New Zealand may be strongly fancied to win November’s Rugby World Cup, but former Wallabies captain Nick Farr-Jones says the All Blacks will choke under the pressure.
Farr-Jones forecasts England will win their first World Cup, but he hasn’t given up on underperforming Australia and says they are capable of recovering form in time to defend the Webb Ellis trophy they won four years ago in Wales.
The scrumhalf legend, who led the Wallabies to victory over England in the 1991 World Cup final at Twickenham, on Wednesday predicted Australia and England would again meet in the 2003 final.
He said New Zealand would be under considerably more pressure than the misfiring Australians if they meet in the final four.
”I’ve actually got a very good feeling. The more we progress toward the World Cup the more I think we’ll beat New Zealand in the semifinal,” Farr-Jones said at a book launch in Sydney on Wednesday.
”We’re not nearly as good as New Zealand at the moment but they’ll have an enormous pressure on them and I just think that damn-the-torpedoes, full-speed-ahead attitude that the Wallabies will have … it will hold us in really good stead.”
As well as pressure from their rugby-mad fans in New Zealand, he said the All Blacks know the Wallabies have the ability to shock them, as France did in their 1999 semifinal.
”They know the Wallabies still have the personnel and if they get it right for 80 minutes it could be France in 1999 all over again.”
Farr-Jones said he drew confidence from observing Wallabies coach Eddie Jones at the post-match press conference following the Bledisloe Cup loss in New Zealand last month.
”They ran the All Blacks to the wire in that Test playing perhaps 20% to 30% below their best and I could see Eddie was a very relaxed, comfortable man and he knew that in the next six weeks there was a lot of improvement in the Wallabies.
”They’ve definitely held some moves back, that’s for sure.”
The Wallabies slumped to fourth in world rankings after losing four of their past five Tests. However, Farr-Jones said they’ve started to show glimpses of what they could deliver.
”The guys won’t be happy with the way they went domestically but it got a lot better in the last two matches and if they can get the combinations right and better advanced possession, they’re going to loom as one of the favourites to win this.”
But he stopped short of tipping Australia to retain the Webb Ellis trophy, saying England was still the team to beat.
”They’re the stand-out favourite for me, I’d rate them even-money,” Farr-Jones said.
”One thing past World Cups have shown us is that defence wins and without doubt in my opinion England are the best organised team defensively.
”They’ve also got a great captain, a great number 10 [Jonny Wilkinson] and a very, very experienced team. That’s where I think New Zealand will fall down, they don’t have that experience.” — Sapa-AFP