Top 10 rugby TVCs to kick off the 2011 World Cup

Could this be the year? In this spot created by DDB New Zealand that resonates with every die-hard All Blacks rugby enthusiast, a hard-luck fan has kept an iconic white Steinlager can for the past two decades with the hopes of celebrating New Zealand's victory in the tournament. As fate would have it, the All Blacks have disappointed ever since their first win in the World Cup 24 years ago, but perhaps Steinlager's 'We believe' campaign is the rallying cry that the team needs to get the monkey off their back.

Talk about premature celebrations. The infamous leaked Nike video that celebrates England's victory of completing a first championship clean sweep since 2003 back in March left them red-faced as they eventually lost to Ireland, denying them of the title of 'Grand Slam Champions 2011' which they boldly claim in the ad.

Of course, England did not get away with the ad so easily, as Ireland rugby stars Paul O'Connell and Brian O'Driscoll later provided their own take on the Nike ad. 

It's youth versus experience and veteran-savvy in this ad from Pocari in Japan. The group of young men relish the thought of challenging a team of senior citizens to a physical game of rugby, but little do they know that the old-timers have a few tricks up their sleeves.

In what seems like another mismatch on paper, a professional rugby team takes on Cathay Pacific's own flight crew in the airline's campaign to promote its sponsorship of the annual Hong Kong Rugby Sevens tournament. Real flight attendants star in the TVC created by McCann Worldgroup that sees them unleashing a vast repertoire of flight service skills to outwit the rugby team and prevent them from scoring a try.

Ever since Brazil was awarded the rights to host the Summer Olympic games, the country - where football is as close to a religion as you can get - started campaigning to promote other sports that citizens were not too familiar with. In this series of ads by sports apparel and equipment company Topper, a matter-of-fact approach is laid out by the host who makes his case that rugby will be big in Brazil.  

The tournament is not always all about the players as this spot from 2011 Rugby World Cup official broadcaster Sky Sports points out. Getting lost in the spotlight are the cameramen working behind the scenes to make sure viewers have the best view of all the action.

Everyone wants to be part of Barclays' Singapore Open golf tournament, and rugby players are no exception. The peaceful and orderly nature of golf is abruptly interrupted by a rugby team which was awaiting in the sidelines for the opportunity to bring its sport to the fairways.

Vodacom bring back memories of the 1980 film The Gods Must Be Crazy with this TVC in support of the South Africa Springboks national team. This time, instead of a Coca-Cola bottle dropping down from the sky, a South African bushman who has no knowledge of the outside world and beyond encounters a rugby ball and brings it back to his tribe, where the fun begins.

Toshiba provides an artistic take with this official TVC for the 2011 Rugby World Cup promoting its television as the best place to watch all the action of the tournament. Coloured sketches of rugby players come to life, bringing the rugby action all around a living room before returning to the TV screen.