of the ball the referee's interpretation." He said international rugby's traditional underdogs could show more bite.

"I feel the tier two nations will have a part to play in the outcome," he said.

"They might not win it but with the new eligibility rules to allow players to play for their original country the likes of Tonga, Samoa, Fiji all look strong." Racing will continue training during the World Cup as Lancaster wrestles with adapting to France, beginning to learn the language, settle into a new house and "driving on the other side of the road.""It's stretching me," he said. "It's a challenge."mca-pb/bsp