JEFF PROBYN
A FRONT ROW VIEW OF THE GAME

THE opening weekend of matches will tell us a lot more about this World Cup and give us a better idea if – at last – there is a chance that the northern hemisphere may finally break the south’s long stranglehold on the trophy.
With the south winning eight of the previous nine World Cups, it’s about time for another northern hemisphere team to be crowned.
France, even with the RWC being staged in France, had a tough start with a game against the All Blacks on Friday as the opener for the competition, just as England did in 1991. Back then, we hadn’t...