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rugby world cup 2023 prediction

ruck987

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Nov 21, 2017
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comment below your early rugby wc 2023 prediction?

heres mine

POOL A
1st France
2nd New zealand
3rd Usa
4th Italy
5th Nambia

POOL B –
1st South Africa,
2nd Scotland,
3rd Ireland
4th Rommina
5th Tonga

POOL C –
1st Australia
2nd wales
3rd Fiji
4th Brazil
5th Georgia

pool D
1st Argentina,
2nd England
3rd japan
4th Samoa
5th Uruguay

last 8
Australia 32-17 england
South Africa 34-37 NZ
Argentina 19-24 Wales
France 46-22 Scotland

Semi Finals
Australia 29-27 nz
france 27-16 wales

3 Place Play Off
nz 38-21 wales

Final
Australia 29-48 France
France to win
 
The World Cup is nice and all, but it really has destroyed international rugby. It's got to the point where people care more about their teams development towards the next World Cup than they do about individual test matches. If I look back over the last 4 year cycle, the World Cup (and the games within it) to me were no more significant than some other events - ireland beating the all blacks twice (and unfortunately the first one was affected by the all blacks deciding to play a few crappy players to give them exposure and in the hope that they could develop, to be good players at the next World Cup. This ****** me off because I held our zero loss record against ireland higher than winning the World Cup), all blacks playing some exciting rugby, England's 18 game winning streak, fiji beating france, etc.

just look at the fans after any big non World Cup match. They don't care a lot about whether they win, they care more about how their team is developing. They're only able to enjoy rugby once every four years. And then most often they don't then either, because only one team wins the World Cup and every other team is disappointed. How sucky is that?

I think the World Cup is a great spectacle and so dint think we should get rid of it. But I think world rugby needs to work out how to make the games in between world cups more meaningful. Eg more toirs, but proper ones because the ones at the moment still aren't taken all that seriously. So add midweek games or games against provincial sides. Could they do something like the world cricket test championship (except the final should be best if three)?

sorry, a bit off topic, like any rant.
 
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I think this thread is more appropriate in 18 months time. To try and guess how the World Cup might go is idle speculation at the moment. I'm more interested in the All Blacks/Springboks matches coming up in a few weeks!. Can't wait to see the Boks get flogged twice in NZ. The ABs will win both of those games by at least 15 points.
 
Are you the same person that started the 2017 prediction ahead of the 2019 World Cup two years in advance?

comment below your early rugby wc 2023 prediction?

heres mine

POOL A
1st France
2nd New zealand
3rd Usa
4th Italy
5th Nambia

POOL B –
1st South Africa,
2nd Scotland,
3rd Ireland
4th Rommina
5th Tonga

POOL C –
1st Australia
2nd wales
3rd Fiji
4th Brazil
5th Georgia

pool D
1st Argentina,
2nd England
3rd japan
4th Samoa
5th Uruguay

last 8
Australia 32-17 england
South Africa 34-37 NZ
Argentina 19-24 Wales
France 46-22 Scotland

Semi Finals
Australia 29-27 nz
france 27-16 wales

3 Place Play Off
nz 38-21 wales

Final
Australia 29-48 France
France to win

Although thank you for doing it, it did have me spot this great nugget, which shows how useless it is to look two years in advance before the tournament (although I guess @Dropkick1 did technically get it right on the first attempt):
Completely baffled considering SA's current state how you have them winning the whole thing.

Could only win at home in the 2016 Rugby Championship

Barely beat Italy in the 2016 AI's with losses to England and Wales

They need one hell of turnaround before I can see past a QF loss to Ireland (except for Ireland sheer ability to choke at that stage of the tournament).

Actually looking now... Dropkick did get the top 4 right...
 
Are you the same person that started the 2017 prediction ahead of the 2019 World Cup two years in advance?



Although thank you for doing it, it did have me spot this great nugget, which shows how useless it is to look two years in advance before the tournament (although I guess @Dropkick1 did technically get it right on the first attempt):


Actually looking now... Dropkick did get the top 4 right...
Actually the scores are scarily good too; if only they realised how the tournament structure worked, in terms of which quarterfinal winners played each other in the semis, you'd have to wonder if they would have got their predictions even closer.
 
Are you the same person that started the 2017 prediction ahead of the 2019 World Cup two years in advance?



Although thank you for doing it, it did have me spot this great nugget, which shows how useless it is to look two years in advance before the tournament (although I guess @Dropkick1 did technically get it right on the first attempt):


Actually looking now... Dropkick did get the top 4 right...
Thanks for that....

One hell of a turnaround they did have. SA were in dire straights mid cycle last time out.
 
