Sports Then and Now

Who will lift the 2015 Rugby World Cup?

For Rugby fans, the next sixty odd days can’t pass quickly enough. The 2015 Rugby World Cup is fast approaching and Rugby enthusiast just can’t wait for it to take stage. The wait for the World cup will be over in just over two-month’s time and following are a few brave predictions from me concerning the event.

The All Blacks won’t defend their Title

For Rugby fans around the world, loving the All Blacks is a hard thing to do since they pretty much win everything in sight. However, despite being the world’s best Rugby team at this point of time, it will be hard for team from New Zealand to defend its title. The reason for this is simple—they haven’t won a World Cup outside of their home soil. I cannot see the trend changing this time around.

The Irish will finally make it to the Semi-Finals

The Irish have tried again and again in World Cups to reach the Semi-Finals but for one reason or the other always seems to fall short of their mark. However, a maiden World Cup Semi-Final appearance is what the Irish victories against SpringBoks and Australia in the calendar year 2014 indicates.

Fiji will become a sorry tale a week after the Cup kicks off

Playing without some of their best players doesn’t help the cause of the most flamboyant Pacific island nation. The first five days of the competition is going to be tough period for Fiji as they’ll have to tackle two time Rugby champions: Australia with some of their star players missing.

Samoa will give Scotland a Scare

In the 2015 Rugby World Cup I can see the tiny nation of Samoa giving a massive scare to the team from Great Britain: Scotland. However, I can also see the Scots eventually coming through this nail-biting affair.

The Established Stars will give us something Special

I can see the established stars of the game giving us something special to savor in this year’s Rugby World Cup. I see the household Rugby names turning up for the event in a big way.

SpringBoks or Australia will win the World Cup

Both these nations have always performed exceptionally well on foreign soil and I see no reason for them to perform differently in this year’s World Cup. I can see one of Springboks or Australia lifting the cup on the 31^st of October.