Cusiter delight as Scotland draw England in World Cup
Hadden: it’s a good draw and one that gives us every chance of progressing
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Scotland international Chris Cusiter reckons his country got the best draw they could have hoped for as the countdown to the Rugby World Cup in 2011 got under way yesterday.
Frank Hadden’s squad avoided the Pacific Islands teams to land first seeds Argentina and second seeds England in their group for the finals which will be held in New Zealand.
For Perpignan scrum half Cusiter, avoiding the hosts, South Africa and Australia was key, while the Auld Enemy are a team struggling in transition under new coach Martin Johnson.
Cusiter said: “It is a fantastic draw for us and we have to be happy with avoiding the big three of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. We lost to Argentina last year in the quarter-finals but it is fair to say their squad peaked for the tournament and they have lost a few players since then.
“But Ireland and France have both struggled to beat them which shows they are still a formidable outfit and I expect them to be just as strong in three years.”
The match Aberdonian Cusiter is relishing most, however, is against England.
The highlight of Scotland’s international calendar every year in the six nations, the stakes will be even higher with a World Cup quarter-final place on the line.
Cusiter said: “England in the World Cup is going to be huge. It is always the biggest occasion of the year when we play them, and the 1991 World Cup semi-final was probably the biggest meeting between the two countries, although the result was not the right one.
“The game in 2011 is going to be just as massive. It’s frightening already trying to contemplate how big the game will be. England are going through a rough patch but I wouldn’t bet on that still being the case come 2011.
“The pleasing thing for us is we are facing two teams we have beaten in the last year and, hopefully, we will be able to repeat the feat three years from now.”
The situation could have changed dramatically by 2011 but coach Hadden is pleased with the draw and believes the group is the best he could have hoped for given Scotland were among the third seeds for the tournament.
He said: “It’s a good draw and one that gives Scotland every chance of maintaining our proud record of being one of only five countries to qualify for the quarter-final of every World Cup.
“The draw is the first piece of the jigsaw. The second piece is the scheduling of matches and I believe it is imperative games are scheduled to allow players proper recovery and preparation time given the intensity of international rugby.
“As far as our Pool B opponents are concerned I’m happy with the draw. We haven’t played England in the World Cup since the 1991 semi-final, and we lost out at last year’s World Cup to Argentina in the quarter-final. We’ve missed the Pacific Islands’ countries as they are pretty much playing on their home patch, so that’s a bonus.”
If Scotland win their pool they would face the runners-up in Pool A, which includes New Zealand, France and Tonga, in the quarter-finals. If Scotland are second in their pool, they would face the Pool A winners.
Scotland captain Mike Blair said: “I’m excited by the draw. In England and Argentina we have two extremely tough sides in our pool. It will take a big effort from us, but that’s what we will be setting our minds on.”
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