The All Blacks will face France in a repeat of 1987 final this coming weekend. And after the two semi-finals I have seen it should be clear cut out All Blacks victory. However there are some considerations that we need to look at before we just give it to them.
The All Blacks have the home ground advantage and this will put them on the driving seat. They are the better team on paper and have the game breakers in the team to win it for them. Guys like Sonny-Bill Williams, Aaron Cruden and the like can take the game away from any team. They have the hunger to win the RWC as the last time they did was 24 years ago. It will also mean a lot to New Zealand as a nation to win the world cup after the devastating earth quake that they suffered earlier this year.
Add to all this the fact that they have been the number one team in the world for longer than I can remember and they should win with ease. Captain Richie McCaw will lead a mentally strong team in a game against a team that has not been that sound during the World Cup.
France has had one of the most incredible World Cups any team has had to date. They have lost to group games, one of which was to Tonga. They never looked like beating the All Blacks in the other one. Yet they made it to the quarter-finals. Here they played a brilliant game to beat England and looked like a new team. The semi-final win was nothing but pure luck as Wales did all the playing but missed 3 vital kicks. Wales were also out numbered for 60 minutes as their captain was send of early in the game with a red card.
This means that France is the first team ever to make it to the finals after having lost 2 group games. If they can reproduce the game they had against England they stand a change of beating the All Blacks in their own back yard. However with all the inside politics in the team this will be hard to do. They have the flair to beat any team on the given day but if their flair doesn't come off it means that any team can beat them on that day.
Looking at history and the way it has repeated itself up to now in this World Cup there are some interesting considerations to take:
1) The same teams played in the quarter-finals as was the case in 1987. Only difference was who played who.
2) The same teams are in the final and 3rd place play-offs as in 1987.
3) The same country is hosting the RWC as in 1987.
What does this mean? History has a way of repeating itself. Does this mean NZ will the RWC in 2011? Not necessarily. History also shows that the All Blacks have never beaten France back to back in a Rugby World Cup. The question now is how will history repeat itself?
The All Blacks should take this one by 20 with ease.
21 October 2011
