Who’ll win the 2011 Rugby World Cup?
Roar Guru By Jason Cave, 15 Mar 2010 The Crowd is a Roar Guru
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- 2011 Rugby World Cup, All Blacks, Argentina rugby, Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup, RWC2011, Springboks, wallabies
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In 12 months time, the best rugby nations from around the world will venture to New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The question is, who’ll be world champions?
I’m expecting it’ll be the All Blacks that will be the one standing on the dais being crowned world champions for the first time since 1987.
The South Africans would probably be in the final but will fall short at the final hurdle.
The Wallabies will be in the semis, but at this stage I can’t really see them being there for the final.
Of the 6 Nations, only Wales could be in the semis. England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy and France would be in the quarters, but that’s about as far as they could go.
I think the major surprise of the RWC 2011 would be Argentina. They surprised everyone in the 2007 RWC by getting into the semis and could be there by the knock-out stages of the tournament.
So, here is my semi-final and final predictions for the 2011 RWC:
Semi 1: New Zealand v Wales
Semi 2: South Africa v Australia
Final: New Zealand v South Africa.
World Champions: New Zealand
So, who’s your tip to win the 2011 Rugby World Cup? Australia? New Zealand?
South Africa? Wales? Ireland? England? Scotland? Italy? France? Argentina?
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March 15th 2010 @ 6:50pm
nicksa said | March 15th 2010 @ 6:50pm | Report comment
my worry is the scrum, sa really needs to sort that out b4 2011…
March 15th 2010 @ 7:28pm
Ben J said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:28pm | Report comment
John Smit at prop has been an obvious weakness, both the Bulls and Stormers have exiting prospects playing good back to basic rugby such as Werner Kruger, Wikus Blaauw and Brok Harris. Smit’s only chance is at hooker and at this stage he is definately not even best hooker in the country.
March 16th 2010 @ 2:10am
johno said | March 16th 2010 @ 2:10am | Report comment
I don’t know what you been snorting but Wikus Blaauw and Brok Harris have and never will be in the picture, neither will Werner Kruger. Well maybe Harris and Blaauw will be since they come from the right province, but they’re not even the third best props in the country on their respective sides.
The Sharks have two good props, the Cheetahs have two, the Lions one and then there’s talk of two tightheads coming back from Europe, so Harris and Blaauw would be number four and five in the pecking order at the moment. If you don’t beleive me, wait for the Stomers, Cheetahs clash for verification.
March 15th 2010 @ 7:00pm
katzilla said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:00pm | Report comment
My pick is that it will go North.
NZ will again fall over as always but i’m well prepared for that.
SA will trip up against Ireland in the Quarters.
Aus will lose to France in the Semis.
Ireland v England in the other
France V Ireland in the final.
France to finally fulfill their talent levels.
March 15th 2010 @ 7:35pm
Ben J said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:35pm | Report comment
Of the 2 France should win a Final, the Irish simply do not have the depth, they will need their best team to last for 6 games in a row and there is little to no chance of that. The WC is such a different beast to any other tournament and the team that wins it needs BMT in spades. Here is my prediction: The Steady Springboks will emerge winners against the Fickle French after they dispatched the Nervous New Zealanders in a dropkickless semi
March 16th 2010 @ 8:44pm
katzilla said | March 16th 2010 @ 8:44pm | Report comment
Yes The Springboks after this golden period will be raging hot favourites
March 15th 2010 @ 7:39pm
bill said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:39pm | Report comment
An interesting stat … in weeks 4 and 5 of the S14, the NZ teams have lost every game they have played (except when two NZ teams play each other – Crusaders def Blues in week 4 and Crusaders def Chiefs in week 5). On the other hand, the Australian teams have won every game they have played in weeks 4 and 5 (again, except when two Australian teams play each other – Reds def Force in week 5). I wonder when was the last time something like this has happened. Of course, NZ still have two teams in the top 4 and Australia has none … so I guess it doesn’t say that much about either’s chances in the 2011 world cup.
March 15th 2010 @ 8:46pm
allblackfan said | March 15th 2010 @ 8:46pm | Report comment
One team to rule them all!!
ABs at home will be a different animal compared to playing in other countries.
March 15th 2010 @ 9:03pm
Ben J said | March 15th 2010 @ 9:03pm | Report comment
ABfan, apart from McCaw and Carter, who in your view are the, say 10, “must have” players that need to be fit and available for the tournament?
