The 2015 Rugby World Cup starts Friday, as host nation England and Fiji kick off a 44-day extravaganza offering up 48 matches.
Can New Zealand become the first nation to successfully defend the title? Will the All Blacks become the first team to win the tournament three times?
Or will the northern hemisphere teams end southern dominance?
Which player will make their mark as the latest global superstar — and will some of the game’s greats bow out of international action on a high note?
We look at five reasons you should be watching all the way through to the October 31 final:
1. New Zealand is the team to beat
Four years ago, the All Blacks overcame their nickname of “serial chokers” by ending a quarter-century wait for a second RWC success, and Steve Hansen’s top-ranked team will once again be favorite despite failing to retain the Rugby Championship title this year.
Having stepped up from his role as Graham Henry’s assistant coach, Hansen has retained 12 of the squad who edged France in the 2011 final as New Zealand seeks to win the title away from home for the first time.
Expectations have been high before — the All Blacks teams of ’95, ’99 and 2007 came home empty-handed when similarly dominant in pre-tournament years — and there will be added emotional pressure this time with key players Richie McCaw and Dan Carter to farewell the international stage.
Despite not having won Europe’s Six Nations title since 2011, the advantage of considerable home support has put England as second favorite with most bookmakers as it seeks to add to its sole title won Down Under 12 years ago.
Stuart Lancaster’s fourth-ranked side will have to overcome the pressure that comes with being the host nation, while also negotiating a tricky Pool A containing Australia, Wales, Fiji and Uruguay — only the top two teams from each of the four groups go through to the knockout stages.
Ireland has won the last two Six Nations titles but has been less than impressive in recent warmup matches, and has never reached the semifinals of the RWC.
The Wallabies won the truncated 2015 Rugby Championship, beating New Zealand, Argentina and fellow two-time world champion South Africa, but were thumped in Auckland as the All Blacks retained the Bledisloe Cup contested by the trans-Tasman rivals.
On recent evidence France may struggle to repeat 2011’s heroics and reach the final for the fourth time — but Les Bleus are often most dangerous when you least expect it, just ask the ’99 All Blacks team that received a semifinal lesson at Twickenham.
2. There’ll be some tasty players on show
Injuries are second-nature for today’s rugby stars — and Wales has been deprived of key backs Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Webb after setbacks in warmup matches.
But there will be plenty of glittering talent on parade.
The New Zealand squad features four men who have been named IRB world player of the year — captain McCaw (2006, 2009, 2010), international rugby’s leading points scorer Carter (2005, 2012), Kieran Read (2013) and Brodie Retallick (2014) — while it has depth in all areas.
Look out for Julian Savea, Waisake Naholo and newcomer Nehe Milner-Skudder to be among the tournament’s top try scorers.
They will be led by McCaw — known as “Mr. Rugby” — who played through the 2011 knockout stages with a broken foot and now at 34 years of age is the world’s most-capped player with 142 international appearances.
Australia’s Israel Folau can provide sheer excitement — the fullback is a menace when he gets hold of the ball upon joining the line — while the brilliance of Willie le Roux provides the spark of creativity to a South Africa side also featuring the battering ram that is Duane Vermeulen, who is returning to action after neck surgery.
From the northern hemisphere, Wales winger George North and Ireland’s Jonathan Sexton are among those sure to impress.
In North, Wales is blessed with one of the game’s most lethal finishers, though he has had recent problems with concussions, while Sexton may well fancy himself as the world’s best fly-half.
Twickenham, the home of English rugby, is the tournament’s centerpiece and will stage its biggest games — the opener, both semis and, of course, the final.
The 81,605-seater stadium, which staged its first game back in 1909, is the biggest dedicated rugby ground in the world and is known as “HQ.” Based in southwest London, it will host 10 games in total, more than any other venue.
Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, which hosted the ’99 final in the year it opened, will have eight matches including two quarterfinals.
One of rugby’s most atmospheric grounds, with a capacity of 74,154, Wales’ national stadium is the world’s second-largest sports arena with a fully retractable roof.
London’s Olympic Park, which is being converted into a year-round multi-use venue, will host five games with a temporary capacity of 54,000.
It will become Premier League soccer team West Ham’s home ground from the 2016-17 season and the national competition center for UK Athletics next year.
Rugby will also invade Wembley, the 90,000-capacity home of English football, which will stage two pool games.
The grounds of football teams Manchester City, Leicester, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Leeds, Brighton and MK Dons will also host group matches.
Of the dedicated rugby grounds, Gloucester’s Kingsholm Stadium (capacity 16,500) and Exeter’s Sandy Park (12,300) will provide more intimate environments on match day.
4. Its economic impact can be felt far and wide
While it may not be able to quite match its footballing counterpart or the Olympics, the Rugby World Cup is still an incredibly lucrative business for its host.
Nearly £1 billion ($1.5 billion) of additive value is expected to be delivered into the United Kingdom’s economy, according to an England Rugby 2015 study, while the event is tipped to generate a total output of around £2.2 billion ($3.4 billion).
With the tournament being spread across 13 stadiums in 11 host cities, stretching from Brighton in the south to Newcastle in the northeast, much of the country is set to reap the rewards, with up to 41,000 new jobs estimated to have been created.
All host cities have committed to improving transport links, while some £85 million ($131.2 million) has been invested in infrastructure, with many of the venues and team bases improving their facilities ahead of the September 18-October 31 tournament.
More international visitors are expected to attend than at any other Rugby World Cup in history, with an estimate of up to 466,000 visits set to contribute up to £869 million ($1.3 billion) in direct expenditure through their spending on the likes of travel and accommodation.
5. It produces iconic moments and real drama
The Rugby World Cup has thrown up a number of magical moments that have lived long in the memory since its inauguration in 1987, ranging from one-man demolition jobs (see Jonah Lomu’s four tries for New Zealand vs. England in 1995) to breathtaking comebacks (France’s 43-31 win vs the All Blacks in 1999).
Perhaps the most dramatic of them all — for England fans, at least — came from the boot of Jonny Wilkinson in the 2003 final.
With under 30 seconds remaining on the clock in the second half of extra-time against Australia, and with the scores locked at 17-17, the talismanic fly-half caught sight of the posts.
He’d missed a string of drop-goals that would’ve won the match, and was now taking aim with his weaker right foot — but this time he landed the one that really mattered.
The fulltime whistle sounded, England had won 20-17 and secured its first world title.
But the most iconic moment in RWC history, and arguably up there in all of top sporting occasions, came in the 1995 final.
Host South Africa, making its tournament debut, overcame overwhelming favorite New Zealand 15-12 — but that was just one side of the story.
Apartheid in the country had come to an end just a few years earlier and Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison during that period, was now the nation’s first black president.
The Springbok shirt had, for many black South Africans, traditionally been a symbol of the ruling white regime. Yet, after doing so much to promote the “One Team, One Country” slogan in the buildup to the tournament, Mandela took to the field upon the final whistle wearing the green and yellow jersey to present the Webb Ellis Cup to captain Francois Pienaar.
One image did so much to unite a nation so divided in its past.
“Thank you very much for what you have done for our country,” Mandela said to Pienaar, who replied: “Mr. President, it is nothing compared to what you have done for our country.”