Rugby World Cup semi-finals: red hot clashes

Here we are now, entertain us*: with three games to go, the best may be yet to come in the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

The semi-finalists, France, Wales, Australia and New Zealand, have alternated flashes of brilliance and dull moments but have all come through by grit and determination. So, a bit more flair in the semi-final games would not be amiss.

New Zealand may be slightly ahead of Australia in the books (the Kiwis are 1,40 to win, the Oz 3,30, on Eurobet), while it’s very close between Wales and France (Wales is offered at 1,85 on Unibet, with France at 2,15). Altogether, a very close race, with NZ that must rue their cruel string of injuries.

Our personal prediction is for the hosts to win, in a final vs Wales.

 

Be that as it may, we are also keen to see who will win the 2011 Rugby Global Cup. Given the current Global Cup ranking, here’s how the semi-finalists stand:

- France: even by winning the Rugby World Cup they can only reach 232 GSN points, not even enough to give them the lead as of now: no chance

- Australia: their only chance is to win the Rugby World Cup, reaching 290 points, provided that Wales (GBR) does not finish third or better: slim chance

-Great Britain: Wales is left to fly the flag of the current Global Cup leaders; they are assured of 286 points, which could be enough to stay ahead of New Zealand, unless the Kiwis reached the final, and Australia, unless the Oz won the tournament: slim-to-middling chance

-New Zealand: they are the most credible contender for the top Global Cup spot: they would win by reaching the final, unless they met Wales in the title game, and Wales beat them: good chance.

So watch the action unfold, and check the results on greatestsportingnation.com.