Italy
Italy arrive at this World Cup on the back of some impressive wins against Scotland and Wales. They have also competed well, albeit unsuccessfully, against France who will be their first opponent. That game, however, is unlikely to determine their fate. Rather it will be the second game which is against South Africa. The two sides have faced each other in the previous two WXV 2 competitions when Italy emerged victorious with scores of 36-18 in 2023 and 23-19 in 2024. Both games may have been Italian wins but, as the results suggest, South Africa are undoubtedly capable of pulling off a victory. Italy's final game will be against one of the feel-good stories of this World Cup - Brazil. It's a game that Italy should win by a decent margin and a result that they'll be hoping will see them nicely into the knockout rounds.
World Ranking: 7th
Best ever Result: Quarter-final (2021)
2021 Result: Quarter-final
Head Coach: Fabio Roselli
Captain: Elisa Giordano
Player to Watch: Vittora Ostuni Miunzzi
Expectation: Get out of the pool
Pool Prediction: 2nd
Fixtures:
Saturday 23rd August, 8:15pm vs France at Sandy Park (BBC iPlayer)
Sunday 31st August, 3:30pm vs South Africa at York Community Stadium (BBC iPlayer)
Sunday 7th September, 2pm vs Brazil at Franklin's Gardens (BBC iPlayer)
SQUAD
Hooker: Desiree Spinelli - Vittoria Vecchini
Prop: Gaia Maris - Alessia Piani - Sara Seye - Emanuela Stecca - Silvia Turani
Lock: Giordana Duca - Valeria Fedrighi - Alessandra Frangipani - Isabella Locatelli - Sara Tounesi
Back Row: Ilaria Arrighetti - Elisa Giordano(C) - Laura Gurioli - Alissa Ranuccini - Francesca Sgorbini - Beatrice Veronese
Scrum Half: AIta binonci - Francesca Granzotto - Sofia Stefan
Fly Half: Beatrice Capomaggi - Veronica Madia - Sara Mannini - Emma Stevanin
Centre: Gia Buso - Giado Corradini - Beatrice Rigoni - Micheal Sillari
Wing: Alyssa D'Inca - Aura Muzzo
Fullback: Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi
France
France have been perennial semi-finalists at these tournaments and have been forced to watch England and New Zealand contest finals which are generally won by the Black Ferns. The French have consistently been the third best team in the World but, as their ranking suggests, they have now been somewhat surpassed by Canada who are now favoured by many as the biggest competition to the traditional titans of the game. They should get out of the pool without much difficulty given their dominance over Italy in the Six Nations and their significant rankings gap with South Africa.
France will be looking further ahead for success in this tournament and that means looking at the likes of New Zealand, Canada and England. Before doing that, however, they may have to face an Irish team that caused them massive problems in the Six Nations before the French managed to pull away in the latter stages. Should they get past that stage, they will be up against some teams who have troubled them in recent times. Their record against Canada is unconvincing with the previous two match-ups being Canadian victories - the second of which was by a margin of 22-points. Their record against England leaves a lot to be desired in recent times. In the Six Nations, France nearly managed to complete a late comeback before knocking the ball on directly from a kick off to end their hopes. The two sides also played a World Cup warm-up match which the English won comfortably. France have a stronger record against New Zealand having won five of their last seven encounters. However, New Zealand have won two of the last three games and won the most recent match by 25-points. All of this means that France have a serious point to prove going forward.
World Ranking: 4th
Best ever Result: 3rd (1991,1994,2002,2006,2014,2017,2021)
2021 Result: Semi-final (3rd)
Head Coach: Gaelle Mignot and David Ortiz
Captain: Manae Feleu
Player to Watch: Pauline Bourdon Sansus
Expectation: Make the final
Pool Prediction: 1st
Fixtures:
Saturday 23rd August, 8:15pm vs Italy at Sandy Park (BBC iPlayer)
Sunday 31st August, 4:45pm vs Brazil at Sandy Park (BBC iPlayer)
Sunday 7th September, 4:45pm vs South Africa at Franklin's Gardens (BBC iPlayer)
SQUAD
Hooker: Manon Bigot - Agather Gerin - Elisa Riffonneau
Prop: Makarita - Baleinadogo - Rose Bernadou - Yilana Brosseau - Annaelle Deshayes - Assia Khalfaoui
Lock: Madoussou Fall - Manae Feleu - Hina Ikahehegi
Back Row: Axelle Berthoumieu - Lea Champon - Khoudedia Cissokho - Charlotte Escudero - Teani Feleu - Taina Maka - Marie Morland - Seraphine Okemba
Scrum Half: Pauline Bourdon Sansus - Alexandra Chambon - Carla Neisen
Fly Half: Carla Arbez - Lina Queyroi - Lina Tuy
Centre: Nassira Konde - Gaby Vernier
Wing: Joana Grisez - Marine Menager
Fullback: Emilie Boulard - Morgane Bourgeois
Brazil
Brazil will be the fan-favourites at this tournament, bringing the added South American flair that the men's World Cup enjoyed from Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. In this World Cup, Brazil are the only South American side to make it so they'll no doubt be given a lot of the limelight. Brazil's qualification for this World Cup is also exciting for the sport as a whole. Despite being underappreciated by World Rugby, South America has seen a massive growth in rugby and Brazil becoming a bigger rugby nation would seriously bolster the sport's global standing.
