Australia vs New Zealand?

Question

Chances are Australia and NZ will match up in the first semi final of this years rugby world cup.

Who will take the win and what will each nation bring to the game ?

Answer 1

NZ are a great team but cant intimidate the Aussies ! Can you Cousie Bro ! NZ will again play into our hands, its so predictable.

Answer 2

New Zealand will take the win because they bring the most talented team to the field and they have everything going for them now.  They have experience and most importantly, they have the coach that is getting the most out of them.

Australia will bring their biggest asset and it is the same asset they always bring... their brains.  As hard as it is for me to admit, the Aussies are probably the smartest team around.  They have a ton of weaknesses, most notably up front but they always have, and always will play up to their strengths and really try to limit the weaknesses being exploited.  

IMO this is why they beat NZ in the last World Cup.  They got ahead early and then NZ played into their hands by panicing and going wide for the rest of the game... getting away from Australia's weakness up front.  England couldn't make the same mistake because they didnt have the power to dominate out wide and just chewed it up through the forwards, where Australia was weakest.

Australia are one fo the few teams that dont have a set style.  They can and will change an entire gameplan and tactics from game to game whereas some teams are always forward orientated... some are all about kicking... some all about the backs.  

New Zealand had gone away from the forward game in search of expansive rugby but over the last few years, they've become an all around deadly team with a lethal backline and a set of forwards that can mix it up with the toughest packs in the game and still have the ball skills to play like backs... literally... they pass the ball more than European backs do!!!  No that is not an exaggeration.

Answer 3

Australia have a very good chance of actually winning the world cup this year. We have not won the world cup since 2002 but this year but this is our year of victory. New zealand Australia in a semi is a very good prediction but i have a feeling Australia are gonna take them out, besides they loose half the energy trying to scare us with there "Hakka"

Answer 4

the aussie pessimists think we will lose in the quarters

so the French will beat NZ

or could the all blacks finally win another world cup

No way ....

Answer 5

To me it looks like NZ is the stronger candidate this year. I don't want to be mean, but I think NZ will beat Australia this year.

Answer 6

I'm going to be at this match in Paris.............can't wait!!!

Australia will beat the Kiwis, just like they did in the 2003 semi final.

All the pressure is on NZ, courtesy of the NZ press and public. There's nowhere near that sort of pressure on the Aussies. Look at the 2003 semi final, no one in Australia really expected the Wallabies to beat NZ, they just went out on the field & had a crack at them. NZ crumbled under the weight of their own expectations & got beaten.

I think most of NZ believes the Cup is already theirs - all they have to do is turn up & collect it. Well, guess again, my jandal wearing, Steinlager drinking friends ;-)) There's 7 games to win yet.....

Nice answer from Hawkeye74 (even though you're a Kiwi lol)......good to see someone on here with more than a speck of rugby knowledge for a change.

Answer 7

I back NZ. I hope they have learnt their lesson from Australia in 2003.