My heart is going for the ABs of course, but I’ll be waiting to see the referee appointment & the weather forecast before making a pick with my head.
I think South Africa are favourites for now, and everybody thinks that the game is going to be really close. I’d say there’s just as much chance that the game could be quite decisive one way or the other, as it going right down to the wire again. It really comes down to whether one team can dictate the way the game is played for a long time or not, and that’s influenced a lot by the officials and whether its wet or dry.
NZ has probably played their best 15 for more minutes than SA, but SA has probably had to play more minutes at a higher intensity for longer with tough games against Ireland, Scotland, France, England, then a final. NZ really had one tough match against France, then reasonably manageable intensity until Ireland, and then a step down - but still enough to keep the edge honed against Argentina.
My heart is going for the ABs of course, but I’ll be waiting to see the referee appointment & the weather forecast before making a pick with my head.
I think South Africa are favourites for now, and everybody thinks that the game is going to be really close. I’d say there’s just as much chance that the game could be quite decisive one way or the other, as it going right down to the wire again. It really comes down to whether one team can dictate the way the game is played for a long time or not, and that’s influenced a lot by the officials and whether its wet or dry.
NZ has probably played their best 15 for more minutes than SA, but SA has probably had to play more minutes at a higher intensity for longer with tough games against Ireland, Scotland, France, England, then a final. NZ really had one tough match against France, then reasonably manageable intensity until Ireland, and then a step down - but still enough to keep the edge honed against Argentina.