With only 40 days until the big dance, perhaps we shouldn't be getting too carried away with our preparation as the northern hemisphere teams, over this weekend, are getting ready for their assault at the Webb Ellis Cup.

The European teams are again trying to find their feet and combinations in game mode, after finishing their premiership seasons and the extended lay-off from the Six Nations in March.

The England players had just over three weeks off from the premiership finals. They then headed into a fortnight-long camp in Denver for a mini pre-season designed to stress the players and bring them together, training at altitude to gain a competitive advantage for when the hosts return.

England have used 45 players in their squad, making sure that all of them are competent in the team's structure before the difficult decision of reducing the squad to 31.

The 2003 world champions have two games against France and one against Ireland before they start their Cup campaign against Fiji on September 18.

Prop Joe Marler described the pre-season camp as culturally coming together and using all the dark times in the camp to bond together because everyone knows everyone else's secrets in world rugby. Enjoy it Joe.

Wales, like England have been away. They have trekked the Swiss Alps and trained in lockdown in Poland because, as one of the players said, the coach likes it out there: an isolated space with great facilities with not much else to do but train.

I saw one Instagram post from captain Sam Warburton with a magic view from a gondola, with the caption, "Nice way to get to training, 1000m up!"

I bantered with Jamie Roberts at one stage, mentioning how I didn't miss pre-season. He was quick to respond with "yes, it's going to hurt".

They also have jetted to Qatar to mix it up in 40-degree heat where George North described the training as savage.

North will be one player Wales will be relying on. His powerful running will certainly be a feature in this Welsh team.

He had issues with concussions this season but looks like he is ready to rumble, which means the Wallabies will have to watch out for his devastating raids. A player to watch no matter who you barrack for. The Welsh play Ireland and Italy in the lead-up to September.

Ireland have kept their World Cup camps low-key, chasing the white ball locally in an effort to extract the best from their group.

That approach seems to be very much in vogue with the way they are playing. No nonsense, getting on with the job and getting results. It's how they got through the Six Nations again this year to take the title, promoting them to No.3 in the world.

In fact, the game against Wales overnight could see them rise to their highest ranking ever of No.2 if they win, eclipsing South Africa and putting them into an area where they will now become the hunted due to their success.

In years gone past, Ireland could always make a statement by winning big games perhaps they shouldn't have, but it was the consistency that was lacking. Lately though, they have added that element to their game and the confidence is thriving.

I did notice they are not calling these games warm-ups, but a chance to put out their strongest team and make a statement. They take on Scotland and Wales.

The French are the last team that could really upset the party in late October. With a poor showing in the Six Nations and dropping to seventh in the world, France seem to thrive every four years at World Cup time.

This pre-RWC training saw them stay in their own backyard and scale mountains, jump on the bike and trek at altitude. If nothing comes of their campaign in London, they did look good at training with all the right equipment.

The secret to the French performing well is trying to keep the same team on the park for consecutive games. Too many times the French way is to make mass changes.

If Thierry Dusautoir can manufacture anything like the passion and desire shown in 2011, they can be anything. Never write off the boys in bleu.