Rugby's giants have come to the land Down Under. It's time to get it on.
England and New Zealand go into the tournament with the two best recent records and are firm favourites to make the final.
But Australia, South Africa, Ireland and France won't let that happen without a fight.
Home advantage means everything to Australia, and as ESPN Star Sports commentator Justin Sampson says: 'Eighty per cent of Test matches are won at home.'
Australian Sampson is picking Australia to win, his Kiwi colleague at Star, Shane Howarth, is picking New Zealand, and none of the South China Morning Post's panel of experts is picking England.
But nonetheless there are some mouth-watering matches in prospect, none more so than today's opening encounter between Australia and Argentina that has bruises written all over it.