World Cup Final Preview
So New Zealand will face Australia next Saturday at 4pm. It will be a second straight final appearance for New Zealand while it is a first final in 12 years for Australia, a lot of water has gone under the bridge for both teams since Jonny Wilkinson kicked a drop goal to seal a World Cup win for England.
New Zealand are unbeaten in this World Cup and will go into this weekend’s final as favourites after their wins over France and South Africa in the knock out phase of the competition. They have proven they can win playing ugly and also they can go up through the gears as and when required.
The spine of the team is very experienced and has players in each position that are probably the very best in the world. Players like Mc Caw, Read, Carter along with newer players like Aaron Smith, Ben Smith have really got the x factor and will be crucial to the outcome of the final.
They have the correct balance between players that will do the dirty work along with the players that will unlock defences. Although some of the performances in this World Cup have been far from perfect they have still been streets ahead of the opposition. Steve Hansen will need the whole team to function and if there is one area where South Africa targeted and had good success that was the scrum with Joe Moody replacing Wyatt Crockett who was ruled out through injury. Hansen will hope he will have Crockett back even though Crockett isn’t a strong scrumager he has more experience than Moody and that will be needed in the final.
The All Blacks have been lucky in this tournament and have not suffered many injuries with only Tony Woodcock and Liam Messam as real casualties , Woodcock was replaced by Joe Moody and Liam Messam wasn’t replaced but with Victor Vito and Jerome Kaino in the squad already Hansen resisted the temptation to bring in a like for like replacement and has kept Messam in reserve with Vito and Kaino the preferred pairing.
The All Blacks will also want to want to become the first team to defend the World Cup. With Mc Caw at the helm ably assisted by Read , Carter and Nonu. Mc Caw of course has been playing on the edge and sometimes over the edge and will do so again on Saturday.
Australia will fancy their chances of upsetting New Zealand and after winning this year’s Rugby Championship they know what it takes to get passed this particular New Zealand side. After nailing his colours to the mast by leaving Nic White at home and selecting Will Genia and Bernard Foley as his preferred choice at 9 and 10. Quade Cooper was selected in the squad alongside Kurtley Beale , two men that 12 months ago were on their last legs with Australia and now have completed a remarkable comeback that will culminate in a World Cup final appearance for one if not both of those men.
Australia have of course got a strong scrum that has been transformed in the last 2 years with Scott Sio and Sekope Kepu either side of captain Stephen Moore and they have anchored a scrum that was a weakness 2 years ago when The Lions went down under but it has been turned around with Cheika bringing in Mario Ledesma to try and sort the scrum out.
Since Cheika took over Australia have made steady progress that has seen them win The Rugby Championship and now they are 80 minutes away from being World Champions. It has been a dramatic 12 months under Michael Cheika , who delivered a first Heineken Cup to Leinster in 2009 , he won a Super Rugby title in 2014 with the NSW Waratahs and now is one game away from completing the set.
Whoever wins on Saturday will win the World Cup for the 3rd time, New Zealand winning in 1987 and 2011 and Australia winning in 1991 and 1999. New Zealand won both on home soil with Australia winning away from home.
I feel Australia will push New Zealand all the way but New Zealand will come through in the finish and win a 3rd World Cup.
By
Cian Mc Gibney
26/10/2015
