KEY POINTS:
Here is a golden chance for Rugby World Cup history-making.
Italy have never progressed past the pool stage in five tournaments but they look a real prospect this time despite being in the same group as the All Blacks - a world cup standard - which isn't a
good omen.
Those two teams kicked off the inaugural tournament at Eden Park, where Michael Jones said hello to the rugby world and John Kirwan goodbye to a whole team of Italian defenders. This is the fifth time they will be in the same pool and as on most of the other occasions, the Italians are in for a severe hiding.
Never mind. It is actually a pool of great hope for the Pierre Berbizier-coached side.
Romania and Portugal will be easily accounted for, leaving a make-or-break clash with Scotland in St-Etienne.
Italy scored their first away victory in the Six Nations over the Scots this year and will approach this game in fine spirits.
The Six Nations was something of a triumph for the Italians, who also beat Wales to claim two victories for the first time. Go Italy because, let's face it, the cup needs every little kick up the proverbial that it can find.
Who really needs those dour Scots clogging up the quarter-finals again? Give us Mediterranean joy over the haggis and hubris every time.
As usual, the Italians have provided a backdoor cup entrance for New Zealanders.
Last time it was coach Kirwan and Rima Wakarua. This year, loose forward Josh Sole, halfback Paul Griffen and wing Kaine Robertson have won the rugby lottery and will get to play about three levels higher than they would have by hanging around in New Zealand.
So what of the key pool clash between the Italians and Scots? It's a long way out to be mulling over these scenarios, but the Scots might be on a downer because they would have played the All Blacks six days earlier.
Then again, the Italians will have warmed up by playing Portugal 10 days earlier. They will be well rested, perhaps too much so.
If Italy do progress, they will likely play France in the quarter-finals. Au revoir, Azzurri.
Romania will make up the numbers. Fringe French club players equal World Cup cannon fodder, but at least the Romanians will get to beat Portugal in their final game.
Romania gave a couple of top sides a decent run in the early days of the tournament and once notched a victory over Fiji. The best they can hope for this time is to get under the skin of Scotland and Italy, but it is a forlorn hope.
Portugal makes its debut in the World Cup. The big surprise to many people is that Portugal even has a national rugby team.
The thought of Portugal lining up against the All Blacks hardly bears thinking about. Canada beat them by 30 points in a warm-up game - which says it all.
The All Blacks' back-up players should get a run here and will be in no mood to show any mercy although they might have to hold back in the scrums for safety reasons. This will be well over point-a-minute rugby, and you have to wonder what is the point.
Still, Portugal will give the writers a nice yarn. Interesting fact: like Samoa they will have a set of three brothers - the Uva brothers.
This is Portugal rugby's moment in the sun, but the Uvas and their mates won't knock football superstars like Luis Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho out of the Portugal headlines for long, if at all.
The final European struggler is Georgia. The oft-repeated yarn about Georgian rugby is that it was so poor it used discarded Russian tractors as scrum machines.
Russian tanks might have been a better bet given that the courageous Georgians are up against the French, Argentinian and Irish scrums in their group.
Georgia made a World Cup debut in 2003, losing their might-win game against Uruguay in Sydney.
Their best effort was a 19-46 loss to South Africa, a fabulous achievement for a country with just a few hundred players and a handful of grounds.
