The two most successful national teams in rugby history face off tonight in paris for the bragging rights or World Champion, as the AllBlacks and South Africa clash for the trophy at 21:00 CET. The South Africans had to battle hard in their semifinal to get the better of England, and eventually came out marginal winners by a score of 16-15. On the other hand, the All Blacks disposed of Argentina rather comfortably in their semifinal encounter – as we predicted – by a score of 44-6. South Africa also had avery close encounter in the Quarters, when they also beat the hosts France by a single point.The All Blacks had a shaky start to the tournament after losing their opening match to the hosts, but have since then dominated every opponent they’ve come up against. I have a feeling this will be a different matchup for the Kiwis.
Recent encounter between these two national teams have been quite balanced, as each won three of the six encounters they’ve had since the 2019 World Cup held in Japan. Historically, the All Blacks have won 59% of their games against South Africa: interestingly enough however, as an Opta Analyst piece points out, that is their lowest win percentage against any nation. The most recent meeting between the two sides took place before the current edition of the tournament, and saw the Springboks come out as big winners by a scoreline of 35-7. With all that being said, it is the All Blacks that we see as slight favourites in this clash for the trophy, as their performances have been nothing short of spectacular in the World Cup so far. However, if there ever was a team to spoil the Kiwi’s plans, it is certainly South Africa. We cannot wait for the conclusion to this edition of the Rugby World Cup.
New Zealand to Win – 1.85
South Africa to Win – 2.05
