Rugby World Cups are nervous times for All Blacks fans. We won the first one, and have gone in favourite for almost every tournament since then. And lost. And yet again we find ourselves going in red-hot favourites, and on home soil.
So let's not muck around. The All Blacks will win this World Cup.
There, I said it. They are the best team in the world, and simply put, they cannot afford to lose. In 1999 England bowed out in the quarter-final stage. Instead of rashly sacking the coach like many would, they kept him, and the team came back four years later to steal the William Webb Ellis trophy on Australian soil. Graham Henry has had eight years to craft this victory. They simply cannot afford to lose.
To get the final the All Blacks will beat South Africa. In other semi-final I predict Australia to LOSE to England... Yeah. Lose. The English team tend to punch above their weight in World Cups, much like the NZ Cricket team. They also play a powerful forward game that has had Australia's measure in recent times (the most recent a 35-18 belting in 2010). This Australian team is good, but I think they are getting ahead of themselves. After their recent victory over the All Blacks in Brisbane I think the Wallabies are eyeing a showdown at Eden Park.
Unfortunately they will fall, at the same venue, a week early. To England.
All Blacks for the William Webb Ellis Cup a week later.
Argentina for the wild-card.