For the Boks I would say it has to be Matfield, du Preez, Spies, Steyn, Burger, Jacque Fourie, Habana, Brussow, Bakkies Botha and Juan Smith.
March 15th 2010 @ 11:19pm
allblackfan said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:19pm | Report comment
I’d go Kahui, C. Smith, McAlister, Muliana, Nonu, Read, Eaton, Woodcock, Mealamu, Hore
March 16th 2010 @ 8:45pm
katzilla said | March 16th 2010 @ 8:45pm | Report comment
Nonu wont be there. Hes rubbish
March 17th 2010 @ 7:54am
ricardo said | March 17th 2010 @ 7:54am | Report comment
mcalistair and nonu are rubbish – so are sivivatu and rokocoko who are total crap – mealamu is average – muliaina and hore and mccaw are over the hill..there’s practically no no 9 and no 8 with the demise of sooialo and the depressingly dumb kaino..graham henry tried to save his job by winning mid-world cup tests at the expense of again falling at the biggest stage..All Blacks to go out at the quarters..
March 17th 2010 @ 9:23am
ohtani's jacket said | March 17th 2010 @ 9:23am | Report comment
Name one player on the Wallabies who’s any good. You can’t.
March 17th 2010 @ 9:32am
True Tah said | March 17th 2010 @ 9:32am | Report comment
Will Genia is one for a start.
March 17th 2010 @ 9:35am
Troy said | March 17th 2010 @ 9:35am | Report comment
Digby
March 17th 2010 @ 9:53am
ohtani's jacket said | March 17th 2010 @ 9:53am | Report comment
Neither of those players have accomplished anything at Test level.
March 17th 2010 @ 9:54am
JK said | March 17th 2010 @ 9:54am | Report comment
Robinson?
March 17th 2010 @ 9:55am
Troy said | March 17th 2010 @ 9:55am | Report comment
Pocock
March 17th 2010 @ 10:01am
ohtani's jacket said | March 17th 2010 @ 10:01am | Report comment
The answer is nobody.
OK, there are a few good players in the Wallabies, but they’re not a great side yet. Not by a longshot. It’s ludicrous to come on here and say that the team who’s beaten the Wallabies seven times in a row is full of average players when even at their lowest ebb they can deal with your rabble.
Win something FFS.
March 17th 2010 @ 10:08am
Justin said | March 17th 2010 @ 10:08am | Report comment
OJ – I think most judges would say Genia has been sensational since his Wallaby debut. The team may not have won anything but to say he isnt good because the Wallabies werent winning is daft by any measure.
March 17th 2010 @ 10:15am
ohtani's jacket said | March 17th 2010 @ 10:15am | Report comment
Sensational? I think “solid” is the S word you’re looking for.
He ought to be better this season so we’ll see how he goes in June. God knows how many Wallabies have floundered after being gushed over in their first year.
March 17th 2010 @ 10:19am
Justin said | March 17th 2010 @ 10:19am | Report comment
Maybe I am a little over and you are a little under – I thinkthe truth is somewhere in between
Interesting though you dont rate Pocock, Elsom, Genia, Robinson or AAC?
March 17th 2010 @ 10:20am
Hammer said | March 17th 2010 @ 10:20am | Report comment
How many tests has Genia played to date ? … and out of those how many has he started … don’t look at his S14 form – what OJ is saying is correct – he’s talking test form …
the wallabies have continually failed when the heat goes on against the top 2 sides in the world .. this w/cup thread is far to premature – esp for the wallabies – the question for them should be will they be more competitive in this years tri nations
March 17th 2010 @ 10:25am
True Tah said | March 17th 2010 @ 10:25am | Report comment
OJ name apart from Fourie du Preez, name a better scrumhalf than Will Genia?
He is a pretty special player, I just hope he doesnt become a penguin at the breakdown like Gregan became. Im excited about the Reds this year, and I think he has something to do with it.
Digby is an exciting player, but hasnt really translated his super form to test match rugby, partially through injuries. On his day though, he is the best winger in the Super 14.
March 17th 2010 @ 10:27am
ohtani's jacket said | March 17th 2010 @ 10:27am | Report comment
I expect the Wallabies to be better this year. They ought to beat us in Melbourne and Sydney. If they can’t do that, then I think they’re anybody’s game in the WC.
