Whenever there is a world cup it brings together the three powerhouse nations of rugby league, England, New Zealand and pre-tournament favourites and holders Australia.
Outright Index
The format is unusual -there are a total of 10 teams in the three pools (A, B & C), with the first three in Pool A going forward to the semi-finals (2nd and 3rd play each other in one of them) and the winners of Pools B & C playing off for the right to meet the Pool A winner in the other semi-final.
Winner- 60pts, Runner Up- 40 pts, Semi Final- 20 pts, Lose Semi Qualifier (Pool B Winner v Pool C Winner)- 10pts 2nd in Pool B or Pool C- 5pts.
So Who's Going To Win?
Well it would be a fool to back against the Aussies, not only the pre-tournament odds-on favs, but also the nine-time winners and champions on the last six occasions! Their price, 30/100 with the bookies and 53-55 on Sporting Index, may be too skinny for you to back, so why not have a look at the battle for the runner-up spot?
This should be a straight fight between England and New Zealand, who are in Pool A along with Australia and outsiders Papua New Guinea.
If the form book stands up then Eng and NZ should meet in the first semi-final on Saturday 15th November, but they will meet in the pool stages exactly one week earlier on the 8th. So use that game and their respective games against the Aussies to judge the outcome of the probable semi final match-up.
