SO, WHO’S GOING TO TAKE THE TROPHY HOME?
SIR CLIVE WOODWARD ENGLAND IT’S a very open tournament but I’m tipping England. The timing is right, they have proven big-match players like Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje, a group of key players hitting their peak in Billy Vunipola, Jamie George, George Kruis, George Ford, Jonny May, Elliot Daly and Anthony Watson, and some exceptional new kids on the block. I expect them to meet and beat New Zealand in the final. DYLAN HARTLEY ENGLAND I REALLY do believe that England can win it and if they do it I will be in full John Terry mode! They will have to be wary of Argentina and France in their pool and will have to come through those two tough matches just to reach the quarter-finals. Those two massive games will help them though because it means they will get used to the pressure and the biggame experience before the knockout stage. They will be battle-hardened — more than some of their rivals will be — and that is one factor that can help them go all the way. JAMES HASKELL ENGLAND MY money is on England and I think Manu Tuilagi could be the player of the World Cup. I first played with The Chief way back in 2011 and he’s looking better than I’ve ever seen him. People talk about Eddie Jones not knowing his best XV but he picks a team based on the opposition. This group are in a better place than the 2015 side. Eddie Jones won’t care if they’re playing s*** as long as they win. And neither will I! CHRIS FOY NEW ZEALAND THERE has been a recent stampede of pundits shifting their backing away from New Zealand, but the All Blacks are still the favourites, no matter what the latest World Rugby rankings say about the Irish being on top of the pile, or the growing view that South Africa are an unstoppable force. But Steve Hansen’s Kiwi kingpins are striving for a ‘three-peat’, after winning the last two tournaments. They have the pedigree and knowhow. New Zealand will qualify from their pool and either face Ireland, Scotland or Japan. England and the Boks are likely to be in their path in the closing stages and would pose major threats, but the All Blacks have a good chance to make more history. The QBE Rugby Predictor simulated the World Cup 3,750 times. Every match was replicated by generating the number of tries, conversions and points scored by each team. Based on 10 years WILL KELLEHER NEW ZEALAND A boring answer, but I think the All Blacks will make history in Japan and win it for the third time in a row, beating South Africa in the final. It would be better for the sport if they didn’t win it again, but the challenges from elsewhere could well be too flaky come crunch knockout time. NIK SIMON NEW ZEALAND The gap has closed since 2015 but they are still the pacesetters with world class match-winners throughout and will take some stopping. If beating them is not already hard enough, they’ll also have the backing of the home crowd. The All Blacks brand is huge in Japan and they’re likely to be the country’s second team.