‘All Blacks should win the World Cup’- Wallabies legend risks reputation with call
It takes a lot for an ex Australia international to publicly say that they think the All Blacks will win the World Cup, especially in a year when the tournament looks wide open.
But double World Cup winner Tim Horan has put his neck on the line and predicted the All Blacks are going to win the World Cup. In a rugby landscape where France, Ireland and South Africa are all looking impressive, that is a very bold call indeed.
Without taking into consideration the peculiarity of an Australian picking New Zealand to win, this is strange given how open this World Cup is looking. The All Blacks were deemed outsiders this time last year, but back to back victories against Eddie Jones’ Wallabies has launched them right into the conversation. That is despite Ireland still sitting at world number ones, France hosting the tournament and South Africa being a machine made for World Cups.
Joining Ireland’s Off The Ball recently, the former centre explained why he has come to his conclusion, but has not discounted Ireland or France.
He said: “I still believe, I said this about six or eight months ago, that I think the All Blacks should win the World Cup. I know Ireland are probably first or second favourite with France but the All Blacks have so much experience. Maybe, the only thing that will go against the All Blacks is probably the age of that team. There are some guys there that are just about to finish their career, a lot of them are going overseas at the end of this Rugby World Cup. So, I still think the All Blacks will be very hard to beat. When they put their number one team out, they’ve got so much depth. You look at France, they’ve got depth, I don’t know if [Ireland] have as much depth as an All Blacks team or a French team, so you lose a couple of key players and it might be tough.”
🗣 ‘I think the All Blacks should win the World Cup.’
🗣 ‘I don’t know if Ireland have as much depth.’@TimHoran12 gives his verdict on how he sees the World Cup unfolding. pic.twitter.com/8e4GEuu3jc
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) August 10, 2023
