![]() ![]() Fixures, pools, format, world rankings and BBC coverageīeyond the 'Big Four', there are another four sides who we predict have at least a one in a hundred chance of pulling off a shock by winning the 2023 Rugby World Cup.Pool D: England, Japan, Argentina, Samoa, Chile Pool C: Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia, Portugal Pool B: South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Tonga, Romania Pool A: New Zealand, France, Italy, Uruguay, Namibia ![]() Neither side will want to be forced into trying to replicate that. ![]() South Africa are the only side to win the World Cup having lost a pool stage game, doing so in 2019. The opening game of the Rugby World Cup, between New Zealand and France on Friday, is sure to be huge. A wounded All Blacks side is surely one of the scariest prospects in international sport. Three-time winners New Zealand only rank fourth on our predictions, but the margins splitting the top four sides are so small that in reality they have as good a chance as any of their three other rivals.Ī record defeat by arch-rivals South Africa won't be how they wanted to enter the tournament, but they have thick skin. Their record win against New Zealand at Twickenham in their final warm-up game proves that, as ever, they are peaking just at the right time and will be a formidable threat as they seek a fourth World Cup triumph. Sure, the Springboks fans never want to lose, especially when the opposition wear black jerseys, but there is always the fall-back line of "It'll be fine it will all come together at the World Cup". Superstars are littered through their team and although they will feel the loss of fly-half Romain Ntamack keenly, they have enough depth to cope with such setbacks.įor South Africa, Test rugby results between World Cups are somewhat of an irrelevance. Have the host nation finally found the perfect wine to pair with their Roquefort? The classic French flair and flamboyance has always been there but they now have the gritty defence and tactical nous to give them the consistency to go all the way. Placed number one on the World Rugby rankings on the eve of the tournament and picked as our favourites (just), Andy Farrell's side are as ready as they will ever be to become only the second northern hemisphere nation to win the Webb Ellis Cup, after England's triumph in 2003.īiting at their heels on our predictor are France. Ireland have never made it past the quarter-final stage at the Rugby World Cup, but surely this year that hoodoo will end. The predictions take into account recent form, historical success, pool and fixture difficulty, plus much more. Opta's tournament predictor uses thousands of data points and its AI Supercomputer to simulate the Rugby World Cup 10 million times, giving a percentage chance of each team winning the tournament. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |