#RWC2015: Fiji could trample England, says Lomu

Their quiet confidence is armored by bitter lessons taken from 20 years of failure from the second to the seventh World Cups, having to catch up with rivals on how to play tournament rugby, and the sweet knowledge of what it takes to win the Webb Ellis Cup.

Fiji captain Akapusi Qera is relishing the atmosphere at Twickenham and the privilege of playing straight after the tournament’s opening ceremony.

“I’m just looking forward to getting stuck in to the next game”.

“The Rugby World Cup will be a compelling spectacle watched by millions across the globe over the next 44 days”, said British Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of the start.

“There will be a lot of pressure on England – their expectations of their performance in the tournament and the expectations of their supporters”, he said at a news conference on Thursday.

Wales were dumped out of the World Cup by Fiji eight years ago and England could also fall victim to the Islanders, who are positioned ninth in the global rankings and have arrived on these shores with a squad hailed as the strongest and best prepared in their history.

Andy Warkman, vice president, sport & production, OSN, said: “For Rugby World Cup 2015 we will be raising the bar once more – this will be the biggest production we have ever undertaken”.

“We have to have some of the best supporters in the world and the fact that it’s only going to be over the pond will probably make it a bit insane for us”.

“Fiji are among the most physical teams in the world, especially in the first half”, Lawes said. I seriously think we’ve got a huge chance. “But while there has to be a sense of balance and a focus on implementing our game plan, we definitely want to get our hands on the ball and perform”. “From the moment we got back from the New Zealand tour last summer we knew this was coming”. And yet even their own rugby director, Rob Andrew, is more hopeful than confident they will peak enough over the next six weeks. The coverage will be led by British sports presenter Jim Rosenthal supported by a panel of top former Rugby players.

“We’ve done that loads of times, that’s how we train and they want us to be a decision-making team”. MasterCard will be delivering Priceless Surprises to MasterCard card holders and rugby fans around the world.

England’s task is complicated by the fact they face two of them – Wales and Australia – in their group, with only two teams qualifying.

They could still influence the outcome of the quarter finals dependent on when that big game comes.