2003 World Cup in Australia always reminds me of our worst World Cup ever performance… Lost to eventual champions England in the first pool game and easily lost to New Zealand in quarters .. good news most of the players went on to win in 2007. Our juniors last year smashed all the six nations teams by scoring 40 points in all matches which looks good for the future…
France to win - squad depth, quality and experienced players (and depth) in "spine" positions, conveyor belt of WR under 20 championship winners (2023,2019 & 2018), stable (for France) management group and no hometown pressure. They have a better southern hemisphere RWC record (2x finalists & 2x semi-finalists) than NH RWC record. And good value @ 5/1 and better imo