- Joined
- Dec 3, 2010
- Messages
- 19,727
- Country Flag
- Club or Nation
Agree with this. I doubted SA 4 years ago but they timed their run perfectly and look to be doing so again. I think their peak performance is slightly below Ireland's and France's but not by much or even to the point whereby a few marginal calls or bounces of the ball won't flip the result in their favour. I also think any advantage Ireland and France have wanes as the tournament progresses.It's South Africa (3.75), France (4.00), New Zealand (5.00), Ireland (6.00) in that order
New Zealand being third is just so the bookies can get people betting realistically, it's all on public perception
South Africa still well deserved favourites IMO, but I'd have Ireland and France on level 2nd atm
I reckon Rassie has been eyeing is up for a long time (and Farrell them), so much so that he more or less used our defensive tactics for Scotland last Sunday with the only change being to beat the **** out of Russell for good measure. Winner of that match goes to the final whilst the loser has only got a few weeks to regroup ahead of what will arguably be a bigger challenge.