March 17th 2010 @ 10:37am
ohtani's jacket said | March 17th 2010 @ 10:37am | Report comment
I’m not sure who the #2 halfback is… Most sides have perfunctory halfbacks.
In truth, I don’t think you need an outstanding halfback to win a game of rugby. You wouldn’t want a bad one either, but there’s too much emphasis placed on the halfback. Or maybe I’m just saying that because I come from a country without a long lineage of quality halfbacks.
Nevertheless, I don’t think Genia had an immediate impact on Wallaby back play last year. They were as easy to contain as when Burgess was halfback. If Genia can get the Wallabies to play straight, hard running football, they may be dangerous. If they crab sides and move laterally, they’ll be sunk again.
March 17th 2010 @ 10:47am
Justin said | March 17th 2010 @ 10:47am | Report comment
To be honest if we are talking about a WC which is basically 1.5 to 2 years of tests away then the last 2 years has little relevance IMO.
The next 18 months will show who is on the up, who is headed down and who is holding their position in world rugby.
If you have younger players coming through they may not be ready in time or they may burst through and exceed what we thought possible. With older players they may too continue to improve or start to lose that zip they once possessed.
AUS in 91 were young, ENG in 03 were just holding on, AUS 95 tried to hold on but were on the decline. AUS 99 were in the middle of the peak. SA in 07? Not sure really dont think they were that good and have improved since then.
March 17th 2010 @ 12:58pm
ohtani's jacket said | March 17th 2010 @ 12:58pm | Report comment
Even form from now until the World Cup is not much of a gauge hence nobody wanting the favourites tag.
March 15th 2010 @ 9:44pm
Ben J said | March 15th 2010 @ 9:44pm | Report comment
Make no mistake, there will be enormous pressure on the AB’s to win this one, the desperation in getting Carl Hayman back is evidence. The French, Australian and Boks know they can win in New Zealand and there will be almost no pressure on them when the tournament kicks off simply because this will be THE chance for the AB’s to lift the trophy.
Note to AB’s: Do not select ANYONE who run the risk of brain explosions. Read Sivivatu, the Canes 8th man, and Rococoko.
March 15th 2010 @ 11:22pm
allblackfan said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:22pm | Report comment
Since when do the Wallabies know how to win in NZ? They forgotten how!
March 15th 2010 @ 10:00pm
Midfielder said | March 15th 2010 @ 10:00pm | Report comment
Australia will win the RWC… they will play France … All Chokers will finish 4th with SA 3…
March 15th 2010 @ 10:31pm
Ben J said | March 15th 2010 @ 10:31pm | Report comment
Well you can imagine that if that happens the incorporation of New Zealand into Australia would be a mere formality then.
Actualy Australia will not be a bad bet, they have a good blend of experience and youth coming through at the moment and in some positions have better players available such as Genia, Elsom, Mortlock and that Reds winger Ioni (bad spellers unite!)
March 15th 2010 @ 10:18pm
nicksa said | March 15th 2010 @ 10:18pm | Report comment
well here is an intresting way to look at it, what would the world xv look like?
March 15th 2010 @ 10:19pm
nicksa said | March 15th 2010 @ 10:19pm | Report comment
i think atleast 1/3 of the world xv would be springboks at the moment and that is why they are my pick for 2011! however nz are gonna be tough at home. its between the all blacks and boks…
March 15th 2010 @ 11:01pm
nicksa said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:01pm | Report comment
1. tony woodcock
2. andrew hore
3. ben alexander
4. bakkies botha
5. victor matfield
6. schalk burger/ brussow
7. richie mCcaw
8. pierre spies
9. fourie du preez
10. dan carter
11. bryan habana
12. jean de velliers
13. bryan o driscoll
14. shane williams
15. frnacious steyn ( simply because his boot adds such an advantage)
im abit biased towards SH hemisphere simply because i havnt been watching alot of NH rugby.
Im sure france could have some players in world XV
March 17th 2010 @ 10:47am
pothale said | March 17th 2010 @ 10:47am | Report comment
That isn’t bias. It’s simple ignorance.
1.
2.
3. ben alexander
4.
5. victor matfield
6.
7. richie mCcaw
8.
9. fourie du preez
10. dan carter
11. bryan habana
12.
13. bryan o driscoll
14.
15.
There are better players to be found to fill all the blanks above.
March 17th 2010 @ 5:48pm
nicksa said | March 17th 2010 @ 5:48pm | Report comment
who is the best no 8 in your opinion?
