WC favourites
- Thread starter PaarlBok
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matty_k
Peter Johnson (47)
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matty_k
Peter Johnson (47)
2003 England beat New Zealand in Wellington. Geez I think the rule is if you beat New Zealand before the World Cup in the same year you are going to win it unless you are South Africa.
http://www.espnscrum.com/statsguru/rugby/match/24449.html
http://www.espnscrum.com/statsguru/rugby/match/24449.html
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A
antipodean
Guest
Australia beat New Zealand in 2007...
matty_k
Peter Johnson (47)
OK revision.
If you want to improve your chances of winning the cup you need to beat NZ before the tournament unless you are South Africa.
J
Jay
Guest
He did say "at a World Cup".
PaarlBok
Rod McCall (65)
1995 the Bokke beat Australia and won the World Cup.
BDA
Jim Lenehan (48)
All Blacks - Home ground advantage. Ruthless on attack. Very rarely play poorly (or what I would consider poorly). Even more rare for them to lose at home. World’s best flyhalf. Arguably world’s best no7. Arguably world’s best no8 (if he’s fit). One of the best scrums in the game. Can do it all and have a world class kicker to boot. The problem is they are so rarely outplayed that, when it happens they are not quite sure how to react (i.e. against France 2007, against Boks 2009, Against Aus at Suncorp 2011). deserve to be favourites but arent as far ahead of the rest as the kiwis thought at the start of the year.
Predicted finish: 1st
Teams they will want to avoid: Australia
Teams they will want to face: England
Australia - Exciting team! Have all the momentum at the moment after winning the Super 15 and Tri-nations. Young, confident squad. World's best backline. World's best halves combination. World’s best halfback by a country mile. World’s best fullback. Arguably world’s best no7. World’ form second rower in Horwill. Finally seem to have a host of tough forwards to choose from (TPN, Palu, Higgers, Elsom, Vicks, Horwill, Moore, etc). Have world class depth in the backs (players like Barnes, Horne, JOC (James O'Connor), Fainga'a, Mitchell possibly sitting on the bench). Very dangerous on attack. However, consistency remains their problem. have the talent to beat any team at the world cup but can they actually win 7 games in a row?? that remains to be seen...possibly a bit too young and inexperienced. Have a history of trying to avoid the upfront battles in big games. Worst of all, they will probably have to get through their kryptonite to make finals =ENGLAND! >( …..2nd is about right.
Predicted finish: 2nd
Teams they will want to avoid: England
Teams they will want to face: France / Boks
South Africa - Were the world's best team only 2 years ago. Essentially the same team playing now. Have an amazing starting 15. Great speciality players. World class forward pack from 1-8. 2nd best half back in the world. One of the world’s best no.7 in brussow. Outstanding rolling maul. They have a definite game plan and are the world’s best at executing that plan. Their style is very effective in closely fought, knock-out competitions. Their experience and leadership is outstanding. However, they have a number of players who are clearly past their best (Smit, FDP, Botha, Habana, FransSteyn, JDV etc, etc) their game plan is harder to execute in 2011 than it was in 2009 following a change in the interpretation of the laws to advantage the team with possession. Have a weak coach and I really cant see them scoring any tries from outside their opposition’s 22 (at least against the top side). Arent create enough in attack, so they will need to play the game in their oppositions 22.
Predicted finish: 3nd
Team they will want to avoid: NZ/ Aus
Teams they will want to face: England / France
England – Very strong forward pack. Won’t get pushed around by any team. Have a surprisingly good backline at the moment for an English side. Always play well at the World Cups. Made it to the finals in 2007 and probably have a much more well rounded side this time around. Showed their potential against Australia last year. Have a favourable draw. Of the other top 4 teams in the World, they are likely to play France and Aus on the way to the finals, the two top teams that they have had the most success against over the last few years. However, they are wholly uncreative. Despite their advances over the last 4 years, they still lack the attacking backline to match the southern hemisphere teams. Rely heavily on their set piece and kicker. And unfortunately to win the tournament they’ll have to beat either the Boks or NZ and they have an embarrassing record against both.
