September 18, 20195 yr Author 13. PeteFromLeeds Scotland 80/1 Under Townsend, Scotland play an attractive, expansive game, however they lack depth and brute strength throughout their squad. The last year has also highlighted their weak game management and experience. Despite that they have really developed back into a strong side in recent years but remain someway off consistently competing with the top nations. They are hampered by a terrible away record, which means a World Cup in Japan could be one to forget. In the likes of Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell they have two of the most exciting backs in Europe. They love being underdogs and written off and that showed in 2015, when they shone to reach the quarter finals, where they lost to Australia due to an incorrect ref call.
September 18, 20195 yr Author 5. Mack New Zealand 11/8f The reigning champions are the only country to win the World Cup three times and also back-to-back, having won the inaugural tournament in 1987 and then in 2011 and 2015. The best team in the world, the country is rugby union obsessed - think Brazil in football. The favourites 'bottled' the 1999 and 2007 tournaments and looked destined to be stuck on one victory, however the 2011 success on home soil has broken the mental barriers and the feared All Blacks have almost been unbeatable ever since. Their preparation for Japan has not gone totally to plan, losing their Rugby Championship crown due to a draw with South Africa and a hammering by Australia, showing a rare lack of discipline and poor tackling. But equally they returned the favour to the Wallabies a week later smashing them 36-0, so they rightly remain favourites to win in Japan and it will be a shock if they don't.
September 18, 20195 yr Author 4. Jade Italy 500/1 Introduced into the Six Nations in 2000 to help them become a global force, sadly Italy have fallen backwards in recent times, despite some improvement under O'Shea. They have finished bottom of the Six Nations 14 out of 19 times. Famously a strong pack, but inconsistent backs, Italy always work hard and pressure opponents, but lack the basic execution and decision making to hurt teams when they are on top.
September 18, 20195 yr Author 20. dobbo Russia 1000/1 Coached by the former player Wales and Osprey's coach Lyn Jones, Russia are back at the World Cup after missing the 2015 campaign, having failed to qualify. They are in Japan in controversial circumstances, after Belgium, Romania and Spain were all kicked out after fielding ineligible players during the qualifying stages. Russia, having finished third in qualifying and losing narrowly to both Spain and Romania, were promoted to the World Cup. Their one and only tournament appearance was in 2011 in New Zealand where they lost all four group games, but earned a bonus point against the USA. In their World Cup warmups they have been beaten by English second tier outfit Jersey Reds.
September 18, 20195 yr Author 2. WhoOdyssey Georgia 500/1 They are ranked above Italy in the world rankings and will see the World Cup as another platform to demonstrate they deserve more regular game time against tier-one nations and even a Six Nations place. Bank rolled by former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, they are built on power with a fearsome pack, they live to scrummage and grind their opponents down. They won two group games in 2015, and have beaten the likes of Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Canada and United States since. They will give bloody noses to the big boys in their group, if not more.
September 18, 20195 yr Author 15. King Rollo Tonga 1000/1 Very much like Samoa, the Sea Eagles have always been known for their fearsome tackling, strong running and clever hands. They have also lost a lot of their players to other nations, who manage to find a long lost grandmother that once drank a beer in their country. They reached the World Cup by finishing second in the Pacific Tri-Nations. They've lost to Samoa, Fiji and Japan in 2019, but beat Canada, which highlights where they are now.
September 18, 20195 yr Author 6. coi Australia 16/1 Think Germany in football - no matter their previous form and squad quality a World Cup brings out the best in Australia and they are always there or thereabouts at the end of the tournament, as highlighted in 2015 when they reached the final, despite being written off beforehand. It looks like the pattern is repeating again. They've had an 18 months to forget on and off the pitch. They narrowly avoided finishing bottom of the 2018 Rugby Championship and endured a tough European tour last winter, losing to the likes of England and Wales. Off the pitch they sacked their best player Israel Folau for his outspoken anti-homosexual views. But all of a sudden they look strong again, thanks to a win over Argentina and a hammering of New Zealand in The Rugby Championship.
September 18, 20195 yr Author 7. Sarah Argentina 40/1 Like Italy, Argentina were introduced to the Southern Hemisphere's Rugby Championship to allow them to mix it with the big boys and become a top rugby nation. They have fared much better than Italy in this respect, but are still the team that typically finishes bottom of that competition and have gone backwards in the past two years, as their new era of player fails to live up the legends that went before them. They pride themselves on fearsome forwards, exciting backs, and individually are one of the best tackling sides in the world, so when they get going they can challenge most sides. They have improved under new coach Mario Ledesma in the last 12 months, but three defeats from three in this year's Championship points to how far behind they remain. One word of note, they do normally peak for World Cups, having reached the semi-finals in 2015, where they should have beaten Australia.
September 18, 20195 yr Author Following teams left in the draw England 4/1 South Africa 9/2 Ireland 10/1 Wales 10/1 France 25/1 Fiji 250/1 Namibia 1000/1 USA 1000/1 Uruguay 1000/1 For anyone else interested, Just pick a remaining number and I will draw it tomorrow.
September 18, 20195 yr 5. Mack New Zealand 11/8f You fiend! :o :heehee: 20. dobbo Russia 1000/1 Lol bai bai.
September 18, 20195 yr I don't watch or know much about Rugby but it must be safe to say that Mack is probably going to win this sweepstake!
September 19, 20195 yr Author 16. Klimawechsel England 4/1 The 2003 World Cup winners are the biggest rugby playing nation in the world, but have struggled to turn that into consistent success at the very highest level, despite reaching the World Cup final on three occasions (1991, 2003, 2005). They were embarrassed at their own tournament in 2015, being knocked out in the group stages for the first time in their history. Having been crowned Six Nations Grand Slam champions in 2017 they looked back on track, but they've been inconsistent since and have failed to win the tournament again. Coach Eddie Jones expected his England side to be further ahead at this stage, despite a strong showing in their warm-up matches, but their mixed performances over the last 18 months continue to demonstrate why fans both feel rightly they are potential World Cup winners and at the same time fear another failure.
October 14, 20195 yr Author After the Pool Stages 5. Mack- New Zealand 6. coi- Australia 16. Klimawechsel- England 17. Izzy- Japan Knocked out in the Pool Stages 2. WhoOdyssey- Georgia 4. Jade- Italy 7. Sarah- Argentina 9. Houdini- Samoa 10. Riser- Canada 13. PeteFromLeeds- Scotland 15. King Rollo- Tonga 20. dobbo- Russia Quarter-Final Draw: England v Australia New Zealand v Ireland Wales v France Japan v South Africa
October 21, 20195 yr Author After the Quarter-Finals 5. Mack- New Zealand 16. Klimawechsel- England Knocked out in the quarter-finals 6. coi- Australia 17. Izzy- Japan Semi-Final Draw England v New Zealand Wales v South Africa
October 28, 20195 yr Author After the semi-finals 16. Klumzee- England Knocked out in the semi-finals 5- Mack- New Zealand Final England v South Africa. Many congratulations to Klumzee who is the last person standing in our Sweepstake as England knocked out New Zealand in the semi-finals.
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