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As it was when New Zealand last hosted the Rugby World Cup, the hosts will meet France in the final. Will the result be the same as well?

New Zealand will take on France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final. While the All Blacks have reason to be confident, memories of their defeat to France in both the 1999 and 2007 World Cups still loom ominously in the background.

New Zealand, who haven’t made it to the final since 1995, must be experiencing a sense of relief. They have struggled to live up to their favourites tag in the past but are now just one game away from repeating their 1987 triumph.

While the French are at long odds to topple the All Blacks in the final, they may not be long enough. Yes, France are likely to put up a good fight, but the truth is that it is surprising they got this far. After losing pool matches to both Tonga and New Zealand, odds were in favour of them being eliminated earlier on in the tournament.

New Zealand looked more impressive in their semi-final against Australia, and the 20-6 scoreline didn’t really do them justice. They were far more dominant than the Australians, but failed to convert some chances and missed a slew of penalty goals. Perhaps chastened by the ghosts of World Cups past, they just wanted to win and didn’t care by how much. Many in online betting predicted that it would be lower scoring than the typical Trans-Tasman matches, and they proved to be correct.

New Zealand are huge favourites for the match and a massive form reversal would have to occur for the French to pull off a shock. When the French last made the final in 1999, their tactic of negating the Australians instead of focusing on their own game backfired and they ended up playing straight into Australia’s hands. If they are to achieve anything in this final then they must take a different approach.

Rugby Union Sports Betting - what you need to know:

• No eventual World Cup winner has lost a match during the tournament
• France are the only team to have reached the World Cup final without having won it
• The hosts have won the World Cup on one previous occasion
• France were the last team to defeat New Zealand at Eden Park
• England are the only northern hemisphere side to have won the World Cup

The final of the Rugby World Cup awaits. Can France prevent New Zealand from reaching the promised land for the first time since 1987?