Predicted finish: 4th
Team they will want to avoid: NZ/ SA
Teams they will want to face: Aus / France
5. France – Strong forward pack, talented backline. Are a bit unpredictable, which usually works to their advantage. The only Northern Hemisphere teams that can match the Southern Hemisphere heavyweights in terms of flair and skill level. One of only two teams to have beaten NZ, in NZ, over the last 4 years and got the better of them at the last world cup. Won the Six Nations last year so they have plenty of world class talent. Have looked decent in the warm up matches! However, definitely have taken a dive in form over the last 10 to 12 months. Face a very tough run to the final having to play England and then Australia (their bogey team). I hope they beat England.
Predicted finish: Quarter final exit.
Team they will want to avoid: Aus
Teams they will want to face: Ireland/Arg
Predicted finish: 1st
Teams they will want to avoid: Australia
Teams they will want to face: England
Australia - Exciting team! Have all the momentum at the moment after winning the Super 15 and Tri-nations. Young, confident squad. World's best backline. World's best halves combination. World’s best halfback by a country mile. World’s best fullback. Arguably world’s best no7. World’ form second rower in Horwill. Finally seem to have a host of tough forwards to choose from (TPN, Palu, Higgers, Elsom, Vicks, Horwill, Moore, etc). Have world class depth in the backs (players like Barnes, Horne, JOC (James O'Connor), Fainga'a, Mitchell possibly sitting on the bench). Very dangerous on attack. However, consistency remains their problem. have the talent to beat any team at the world cup but can they actually win 7 games in a row?? that remains to be seen...possibly a bit too young and inexperienced. Have a history of trying to avoid the upfront battles in big games. Worst of all, they will probably have to get through their kryptonite to make finals =ENGLAND! >( …..2nd is about right.
Predicted finish: 2nd
Teams they will want to avoid: England
Teams they will want to face: France / Boks
South Africa - Were the world's best team only 2 years ago. Essentially the same team playing now. Have an amazing starting 15. Great speciality players. World class forward pack from 1-8. 2nd best half back in the world. One of the world’s best no.7 in brussow. Outstanding rolling maul. They have a definite game plan and are the world’s best at executing that plan. Their style is very effective in closely fought, knock-out competitions. Their experience and leadership is outstanding. However, they have a number of players who are clearly past their best (Smit, FDP, Botha, Habana, FransSteyn, JDV etc, etc) their game plan is harder to execute in 2011 than it was in 2009 following a change in the interpretation of the laws to advantage the team with possession. Have a weak coach and I really cant see them scoring any tries from outside their opposition’s 22 (at least against the top side). Arent create enough in attack, so they will need to play the game in their oppositions 22.
Predicted finish: 3nd
Team they will want to avoid: NZ/ Aus
Teams they will want to face: England / France
England – Very strong forward pack. Won’t get pushed around by any team. Have a surprisingly good backline at the moment for an English side. Always play well at the World Cups. Made it to the finals in 2007 and probably have a much more well rounded side this time around. Showed their potential against Australia last year. Have a favourable draw. Of the other top 4 teams in the World, they are likely to play France and Aus on the way to the finals, the two top teams that they have had the most success against over the last few years. However, they are wholly uncreative. Despite their advances over the last 4 years, they still lack the attacking backline to match the southern hemisphere teams. Rely heavily on their set piece and kicker. And unfortunately to win the tournament they’ll have to beat either the Boks or NZ and they have an embarrassing record against both.
Predicted finish: 4th
Team they will want to avoid: NZ/ SA
Teams they will want to face: Aus / France
5. France – Strong forward pack, talented backline. Are a bit unpredictable, which usually works to their advantage. The only Northern Hemisphere teams that can match the Southern Hemisphere heavyweights in terms of flair and skill level. One of only two teams to have beaten NZ, in NZ, over the last 4 years and got the better of them at the last world cup. Won the Six Nations last year so they have plenty of world class talent. Have looked decent in the warm up matches! However, definitely have taken a dive in form over the last 10 to 12 months. Face a very tough run to the final having to play England and then Australia (their bogey team). I hope they beat England.
Predicted finish: Quarter final exit.
Team they will want to avoid: Aus
Teams they will want to face: Ireland/Arg
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