France, world cup winners - Could it be written in the stars?

I posted a couple of weeks ago about everything falling into place for Wales. Our defeat to South Africe had turned into a blessing when Ireland beat Australia. We had been relatively lucky with injuries compared to the other nations and all this led to me becoming more and more confident that Wales were going to do something special. Before the France game I couldn't see us losing and with Carter out I was even stupid enough to dream of us beating NZ in the final. The dream unfortunately turned into reality on Saturday morning. I won't mention the sending off as that has been done to death on here. We should have won the game with 14 men. After the final whistle blew I started thinking that perhaps destiny has it that France will win the tournament despite in my opinion them not being in the 6 best teams in the tournament. They were very poor in the group stages and were lucky that Tonga lost to Canada earlier in the tournament. They faced an imploding England team in the quarters and then faced 14 men for 60 minutes in the semi who blew a great chane to win by missing a number of kicks at goal. What will happen in the final? I can't see anything but a very comfortable New Zealand victory but I've been wrong before. Perhaps something strange will happen and we'll have a side that lost to Tonga and whose players and coach don't communicate with each other as world champions. Could it happen?

Nah.

Unlikely, but I wouldn't be surprised by it, just as I wouldnt be surprised if NZ put 40 past them with little reply.

Personally, I think France will win, can't really say why, but I backed them at start of RWC along with SA, think they would both reach the final, so I have to stick by my guns!

It's highly unlikely but possible.

Not with Joubert reffing

NZ 44 France 9

Joubert is there to what shall i say 'Ease' the path for an AB victory, so don't expect many pingings of Mccheat in the final and i for one would love an NH win, but can't for the life of me see how it would come. Hope i'm proved wrong!!

Joubert pulls a muscle - who takes over Nigel or the other chap

I effing hope not. I'll give France all the credit they deserve for winning a RWC final if they do it but I'm mainly hoping to see the mediocrity of the French group performances and that of the Wales game put into perspective in the final. By the way NZ have played they deserve it over France, therefore I will be supporting the All Blacks.

It's not only the way France have played in itself but their unprofessional approach to this tournament. For all Lievremont's shortcomings, I think people are focusing on him far too much and not enough on the players. Public criticism is a path you need to be careful when treading but how can the players not deserve it if they're so up themselves they don't even follow the coach's orders?

If France can manage to beat NZ in NZ in a World Cup Final they deserve it no matter what has happened in the earlier games.

I'll certainly be cheering on those crazy frenchies!

Part of me thinks that the French team has been waiting for someone to put them out of their misery. This is where they are at their most dangerous for NZ. They have been totally written off. Every Kiwi is telling every European to shut the hell up with their predictions of a NZ romp. Yes they have played well but the tournament is not finished. We need to give one more big push-a performance worthy of a World Cup Final.

Jeepers EW you certainly give new meaning to the phrase "Pint of bitter".

NZ v France

SafeAsMilk wrote:If France can manage to beat NZ in NZ in a World Cup Final they deserve it no matter what has happened in the earlier games.

Absolutely.

No doubt EW you have said NZ will choke because they are at home and are under more pressure. If they do win you´ll say it´s because they were given the World Cup because the hosting rights were given to them.

SA are the only team to win at home. The appointment of Joubert is for his impressive refereeing during the tournament. Your posts are like a Daily Mail headline.

France have reached the finals. It doesn´t matter how they got there. They are in the final and will be a tough team to beat. But if they do win it´s because they played the better rugby in the final and deserve the victory for that as opposed to what they did previously.

Damn straight Luckless, if the French show they want it more than us and play in such a manner, then well done to them. Because you had a glimpse of how much we do on Sunday. How they can match that desire I don't quite know to be honest.

Every single hunch I've had in this world cup has been wrong. This time I'm using my head not my heart and waving my diploma from the Univercity of the Bleeding Obvious I now call that France are going to get smeared all over the pitch in the Final.

