Rugby World Cup is one event that every rugby fan in the world waits for. Occurring once every four years, it grabs attention from around the world.
While every World Cup event is unique in itself, it gives us things to learn. Things which might be useful when it comes to working out how future tournaments will play out.
Here are the things we learned about the 2015 tournament which should stand us in good stead come Rugby World Cup 2019.
New Zealand might be the best on the field, but even their Haka has nothing on the tournament’s greatest national anthem.
La Marseillaise, the French national anthem is fiery and rousing at the same time. It can be seen on every single French face They are all hyped up when the national anthem starts.
Had there been a competition concerning the best national anthem, France would have totally owned it. Every single time.Although the All Blacks would win the dance-off.
One of the greatest additions to maintain the on-field decorum is Ref Cam.
For anyone trying to mess with the game or the rules or anything else on the field for that matter is now easier to be caught.
Remember the instance when in 2015 Rugby World Cup, Nigel Owens was refereeing the Georgian front row?
“How many times have I refereed you? And you don't understand me still? I'll shout a bit louder then.”
That was really intense. And we got to see it all. All thanks to the ref cam.
Looking forward to the Rugby World Cup 2019, we expect to see some great action with that.
Every game has a number of rules which it has to commence and proceed with. Same goes for rugby. The game has a number of rules. However, as the competition grows, teams might try to go against those.
Such attempts are meant to be turned down by the referees. And if in case they fail, the task comes to the TMO (TV Match Official)’s shoulders.
Abiding to the responsibility, the TMOs can turn really cruel.
Remember these cruel TMO moments from the Rugby World Cup in 2015?
Let’s hope we see more of the same this year!
He might be famous for captaining the football team to glory, but Diego Maradona loves rugby too, as he demonstrated in 2015.
Although, his early optimism turned to a loss as Argentina lost their first ever Rugby World Cup semi-final, we think he might make an appearance at the upcoming World Cup
This is going to be an emotional moment for both Maradona and Argentina fans.
Pardon us for saying this.
In their first test match against Pakistan, England’s Alastair Cook batted for a span longer than England survived at the last Rugby and Football world cup matches combined.
It helps that cricket goes on all day, while rugby is done and dusted in 80 minutes, but it still hurts.
While their hopes might be high, England fans need to realise that it’s a long way to the top - even though England remain the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to lift the trophy. .
This doesn’t mean they want Wales to win the world cup more than they want England to win it. It’s just that sensible England fans plan ahead.
24% of the fans surveyed during the last World Cup said they would support Wales once England were out.
Chances are, that’ll be the case this year. But who knows? Maybe England will outlast their Celtic neighbours?
As rugby fans, we all wait for great rugby events. And the Rugby World Cup is the greatest.
And as 2019 is almost here, enthusiasts like us will start talking about it more.
This article is for all those who’ve always loved rugby or have recently found an interest in it. Here we talked about everything that we’ve learnt from the Rugby World Cup 2015.
