Betfair Official Blog

Australia and Argentina the highlights so far

Click here to view market

The Racing Post's Geoffrey Riddle gets the red pen out and gives the main contenders marks out of 10

The hiatus in the World Cup gives us a brief moment to have a breather. It also gives us time to sit down and mull over what has gone on in the Pool stages, and to ruminate over whether our pre-tournament conceptions have changed at all.

Here's how I'd assess the performances of the main candidates with marks out of 10.

New Zealand (7/10)
At the time of writing, just over £15.5m has been traded on the outright market, with no less than 70 per cent of that money being exchanged on the All Blacks. Over £200,000 has been matched on Graham Henry's squad at less than 1.4 and now all of a sudden they are trading at 1.75.

What has changed? Well, nothing really. They scored a rugby world cup record 309 points in the group stage, racking up the most tries in the process, and the fastest five-pointer to boot. Although Pool C was by far the easiest in the tournament, the fact remains that the Kiwis dispatched what was put in front of them with consummate ease.

They have annihilated France, their quarter-final opponents, every time the two have crossed paths since the 2003 World Cup and we all know that Australia and South Africa are still to come. It's just whether you think 1.75 is value to beat France, Australia and South Africa; it's certainly getting close to it.

South Africa (7/10)
Personally, I thought the Springboks would beat England comfortably in their Pool A showdown, but I was surprised by the 36-0 score. If you look at the England team that Brian Ashton put out in Paris, it was no wonder they were beaten so heavily in hindsight.

South Africa have been impressive in that they have put big scores on little opponents. They bullied Samoa, they put pressure on England, and blew away some cobwebs in their run out against the USA. They underestimated Tonga.

All the talk has been about how New Zealand have had it plain sailing so far, but with the easiest knock-out fixture against Fiji, South Africa may well arrive under-cooked against the hungry Pumas in the semis.

That leaves just the final if they make it, and although they would be heavy underdogs against New Zealand, in my book they would be against Australia as well. I think the Springboks may be a lay at around 3.8 after their inevitable quarter-final win over Fiji.

Australia (9/10)
The form side of the tournament. John Connolly's team arrived in France under the radar. They nested in Montpellier for the duration of the tournament and as such, the quarter-final against England in nearby Marseille may have some of the hallmarks of a home game for the players.

The loss of fly-half Stephen Larkham seemed a blow at the time, but Berrick Barnes was tremendous against Wales in Cardiff. Barnes is still untested though, and punters must bare in mind his inexperience, despite his obvious talent.

In my opinion, their 32-20 victory in Wales was the second-best performance of the World Cup. It was a venue the Wallabies had failed to win at in their last two visits and it was a commanding victory.

They have line-out unit that can stand up to South Africa's and a backline that is comparable to New Zealand's. All we need to know is whether their forwards can match England's on Saturday. If they can dominate Phil Vickery's bruisers, then perhaps Connolly's men can go on to lift the trophy at the expense of New Zealand and South Africa. The 11.5 about them must be a decent back-to-lay.

Argentina (9/10)
The belief is growing. Any neutral who was rooting for Ireland in their Pool D clash last week should be ashamed of themselves. Yes, I feel that strongly about it. Argentina have got to fourth spot in the world rankings without regular competition, and Ireland, for all their wondrous talent, completely threw their opportunity away.

Argentina's curtain-raising victory over France was magnificent. The Pumas then showed it wasn't a fluke by comprehensively beating Ireland 30-15. The problem facing backers of Marcelo Loffreda's men is their form against the Tri-Nations.

Argentina have showed time and again that they have the game-plan to beat any Six Nations side, anywhere. They have not been able to construct a winning formula against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa though.

They need to believe in their ability. Should Argentina account for Scotland in the quarters, South Africa should get a serious workout against the Pumas in the semi-final.

France: (5/10)
The opening defeat to Argentina has finally sunk in. France need a massive performance if they are going to beat New Zealand in Cardiff on Saturday night. Betfair traders make Bernard Laporte's men 6.8 to repeat their 1999 World Cup triumph over the All Blacks. People still talk about that miraculous victory at Twickenham and Christophe Lamaison is a national hero for his 28-point haul.

On the face of it, France have responded magnificently to their opening-match loss. They thrashed Namibia 87-10, and they made mincemeat of Ireland, too. We know however, how bad Ireland really are, and Namibia were down to 14 men for most of the match. The hosts' 64-7 victory against Georgia also has a hollow look to it as the minnows had played Namibia just four days previously.

Laporte has named an interesting line-up to face the All Blacks on Saturday, but it's unlikely to be enough. The French must be wondering what might have been.