WC Favouritism

[Stripe]

John Eales believes Australia should be named favourites for the World Cup. I'm inclined to believe him. I believe the prophesy. He is The One.



Personally (at this stage) I'd go:
NZL
ENG
AUS
FRA
RSA
IRE
SCO
ARG
WAL
ITA

[jules]

Eales is "THE ONE"?!?!  

Well I guess he does have a similar hairdo to Neo...



That explains some of those sneaky bloody victories he and his Wallaby team were able to pull out of the bag at the last moment when he was in charge.  The use of bullettime on the rugby field would make anyone untouchable!  

As for WC favouritism I would probably agree with Stipe's rankings but lets wait until the end of all the international action in June before we finalise that list.

Jules

p.s. yes, I am a matrix fan, and the Matrix Reloaded rocks!

[ugly ref]

My feeling is the odds of any team other than Aussie winning go down drastically once they wrap up their q-final. It will take a super-human effort to beat AUS at the Olympic Stadium from then on, a la our 39-35 15th July 2000 Tri-Nations victory.

The Wallabies should play SCO or Fiji in the 1/4 in Brisbane if they can win their pool.

Perhaps from NZ's point of view we've gotta hope that ARG or IRE can surprise them in Pool A. IRE play them in Melbourne which is a positive, but then the sneaky organisers have put the Pool A runnerup 1/4 in the same stadium, giving them a big advantage over France (potential winner Pool B), who play a lot of their games in the whops (Wollongong, Townsville).

France or Ireland could beat them in an unusual stadium in Melbourne, but once the Aussies guarantee their final 4 position, the country get behind them, the ABs will find it bloody hard to come off a 1/4 v ENG or SA, and beat the Aussies there.

Yes, man for man NZ look like a better team, but surely we have for the last 3 years, and will still find it devilishly hard to beat them; home or away. (Except on those balmy Jade Stadium -3 degree evenings, God how I miss those in Singapore...not!)  

I suggest the Tri-Nations game coming up in Sydney on July 26th is our most important pre-World Cup game. Victory there could be a huge boost for our players confidence and mind-set.

Ugly

[Stripe]

Yeah .. it'll be interesting to see how we view the favourite tag after these june tests. they will provide a bit more insight as to whats going to happen. though im picking it will just confirm how tight the competition is at the top.

i very much doubt that any game between NZL, AUS and ENG will be see a points difference of more than 15. i'm willing to be wrong of course ... but i'll not expect it. if (say) England did whomp Australia or something then it would probably say a lot against the losing team rather than for the winner.

i dont get into the idea that 'games dont matter' .. when watching them .. they sure as heck matter .. and im certain the players feel the same way as well ..  im here to watch the games and support my team .. and i want them to win ..

yeah .. anyway ... on another note: i much prefer no new posts to the vitriol released elsewhere .. *shudder* .. umm .. thanks

bye

[Tesrof]

Yeah .. it'll be interesting to see how we view the favourite tag after these june tests. they will provide a bit more insight as to whats going to happen. though im picking it will just confirm how tight the competition is at the top.

I find it interesting to see how quiet discussions about Rugby are now.  It's like we're all waiting for the England Test before we start claiming favouritism or blaming 'first test blues' & lack of preparation time.  (Or Jim saying how tired the English were after the long flight/season and how much better they'll be at the RWC.)

While I want the All Blacks to win every time they play, with the RWC still months off, I'm "almost" more interested in seeing how they combine together than the result.  And the main reason for the "almost" is that I want to see England winning streak broken by us rather than by the Aussies!

So what do we want to see when the All Blacks play?  Against England:  I want to see how our forwards measure up against the Poms – especially Reuben Thorne’s contribution in the tight (a game custom made for him).  If we can control our ball when we’ve got it.  How Carlos compares with Wilkinson.  McCaw vs Back.  If Umaga & Mauger can combine effectively.  What our back three (Howlett, Ralph & Rocokocoko) do when they get the ball in ‘broken play’ and if they get any from set piece situations.

In 2001 Mitchell had a game plan and wanted to select players who could play that style.  Now we’ve heard him talking about selecting different players to play different styles depending on the opposition.  Why the big change around?  I hope this represents an improvement in his coaching ability and man management skills – and that he’s able to meld the top players into top combinations within ‘our’ team.

Cheers
T

[grey]

let the wallabies and their media and fans talk themselves up-in the wc the biggest talkers crash out.

[Stripe]

yeah well i hate to say it grey, but 1999 was the year of the new zealander in a lot of Kiwi's minds .. we were favourites then as we are here .. according to the TAB at least ... do they count?

the australians (and the english) are always going to rate themselves .. not a lot we can do about that .. saying they are going to crash and burn is a nice thought but is .. not constructive .. doesnt help us ....

gad i know what its like to have to bear a WC loss and have 'them' going on about it ...dar ...

[Stripe]

My Updated Favouritism List:

ENG(+1)
NZL(-1)
AUS
RSA(+1)
FRA(-1)
IRE
SCO
ARG
WAL
ITA

[Gospel]

Hmmm, I still can't put current form over legacy:

Aus
Nz
Eng
Fra

To win two RWCs away from home is an outrageous feat by the aussies. Oz mentality + Home advantage = pole position. And you Kiwis ... just like Brasil '98 are long overdue.

I'm really looking forward to the Tri-Nations. Get to see how good y'all are in test level competition this year. Should be thrilling.

[3me]

I think England and New Zealand should be joint favourites.

Australia 3rd.

France and South Africa 4th and 5th respectively

Outsiders: Argentina and Ireland

Aiming for Quarter Final, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Fiji

[Stripe]

Lookit that .. one from one ...

My Updated Favouritism List:

ENG/NZL
AUS
RSA
FRA
IRE
SCO
ARG
WAL
ITA

[Stripe]

ENG
NZL
AUS
FRA (+1)
RSA (-1)
IRE
ARG (+1)
SCO (-1)
WAL
ITA