All Blacks all set

Press, 20 May 1987, Page 43

All Blacks all set

New Zealand, Australia, France and Ireland are the teams widely favoured to figure in the semi-finals of the World Cup. Here’s how they would reach that stage:— Pool one is played exclusively in Australia, and the home side is a red hot certainty to qualify in the top position, ' probably with a struggling England

taking second place. Japan and the United States are the other contestants, but the way England played in the recent Five Nations tournament must give these lesser sides dreams of glory. The Irish appear to be the best bet in pool two, with Wales, another Five Nations side going through the doldrums, the best of the rest. The lively

Tongans might want for possession against these sides, but could do better against the other team, Canada.

The pool three favourite is undoubtedly New Zealand, with Argentina a most likely second after its splendid performances against the All Blacks in 1985. Fiji’s unorthodoxy will keep it in the running, but Italy will find

the opposition a little too rich.

The Grand Slam winner in the recent Five Nations tournament, France, has the players and the form to win pool four, with a most capable Scottish side as the runner-up. Rumania will be a tough adversary for both teams, but will be handicapped by its lack of adventure. The fourth team, Zimbabwe, will be there for the experience.

A possible quarterfinals line-up will be:—

New Zealand v. Scotland, at Christchurch; Australia v. Wales, at Sydney; France v. Argentina, at Auckland; Ireland v., England, at Brisbane.

The finalists? New Zealand seems assured of one place, and Australia is confident of claiming the other. But if the French should upset the Wallabies in the Sydney semi-final they could be a difficult rival for the All Blacks in the grand final on Eden Park. That was the ground on which the Tricolours gained their only overseas victory against New Zealand, on Bastille Day, 1979. The French have an uncanny knack of making the most out of such associations. If the Australians generated similar vibes they would draw greatly from their rout of the All Blacks in “Comelsen’s test” in 1978.