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Opinionated Rugby Commentary - by Fans for Fans
Spill what you really think about events in the rugby world.
Ten Reasons The All Blacks Will Beat The Wallabies 14 views
14 October 2011 by The Swede Eaters
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Scotty Donaldson looks at ten reasons the All Blacks will beat the Wallabies in the semi finals. What do you think?
The All Blacks go into the Rugby World Cup semi final as favourites, here are ten reasons New Zealand will beat Australia in the semi final on Sunday night.
1) The All Blacks are playing at home in front of 60,000 people at their fortress of Eden Park. They are fired up to win this tournament in front of home fans which is their best chance to do it in the last 24 years.
2) The All Blacks haven't lost to Australia at Eden Park in 25 years and haven't lost to the Wallabies in New Zealand in about 10 years. The last time they played at Eden Park, New Zealand beat Australia 30-14.
3) The Wallabies got a good rub of the green with refereeing decisions at the breakdown against South Africa and if it wasn't for Bryce Lawrence, may well have been beaten by the Springboks.
4) The weather forecast points to rain in Auckland on Friday night. This will help New Zealand slow the game down and utilise their more powerful ball runners. It will slow the game down, meaning that David Pocock may not be as much of a threat as he was against South Africa. It will also suit the powerful All Blacks pack and Ma'a Nonu. The All Blacks know their local conditions.
5) While New Zealand has lost to both South Africa and Australia away in the Tri Nations, they weren't at full strength against the Springboks, while the All Blacks didn't have Israel Dagg, Jerome Kaino and had Zac Guildford having a shocker on the wing. They also lost two of their loose forwards Adam Thomson and Kieran Read injured, yet still finished strongly with 17 unanswered points in the second half.
6) Kurtley Beale may miss this semi final and this will force major backline shuffling with the versatile Adam Ashley Cooper potentially moving from centre to fullback or Quade Cooper moving there from first five eighth, but it could force major changes. He is such a great player, that he will be missed.
7) The Wallabies survived against the Springboks with around very little possession and territory so they will still be tired and sore. The All Blacks on the other hand, didn't had plenty of possession and territory against Argentina, meaning that the All Blacks should come into this semi final as the fresher team.
8) Piri Weepu can kick goals and although there are doubts as to whether he can last 80 minutes, he provides New Zealand with a reliable goal kicker to penalise the Wallabies for any infringements in their own half.
9) While the All Blacks will miss Dan Carter. They will also welcome back quality backs like Israel Dagg and Richard Kahui to join the quality midfield combination of Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith who were difficult to contain in Brisbane. Assuming Richie McCaw is fit he will lead a powerful forward pack including Keven Mealamu, Brad Thorn, Jerome Kaino and Kieran Read among others.
10) Aaron Cruden brought his domestic form to the Argentina match and looked dangerous. While he is small he seems to be more of a threat than Colin Slade and with the help of his Hurricanes team mates Piri Weepu and Ma'a Nonu outside him then he should feel comfortable. Should we be concerned that the entire backline minus Israel Dagg played for the dysfunctional Hurricanes this season.
For the record, the All Blacks are paying around $1.35 to beat the Wallabies which is amazing given how it should be a tough match. It is difficult to get a gauge on both these teams when they have had such different lead up matches. I hope the best team wins as long as it is the All Blacks, but I hope the referee doesn't influence the result.
What are you looking forward to seeing the most in this semi final?
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