What is also so exciting about this, is it shows that rugby sevens can help to develop nations that aren't traditional powerhouses. The Brazil sevens team has competed well on the HSBC SVNS World Tour, finishing ninth which unfortunately means that they are victims of World Rugby's mad decision to cut the tour down to 8 teams from 12. However, it has already improved Brazil massively and given a good platform from which to build. The only game that Brazil has played against a World Cup game this year ended in a 41-12 defeat to Spain which illustrates the challenge that awaits this group. Hopefully they can enjoy this experience and create some moments that will inspire a younger generation of Brazilians to take up the sport.
World Ranking: 25th
Best ever Result: N/A
2021 Result: did not qualify
Head Coach: Emiliano Caffera
Captain: Eshyllen Coimbra
Player to Watch: Luiza Campos
Expectation: Be competitive against South Africa and Italy
Pool Prediction: 4th
Fixtures:
Sunday 24th August, 2:45pm vs South Africa at Franklin's Gardens (BBC iPlayer)
Sunday 31st August, 4:45pm vs France at Franklin's Gardens (BBC iPlayer)
Sunday 7th September, 2pm vs Italy at Franklin's Gardens (BBC iPlayer)
SQUAD
Hooker:Isabella Gomes Saccommanno - Julia Leni Lima - Natalia Jonck
Prop: Franciele Barros - Giovana Mamede - Pamela Soares Santos - Samara Vergara - Tais Prioste
Lock: Ana Carolina Santana - Dayana Dakar - Eshyllen Coimbra
Back Row: Camila Isis Carvalho - Larissa Henwood Lima - Leticia Medeiros - Leticia Silva - Marcelle Souza
Scrum Half: Aline Mayumi Koeke - Leila Cassia Silva - Luiza Campos
Fly Half: Fernanda Tenorio - Maria Gabriel Graf - Raquel Kochhann
Centre: Edna Santini - Mariana Nicolau - Marina Fioravanti -
Wing: Giovanna Barth - Bianca Silva - Isadora Lopes de Souza
Fullback: Yasmim Soares
South Africa
This South Africa team finds itself in a position of opportunity - it is not expected to beat Italy but is definitely capable of making the knockout rounds and gaining publicity in a rugby-mad country that is behind where it should be when it comes to the women's game. This is a team packed with experience but also plenty of youngsters who will bring some much-needed energy to the side. I expect their captain, Nolusindiso Booi, to be one of the stories of the tournament. She is still playing at the age of 40 and is the ultimate ambassador for the game in her country. If she can lead this team to the knockouts, South Africa will be a side to watch going forward.
World Ranking:12th
Best ever Result: 10th
2021 Result: Pool Stage
Head Coach: Swys de Bruin
Captain: Nolusindiso Booi
Player to Watch: Nolusindiso Booi
Expectation: Compete with Italy for 2nd
Pool Prediction: 3rd
Fixtures:
Sunday 24th August, 2:45pm vs Brazil at Franklin's Gardens (BBC iPlayer)
Sunday 31st August 3:30pm vs Italy at York Community Stadium (BBC iPlayer)
Sunday 7th September 4:45pm vs France at Franklin's Gardens (BBC iPlayer)
SQUAD
Hooker: Micke Gunter - Lindelwa Gwala - Luchell Hanekom
Prop: Sanelisiwe Charlie - Xolisiwa Khuzwayo - Yonela Ngxingolo - Babalwa Latsha - Nombuyekezo Midliki
Lock: Nolusindiso Booi(C) - Danelle Lochner - Nomsai Mokwai - Anathi Qolo - Vainah Ubsi
Back Row: Aseza Hele - Catha Jacobs - Lerato Mukua - Sinazo Mcatshulwa - Sizophila Solontsi - Faith Tshauke
Scrum Half: Unam Tose Tayla Kinsey
Fly Half: Libbie Janse Van Rensburg - Mary Zulu
Centre: Zintle Mpupha - Aphiwe Ngevwu - Chumisa Qawe - Eloise Webb
Wing: Jackie Cilliers - Ayanda Malinga - Maceala Samboya
Fullback: Byrhandre Dolf - Nadine Roos
Add comment
Comments