Phwoaar.. Crystal ball time or let me try science:

We know SA won't win because its not 12 years yet in 2023 and the tournament is not Down Under so NZ won't win either. That leaves the likeliest candidates of England, Wales, France and Aus. Taking into account Ireland spoiling the party for Scotland but being disgusted at the idea of a semi-final.. plucky Pumas.. Aussie beating Wales but Wales having the beating of.. computing..

POOL A
1st NZ
2nd France

POOL B
1st South Africa
2nd Ireland

POOL C
1st Australia
2nd Wales

POOL D
1st England
2nd Argentina

QFs
Arg bt Aus by 2
Fra bt SA by 1
Wal bt Eng by 3
NZ bt Ire by 8

SFs
Fra bt Arg by 2
NZ bt Wal by 3

FINAL
Fra v NZ...





Fra take it.
 
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comment below your early rugby wc 2023 prediction?

heres mine

POOL A
1st France
2nd New zealand
3rd Usa
4th Italy
5th Nambia

POOL B –
1st South Africa,
2nd Scotland,
3rd Ireland
4th Rommina
5th Tonga

POOL C –
1st Australia
2nd wales
3rd Fiji
4th Brazil
5th Georgia

pool D
1st Argentina,
2nd England
3rd japan
4th Samoa
5th Uruguay

last 8
Australia 32-17 england
South Africa 34-37 NZ
Argentina 19-24 Wales
France 46-22 Scotland

Semi Finals
Australia 29-27 nz
france 27-16 wales

3 Place Play Off
nz 38-21 wales

Final
Australia 29-48 France
France to win
Australia convincingly seeing off England and beating NZ to make the final would be some feat. I'm not saying it's impossible but it would require a SA style upturn in form.

FWIW, I'd also back France to win it, but their fate might depend on the opening game against NZ. If they win, they make the final. If they don't I could see them losing to SA in the Quarters.
 
Phwoaar.. Crystal ball time or let me try science:

We know SA won't win because its not 12 years yet in 2023 and the tournament is not Down Under so NZ won't win either. That leaves the likeliest candidates of England, Wales, France and Aus. Taking into account Ireland spoiling the party for Scotland but being disgusted at the idea of a semi-final.. plucky Pumas.. Aussie beating Wales but Wales having the beating of.. computing..

POOL A
1st NZ
2nd France

POOL B
1st South Africa,
2nd Ireland

POOL C
1st Australia
2nd Wales

POOL D
1st England
2nd Argentina

QFs
NZ bt Ire by 8
Fra bt SA by 1
Arg bt Aus by 2
Wal bt Eng by 3

SFs
Fra bt NZ by 2
Wal bt Arg by 3

FINAL
Fra v Wal...





Wales take it 18-15 in added time.
I like the logic,
I reckon France are overdue a cup, though

Argentina are an odd one - they're good against SH sides but their record vs NH sides is terrible. If they got a run like the one you've predicted they could well make it that far (/get 3rd place)


I'm predicting SA, tbh - NZ look to be in a transition and aren't the force they once were (they'll still beat most sides without breaking a sweat, don't get me wrong, but their aura of invincibility has slipped) and I think they're the only side that could beat RSA atm (watch the Boks lose against everyone in the RC now...)

Two years is a long time, though, form can fluctuate massively over that period
 
I think France will win it. At home with those crowds behind them they're going to take some beating. The Wallabies could be the dark horses because, should they win their group, they wouldn't play NZ, SA or France until the semis. They would avoid SA, NZ and France. I'm not confident about England's chances at the moment, the way we're going we could be out in the quarters.
 
France need to learn to string wins together arguably the best side of the last two 6 nations but have three losses in there.

SA we still don't know where they are at exactly we'll get a better idea in the autumn when they've played some real sides.

As noted Aus needs an SA style turnaround perhaps larger it feels their issues are way more systemic than coaching.

NZ will be there or there abouts as they normally are but feels they have a loss in them but could go all the way.

England are a creative mess at the moment unless something changes they'll go deep again but fail.

Wales like France and England just scream "we are going to lose a game".

That's it for genuine contenders I think could be if SA/NZ don't prove to be invincible the widest open world cup to date. If France grand slam the 6 nations in 2023 I'd back them to go all the way.
 
Had a relook at the tournament structure. All I can say is if SA manage to take it it would have been some road. Pools A and B filtering into the QFs are crazy. One of SA, Scotland and Ireland not even making the QFs with the top 2 to face off vs NZ and France. Insane!

SA and NZ certainly look beatable but two years is a long way out still.
 
