And they're off!

How about that for a few (outrageous) predictions at the start of a near 10 months slog which is what the new rugby season will be on and off the field?

Though it is only the second week of August and temperatures are soaring through the century mark, it all starts now.

It's the first of a series of international weeks, with Wales heading off to Ireland and Saturday's first pre-World Cup warm-up which promises to be pretty sizzling.

And that's only the beginning because in September we've got the birth of regional rugby, the following month it's the World Cup while off the field there's a battle about who runs the game.

Not bad for starters, and that's all in the first two months of the season. It goes downhill after that!

I can hardly wait to see just who comes out of the other side and who is still standing and in a job after that lot.

As I indicated at the start, two big boys from the Southern Hemisphere could easily be gone, and so could a few nearer home.

I'll present a few scenarios to show how these events could well unfold.

Let's take Hansen first. He flies to Dublin this week with an experimental side which he has deliberately chosen to give his World Cup runners and riders a chance.

But he's doing it against an Ireland team on the crest of a wave after unprecedented success, even if they were turned over by England in last season's Grand Slam decider.

And, unlike Hansen, Irish counterpart Eddie O'Sull-ivan has gone for a full strength squad, injured Ronan O'Gara apart.

Not difficult to predict Wales going down to a record 10th defeat in a row therefore, though consolation could be gained by keeping the score close and the emergence of a few newcomers like Gwent's Rhys Oakley.

Then comes England at the Millennium Stadium, and even though Clive Woodward says he will mot include any of the Grand Slam winning team the result is likely to be the same.

After that it's Romania at Wrexham on August 27 followed three days later by Scotland at the stadium which really are two must win games going into the World Cup.

Even that would give Wales a record of just two wins in 13 games and provide only flimsy evidence that they can perform on the world stage.

New Zealand are stone cold certainties to win the group, but Wales simply must win their other pool matches against Canada, Italy and Tonga to qualify for the quarter-finals.

But how certain is that? Hansen's contract runs until the end of the Six Nations Championship after which he says he will definitely return to New Zealand -- but what price he takes the shorter flight from Australia to New Zealand at the end of the World Cup if Wales don't make the last eight?

Exit Hansen. Moffett could have departed by then. He and the board have chosen to reconfirm the WRU budget which means the majority of the 239 clubs taking a further cut in their revenue.

It was reduced once from £14,000 to £8,000. Now Moffett is asking for a further cut of £2,000 each.

The clubs have already rebelled at an extraordinary meeting and forced Moffett to the brink of resignation. He resisted that, saying he doesn't respond to threats or run away from a fight. But that's exactly what he's got on his hands after reaffirming the budget.

West Wales clubs who brought about the egm now says they will call another which could well turn into a vote of no confidence in the board.

The whole lot would then have to go, led by the man at the top. Exit Moffett.

So the two men on a combined salary of over £400,000 charged with revitalising Welsh rugby on and off the field will have failed spectacularly.

Not bad for the first two months of the season by which time that other hot potato, regional rugby, will be well down the road.

Will that be another road to oblivion? The powers that be are backing it to the hilt, but they would, wouldn't they?

I'm not so sure. They've made a big mistake in this part of the country by excluding the Newport name, and I'm expecting season ticket sales and attendances to reflect that. Financial backing in the way Tony Brown provided is also lacking, so it's going to be one heck of a struggle, that's for sure.

By retaining their names Cardiff and Llanelli have got not so much a head start as the proverbial mile, even if they do have World Cup players missing for the first two months.

Early success and stability are vital, but they can't all win. One major casualty even before the season gets under way is Gareth Thomas who has resigned as chief executive of the Celtic Warriors.

There are going to be problems galore with the regions, and I'm expecting some casualties here as well. In fact, by the end of November there could be so many fallers that Welsh rugby will resemble the Grand National on a bad day.