Now I am going to have hundreds of my fellow kiwis hating me for this one, but oh well. South Africa is going to win the world cup. Yeah shut up, I know that is very unpatriotic of me, but there is not really any chance of the All Blacks doing it. I have several reasons for it and I will start at the beginning and see what you think.
1) Conditioning Periods - The All Blacks took theirs in Feb, South Africa in July. Hmmm lets see would you rather rest just before the Main Event or 7 months early. Their players were match fit and got a few weeks off, a huge advantage. So many All Blacks came back and got injured cause they were not match fit.
2) Locks & Lineouts - Matfeild & Botha are far and away the best locks in the world, and New Zealand has only one real test lock left following all the injuries, if we lose Chris Jack it is all over. NZ's lineout is yet to be tested, and they will not be tested until the quaterfinals at the earliest. Our locks and our lineout will need to step up completely to overcome this huge disadvantage.
3) Draw - New Zealand has not been challenged yet, and they have no idea where they really stand. By the end of the Pool play South Africa will have beaten England, Samoa & Tonga, all who could deserve the second quarter final spot from their group. Whereas New Zealand will have beaten Portugal, Italy, Scotland and Romania, none of who really deserve the second spot in the quarters. New Zealand is in trouble in the state of the draw, yes an easy pool can be a blessing, but it is also a bad thing in later stages.
4) Leon MacDonald - Enough Said
5) Players out of position - Mils is not a centre, keep him at fullback and all problems will be solved.
Ok I may come up with more reasons soon but that will do for now.
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