The World Cup starts here

AT last, the phoney war is over. To date, the World Cup has provided a series of mismatches, lacking in serious competition.

Today we have the real thing. The clash between England and South Africa provides a contest of epic proportions.

England captain Martin Johnson has described this as "our biggest game since the 1999 World Cup quarter-final".

The fact that South Africa knocked them out at that stage will have little significance on this occasion. The only similarity that now exists between the sides is the hideous looking jerseys that both wear. South African rugby has changed enormously over the past four years.

Their status in the world game has diminished in line with their performances on the field. Accusations of racial discrimination within the squad have caused even further damage.

They have managed only two victories in two seasons of Tri-Nations rugby. Their lowest ebb was the 53-3 defeat to England in Twickenham last year. The manner of the defeat was even more hurtful. The Springboks have always been a strong physical unit but last November they overstepped the mark.

Reduced to 14 men when second row forward Labuschagne was dismissed for a high tackle on Jonny Wilkinson, their behaviour in the second half was unacceptable.

Nobody was more culpable than captain Corne Krige. How ironic he should label Martin Johnson the dirtiest captain in international rugby.

Despite their poor performances over the past 12 months, the Springboks will be well aware that one victory over England could propel them all the way to the World Cup final. Indisputably, the loser of this game will not win the World Cup.

The draw dictates that second place in this group is destined to meet New Zealand in the quarter-final and probably Australia in the semi-final. Therefore should England lose, they would have to play the three Southern Hemisphere giants and still only arrive at the World Cup final.

A few key issues will decide this encounter. Despite their recent fall from grace, South Africa still possesses a huge forward pack. They are a formidable scrummaging unit and will test England in this department.

The selection of Bezuidenhout at loose head prop for his first international start over Lawrence Sephaka unites the entire Blue Bulls Super 12 front five. They were like a wrecking ball in that series. Their lineout is also highly competitive and Victor Matfield will provide strong opposition to the Johnson/Kay second row axis.

The key could well lie in the performances of the two back rows. The Hill/Dallaglio/Back triumvirate have played together in over 30 international test matches and as a unit they are quite superb. The withdrawal of Hill yesterday due to injury is a big blow to England.

However, South Africa has nothing like the same level of experience in this department, but they do have two outstanding young players in Joe Van Niekerk and No 8 Jaun Smith.

For the Springboks to win, they must dominate possession. The deterioration in their back play over the past 18 months has been quite startling. One senses coach Rudi Straeuli is a chip off the old traditional South African block. His game plan is simple forward dominance followed by territorial advantage leads to scores.

Up to recently, former Australian assistant coach, Tim Lane, coached the backs. He had a serious conflict of interest regarding the style of rugby favoured by Straeuli and they parted company before this season's Tri-Nations.

South African back play has been non-existent since.

Nowhere is the difference in class more pronounced than in the back three. The England trio of Cohen, Robinson and Lewsey are a class act, and possess huge try scoring potential.

The Springboks face the best defence in world rugby, which will reduce their try scoring options even further.

Discipline will play a huge role in this match. If the Springboks continue to concede penalties at the rate they did in the Tri-Nations, Jonny Wilkinson will kick them out of the World Cup on his own.

The South Africans know just how central Wilkinson is to the overall performance of this England side. Accordingly, he will be put under severe pressure today.

All the critical factors point to an England victory. However, South Africa may have just one performance in them.

Their whole World Cup preparation has been geared to this game. Even their tackle bags in training have been adorned with the names and numbers of some of the England players. The physicality of their challenge will ensure there will be casualties on both sides. While I expect England to win, they may well do so at a cost.

Ireland's second pool A encounter against Namibia tomorrow could hardly offer a greater contrast to today's battle royal. Last Tuesday, we saw Argentina make 14 changes to the side that lined out against Australia in their opening game and still score ten tries in their comprehensive defeat of the Namibians.

Ireland should have no difficulty in at least matching this feat. With five changes to the side that played Romania, Eddie O'Sullivan has had a slight rethink of his policy of playing his strongest 15 in all Pool matches.

I think it is vital that some of the fringe players were given an opportunity. It is frustrating for players to train every day without getting a game. By changing the entire back row, there is a clear indication the established trio of Costello, Foley and Gleeson could be altered for Ireland's remaining World Cup matches.

Therefore, it is a huge game for both Eric Miller and Alan Quinlan. The inclusion of John Hayes from the start is another welcome sign of his road to recovery. It would be great if he could play the full 80 minutes.

For Ronan O'Gara, this game is a massive opportunity. It seems to be taken as given in many quarters that Humphreys will start against Argentina next week. O'Gara now has an opportunity to reopen this debate. His ability to extract the best out of O'Driscoll and Hickie could yet swing the balance in his favour.

Either way, one hopes that Ireland will encounter a strong level of resistance from the Namibians in order to derive some benefit from this game. Otherwise, it could provide more of a hindrance in terms of preparation for the real thing against the Pumas tomorrow week.