March 18th 2010 @ 1:26am
Colin N said | March 18th 2010 @ 1:26am | Report comment
There are many that are better than Spies. I haven’t seen him dominate against decent opposition. He was excellent in 2007 against an England C team, played fairly well in last years tri-nations and was simply annonymous against the Lions.
Also, did he play in the Autumn tour?
Heaslip, Harryordinary, Nick Easter (I wait for the criticism on that one), Louis Picamoles, Johnny Beatie is starting to become a real force, and I think Ryan Kankowski is a better player than Spies, Palu.
I think that’s it.
March 18th 2010 @ 2:28am
johno said | March 18th 2010 @ 2:28am | Report comment
Now that’s just becasue you look but don’t see. There is no other eighth man in Rugby that is as explosive as Spies. Which is why it takes two or three to bring him down and usually it translates into quick phase ball which leads to massive gains or tries. If you want somebody that’ll do the hard graft and give you go forward ball on the front foot, go for Spies. if you want flash on the wings that dithers away when the going gets tough then get any of the above except for mayb Heaslip and Harrynordiqay, but then they don’t have the same explosiveness and pace.
Spies is also on a number of times the first to arrive at the breakdown due to his pace. His defence isn’t as good as Easter’s though, but then again it’s not far behind and in some instances it’s better than a lot of the aforementioned gentleman, then again the guy’s only 24 so give him some time.
By the way Spies wasn’t part of the end of year tour and that’s how Kankowski got the renamed Kankakski
March 18th 2010 @ 3:32am
Colin N said | March 18th 2010 @ 3:32am | Report comment
I know Spies is explosive and is superbly quick and is a fine super 14 player, but I don’t rate his tight work, which can be exposed at test level. He doesn’t particularly compete at the breakdown, nor does he protect the ball. The latter is undoubtedly because he is one of their (Bulls or Springboks) main carriers, but when it’s off static ball, he doesn’t make any inroads. His hands aren’t the best either. Although Easter is no-way near the physical specimen Spies is, he has great hands and distribution skills.
He’s better when the game is loose, and at international level, it very rarely is.
March 18th 2010 @ 6:57am
Colin N said | March 18th 2010 @ 6:57am | Report comment
I also can’t believe I forgot Parisse and Juan Martin Fernandez-Lobbe.
March 18th 2010 @ 2:33am
johno said | March 18th 2010 @ 2:33am | Report comment
Both you twats have Alexander at tight head when he’s a loosehead, which is most probably indicative of how much weight anybody should put on your opinions
March 18th 2010 @ 2:51am
Wavell Wakefield said | March 18th 2010 @ 2:51am | Report comment
Erm… Alexander played at 3 for the Wallabies all of last season. Did that pass you by? Ooh… how embarassing.
March 18th 2010 @ 3:21am
pothale said | March 18th 2010 @ 3:21am | Report comment
Damn – there I was expecting to be hung out to dry by all and sundry for my ignorance of which side of the scrum Alexander plays. And along comes WW to save the day!
Happy Paddy’s Day, KO.
March 18th 2010 @ 3:39am
pothale said | March 18th 2010 @ 3:39am | Report comment
In case you hadn’t noticed, johno, I simply copied the team list from Nicksa, and blanked out those where I thought there was someone better.
Spies is not the best 8 at the moment at test level. Harinordiquoy has been superb for France this 6N, and Heaslip has been in powerful form too. Let’s see how he goes in the 3N.
PS – do you know what a ‘twat’ is by the way?
March 18th 2010 @ 3:49am
Wavell Wakefield said | March 18th 2010 @ 3:49am | Report comment
‘PS – do you know what a ‘twat’ is by the way?’
That thought did cross my mind. I hate the word, and that’s saying something bearing in mind I was raised by Alf Garnett & Vinny Jones in a commercial lock up just off the Old Kent Road.
March 18th 2010 @ 6:25pm
nicksa said | March 18th 2010 @ 6:25pm | Report comment
pothale, out of curiosity do u mind putting who your world XV would be?
March 15th 2010 @ 11:27pm
allblackfan said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:27pm | Report comment
What will be interesting is how the teams will adapt to NZ conditions.
The Boks have form on their side but do they know how to handle, say, Wellington on a bad day (which is where NZ will meet France in a pool game!!) For that matter, does any other team?!?
Christchurch also has been known to turn in a shocker from time to time (when you could actually see anything of the game being played!)