The All Blacks will face their old World Cup nemesis, France, in pool play at the 2011 World Cup held here in New Zealand. It's no secret that the All Blacks don't have the best track record against France at the World Cup (although lets not forget we beat them in the final in 1987), but All Blacks fans can take comfort in the fact that the top two placed sides in each Pool will advance. So, even if we succumb to the French again, we're unlikely to lose to the Tongans, or one of the other two minnows yet to be named.

England, Argentina and Scotland make up the heavyweights in Pool B, and the two winners from this group will face either the All Blacks or France, depending on results. Based on last year's World Cup, Argentina must be considered the top dog in Pool B, especially when you consider England's poor form - although there's still a long way to go before 2011, so we might just be getting ahead of ourselves.

Australia will face Ireland and Italy in Pool C, while the Springboks will look to defend the 2007 title against Wales and Fiji in Pool D. The rest of the nations are yet to sort themselves out, but at this stage it looks like Canada and Japan will join Pool A, Romania and a play-off winner (most likely Portugal) in Pool B, Georgia and the USA in Pool C, and Samoa and Namibia in Pool D - these predictions are based on the teams playing in the 2007 World Cup, though, so the actual teams may vary.

The All Blacks may be known for choking at World Cups, but this time we'll be on home soil where we have a brilliant record - only losing to South Africa in Dunedin after an unbeaten record spanning the last few years.

Let's just say, we're already quietly optimistic...