KEY POINTS:
The Rugby World Cup is wide open but the Wallabies will claim the Web Ellis for the third time, said John Eales.
He said while the All Blacks are favourites, the outcome is not a lay down misere.
But the All Blacks are a strong side, Eales said.
"They've got more depth than any other team but the World Cup is about winning games when they come up," he said.
And the Wallabies can do that, Eales said.
If results go to plan Australia will meet the All Blacks in the semifinals and the former Wallaby captain believes the Aussies will cause an upset.
"They're starting to put things together and have built up their confidence," he said.
And while the Wallabies have only won one of the five test matches against the All Blacks in the last year, they have competed in all of them, Eales said.
"They had a chance at winning all those games," he said.
The backline has come together and they have a truckload of experience in Gregan, Giteau, Mortlock and Larkham, Eales said.
Eales said the backline is more experienced than the side he lead to victory at the 1999 World Cup.
"When they go into the game everyone who runs on to the field will have a clear understanding of what the team is going to achieve," he said.
Eales said the team is a thinking team and packed with intelligent players but the main weakness the Wallabies have is their record away from home.
"But everyone's got to overcome that."
Taking on Wales at Cardiff is no easy feat and after that it will likely be South Africa or England, Eales said.
"They know they can beat both of them but they know it's going to be tough," he said.
And if the Wallabies keep winning, they will meet the All Blacks in the semi-final.
"The Wallabies are as confident as anyone in the world but it's not a 50/50 game. It's more like a 40/60 game," he said.
He said Australia can beat the All Blacks but they're not alone.
"South Africa have looked like they've done everything but win and Ireland last year looked like they could. France can beat anyone," Eales said.
Final prediction
Australia versus France
Australia by: "I don't know"
John Eales' Wallaby career
Born: June 27, 1970
Position: Lock
Debut: July 22, 1991
Total caps: 86
YOUR PREDICTIONS
It's only weeks away from the Rugby World Cup and we want to hear your predictions of who will win. Who do you think will be in the final and what do you think the score will be?
We'll run your predictions online and you could be the winner by picking the right score.
The winner gets to the right to call themselves the Rugby Brain of New Zealand... and our sports team at nzherald.co.nz will also rustle up a prize for the most accurate prediction.
