The One Big Upset

[Midlands hobo]

The last two RU world cups have thrown up upsets of massive proportions. I don't think any sport at pro level will again will see something like Japan besting south Africa in 2015. That's like Wales RL turning over Australia.

 

[Cowardly Fan]

21 minutes ago, Midlands hobo said:

The last two RU world cups have thrown up upsets of massive proportions. I don't think any sport at pro level will again will see something like Japan besting south Africa in 2015. That's like Wales RL turning over Australia.

 

That seems a massive over exaggeration. They were reportedly 80/1 to win, but there are often wins against those odds especially in football. If you count seasonal bets then Leicester won the league at 5,000/1.

[GeordieSaint]

The upset will be Australia not reaching the final…

[David Shepherd]

8 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

The upset will be Australia not reaching the final…

Hopefully

[Midlands hobo]

52 minutes ago, Cowardly Fan said:

That seems a massive over exaggeration. They were reportedly 80/1 to win, but there are often wins against those odds especially in football. If you count seasonal bets then Leicester won the league at 5,000/1.

But 80/1 in a two horse race is astronomic odds. The only thing I can remember that's close is Wrexham knocking Arsenal out of the cup in the early 90s.

 

Buster Douglas was only half those odds when he beat Tyson.

[crashmon]

England losing to PNG is the upset I can see but am really hoping will not happen

Would NZ beating Aus be an upset?

France v Samoa is also a possible upset

[Welshleaguelover]

I'm gonna put a few quid on France to beat Samoa. 12/1.

[GeordieSaint]

30 minutes ago, crashmon said:

Would NZ beating Aus be an upset?

Hasn’t Australia made every final since their has been a standalone game to decide the World Champion? It would definitely be a shock… imagine the shock and uproar in Aus!

[Chanter]

15 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

Hasn’t Australia made every final since their has been a standalone game to decide the World Champion? It would definitely be a shock… imagine the shock and uproar in Aus!

Would they even care in Aus? 

[Dave T]

I don't think upsets need to happen, but I think it always makes a tournament interesting if you believe it can happen. 

Before that opener it was far more exciting thinking that Samoa could get their first ever win against England. If England go on to play PNG and Tonga, there will be some doubt about England and that's a good thing. 

There has to be some doubt about NZ in the quarters after 2017 where Fiji knocked them out. 

Samoa are not even guaranteed to get through to the quarters despite all the talk of them being powerhouses. 

Cooks are not guaranteed to lose to a Tonga who haven't hit form yet. 

Most games have had predictable winners, but have still been enjoyable, and a fair few games have had doubt and an interesting narrative to them. I think that's all you need. You won't always get a big shock actually pulled off. 

[hw88]

I forsee no shocks this time around.

QF Aus bt Leb, NZ bt Fiji, Eng bt PNG, Ton bt Sam. The last one could go either way - I haven't been impressed by either.

SF Aus bt NZ, Eng bt Ton.

F Aus bt Eng. Let's face it they always do when it matters.

Hope I'm wrong but we shall see.

[GeordieSaint]

20 minutes ago, Chanter said:

Would they even care in Aus? 

Oh absolutely they would. Aussies hate losing. Especially when they think they are the best. 

[Chanter]

6 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

Oh absolutely they would. Aussies hate losing. Especially when they think they are the best. 

Let's hope they lose then. Losing to NZ in 2008 didn't (imo) kick start their governing bodys lust for competition international footy 

[GeordieSaint]

45 minutes ago, Chanter said:

Let's hope they lose then. Losing to NZ in 2008 didn't (imo) kick start their governing bodys lust for competition international footy 

Caring doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll prioritise international rugby - they’ll smart about it but it’s not a cash cow for them like SOO and the NRL so it won’t change much until 2025.