Had a relook at the tournament structure. All I can say is if SA manage to take it it would have been some road. Pools A and B filtering into the QFs are crazy. One of SA, Scotland and Ireland not even making the QFs with the top 2 to face off vs NZ and France. Insane!
I had forgotten England and Wales basically have a minimum goal of a semi-final they should both win their groups and take out the the 2nd place in those groups (on current form).

The whole SA/Fra/NZ/Ire is a complete crapshoot though not predicting any of those apart from Ireland not winning the QF.
 
It's actually great not having any expectations. Don't care about the cycle, doubt the coach will last beyond the tournament unless he actually achieves something in the interim. It's all a bit pressure off unlike the Schmidt years when expectations were, rightly, sky high.

Qualify from the group and not getting dicked in the QF would be nice. 1991 was the last time that happened. I personally haven't had the joy of seeing such great things.
 
I had forgotten England and Wales basically have a minimum goal of a semi-final they should both win their groups and take out the the 2nd place in those groups (on current form).

The whole SA/Fra/NZ/Ire is a complete crapshoot though not predicting any of those apart from Ireland not winning the QF.
You know that's a great analogy for something inevitable. Like when you says will the sun rise or the tide.

I reckon we should all start saying now, "It's inevitable, like Ireland going out in the quarters."
 
Way too far out. I haven't got a clue what the Eng team will look like, or how it will play, this Autumn let alone in 2 Autumns time. Actually I probably do know what's coming this Autumn but just wish I didn't……

Obviously would be nice to nip across the Channel and bring Bill home on Eurostar. TBH I think that's odds against…..we'll either be sticking with the old guard or newcomers won't have quite enough experience under their belts.

In many respects I'd like to see Fra win. Would be great to see another name on the trophy and they've got some talented youngsters who they've invested in for this tournament. Plus I've always had a bit of a soft spot for French rugby.

First game could be key. If Fra could take down NZ subjecting them to a QF against the Boks that would open things up a bit. I think that's a pretty big 'if' though. NZ will be hell bent on regaining their crown and you never know which Fra will turn up (all cliches are born of truisms).

We know what the Boks will deliver and, unattractive as it can be, there are worse formulae for knock out rugby. Right now it's hard to see past them or what is likely to be a rejuvenated ABs. Eng, Fra and perhaps Aus all have a puncher's chance but no more than that at this stage. Don't really see anyone else in the mix.

But I don't really mind as long as there's a hard luck story in there somewhere for Wales :)
 
I like the logic,
I reckon France are overdue a cup, though

Argentina are an odd one - they're good against SH sides but their record vs NH sides is terrible. If they got a run like the one you've predicted they could well make it that far (/get 3rd place)


I'm predicting SA, tbh - NZ look to be in a transition and aren't the force they once were (they'll still beat most sides without breaking a sweat, don't get me wrong, but their aura of invincibility has slipped) and I think they're the only side that could beat RSA atm (watch the Boks lose against everyone in the RC now...)

Two years is a long time, though, form can fluctuate massively over that period
Yeah, I wouldn't begrudge France a RWC ***le. 2011 was theirs in my view and 1995 they were very unlucky against us in the semi, less so than the 2011 final but still, I can admit we dodged one there. The only problem is it is at home and they are building towards a formidable side... I hate the term "choke" but I just think they do best with an underdog tag not unlike SA. Which is also why I think we aren't (or at least shouldn't be) as much a shot as we should be- we'll be defending champions.
I had forgotten England and Wales basically have a minimum goal of a semi-final they should both win their groups and take out the the 2nd place in those groups (on current form).

The whole SA/Fra/NZ/Ire is a complete crapshoot though not predicting any of those apart from Ireland not winning the QF.
I also think England and Wales should make it to a SF and from there its all bets off as far as I'm concerned. NZ and France should also be in strong contention but I think its more open than usual and those teams have traditionally struggled (relative to expectations) in a tournament format whereas England, Wales and SA all have the "style" to do well in a marathon. SA and England also have settled squads that are still quite young and *should* be in fine form 2 years out but who knows.
 

The World Cup is nice and all, but it really has destroyed international rugby. It's got to the point where people care more about their teams development towards the next World Cup than they do about individual test matches.
You make an excellent point mate.
Reckon Hansen stuffed up big time playing musical chairs with the ABs in his last year leading up to the RWC, he even continued that policy in the Rugby Championship, so at the RWC we were always going to lack a bit of direction & cohesion as an unit... so I was absolutely astonished that the NZRU idiots selected most of the same coaching staff again ???
We had a great opportunity to select a whole new coaching staff, reckon Scott Robertson would've made a top AB head coach.
 

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