Playing in front of a home crowd is a big factor in football World Cups. The same impact should be seen at this year’s Rugby World Cup.
New Zealand are the host nation for the biggest sporting event in their history. Though they have not claimed rugby’s top prize in the last 24 years, they are in prime position to do so.
On paper everything seems to be in their favour. They have two of the world’s best players in flanker Richie McCaw and fly-half Dan Carter. They had a good showing at the recent Tri-Nations Rugby Union competition in Australia and head coach Graham Henry has racked up loads of Test victories in recent years.
To me, the hometown advantage makes New Zealand the favourites to win. Aside from the talent on their roster, the All-Blacks have a relatively easy run to finals. For starters their group is manageable with a pesky France team, featuring Thierry Dusautoir, being the biggest threat.
Assuming they win the group, New Zealand would get a favourable quarterfinal match-up against the pool B runners-up. With England being a serious semi-final contender, the Kiwis would likely have to deal with either a rugged Argentina side starring Felipe Contepomi or a promising Scotland team with 6ft 9in giant Richie Gray.
Outside of New Zealand and England, the other powerhouse country to note is Australia. They have an electric player in Quade Cooper, momentum from their Tri Nations victory and loads of athleticism. My bet is that the Aussies will cause more of a stir than defending champions South Africa, who seem old and have not been in the greatest form of late.
The first matches in the 2011 World Cup take place this Friday 9 September. New Zealand battle Tonga at 3.30am, Scotland tackles Romania at 8pm and Fiji face Namibia at 10.30pm (Cayman time).
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