The ABs must be rubbing their hands with glee at facing France again having already defeated them once and are now properly warmed up. The French won't fight, they'll collapse early on and it will be comfortable by half time.

The only way to tell if France are going to win is if someone goes into their changing room to find Mad Marc tied up with bootlaces and bundled in a locker with a smelly sock stuffed in his gob.

I hope your head is a lot better at picking results than your guts mate!

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:I hope your head is a lot better at picking results than your guts mate!

+1

New Zealand will win it at home as as will England in 2015.

France have made the final twice before and both times have lost comfortably with better sides than the current one. I'm hoping for a game that will be fit to be a world cup final but unfortunately I can only see a procession for New Zealand.

As the old saying goes "The French always pull out at least one amazing performance per world cup"

They certainly haven't done it so far....

Although realistically I thought the only teams with a chance of doing NZ were Oz & SA.

I'm 99% certain that the AB's will tank Les Bleus by about 25pts...

But that 1% is still nagging me.

IMO opinion the All Blacks will be more afraid of France than they would have been of any other country, France seem to have the hoodoo over them when it come to the crunch.

Lets be honest France have nothing to lose and I doubt there will be many giving them any chance of winning.

The pressure on NZ to win will be un paralled in rugby before IMO and if Harinorquay(sp) and Dusatoir can get at the young NZ 10 then who knows.

All that said I can only see a comfortable All Blacks win.

"As the old saying goes "The French always pull out at least one amazing performance per world cup""

Nothing is forever. Surely everybody who uses this claim doesn't expect France to maintain the same tradition from now until the end of rugby!? Their one amazing performance streak will come to an end eventually...maybe this is the year.

After watching their world cup so far i'm beginning to suspect that God is a Frenchman. But if heaven contains croissants and nutella and seriously good wine maybe this is a good thing.

There are two teams playing on Sunday,so it is a 50/50 bet France have`nt
really bothered so far.Just doing enough to win,they are there on merit it is up to NZ to put them away.
As a NZ supporter I hope they win to get the monkey of there back,but France are France.
Atrocious one day,formidable another,it may just be Sunday was the All Blacks final.I hope not.
For sure neither the coaches or NZ players are thinking that way.

Once again, history is nothing. Look at whats in front of you. Does the French form suggest a win? No. Simple as that. I'm not cowering behind 2007 and 99.

The monkey jumped off the back last weekend. All bets are off. On face value AB's should dominate them.

Hi Taylorman - just posted a rather long diatribe on the "France v NZ" thread and as I said in that history is nothing. Basing predictions on what occurred in '07 let alone '99 is just silly - we might as well say that Wales will beat us regularly because they once did 60 years ago.

I'm glad you've come around to the positive side, because as we discussed earlier in the tournament us Kiwis tend to get far too worried about the wrong things and not focus on the good things. Not enough astute fans, just lots of passionate fans.

To me its a comfortable win for the AB's by 15 to 20+. The other thread has my reasoning for this so won't re-post.

Sweet, read that first.

Agree completely. When I think of the French team and what they've done then imagine being one of them having watched the Oz match I just can't help thinking that no matter what the coaches, team mates, the media, they will know that Mount Everest is in front of them.

They know that their predecessors stole TWO potential titles out from underneath us and that this is true redemption time. Everyone said the pool match was going to be the big rematch...Nah, not the same dynamics or outcome for the victor of that one.

This is the biggie. We buried the choker tag last week, now its the turn of the French. I'd actually hoped Barnes might get the test. Pack the skeletons in the same box underneath Eden park.

And...
we know who knocked Mount Everest off..

France will win

"Hi Taylorman - just posted a rather long diatribe on the "France v NZ"
thread and as I said in that history is nothing. Basing predictions on
what occurred in '07 let alone '99 is just silly - we might as well say
that Wales will beat us regularly because they once did 60 years ago."

what a silly notion lol.

hostory is a factor that can cointributre to performance- its not the only factor. Why are people finding this very simple fact so hard to understand

NZ are the only team that can beat NZ.