KEY POINTS:
Former All Black front-rower Billy Bush said he hopes the All Blacks win because the game needs a lift in New Zealand.
He said the rules and the different interpretations of them - particularly at the break-down - is hurting rugby.
"People are getting turned off because there are too many stoppages. They're trying to turn the game around to make it more entertaining but it's becoming a bore, it doesn't look good," Bush said.
Bush had a discussion with the Canterbury Crusaders coach Robbie Deans on the issue recently.
"I can turn the TV over and watch rugby league for five minutes and when I turn back they haven't got the scrum down," Bush said.
Bush said 10 minutes of game time is taken up setting scrums and there are "1001 penalties".
He said the All Blacks had a few inconsistent performances recently and he's unsure of their form.
"But then again they haven't played their top line-up," he said.
Bush said they might be trying to protect their game plan and expose new players.
But with the pool sides unlikely to test them, the All Blacks will be heading to the semis with not much big game experience under their belt to test their top combinations.
"They've got Romania, my club side could beat Romania," Bush said.
He said in his day, some tours would last three months and players would improve their fitness and skill but under the rotation regime, the All Blacks are not prepared to the same degree.
"Us old dinosaurs scratch our heads," Bush said.
He said Australia have improved and while South Africa aren't good travellers, France will be a handful at home in front of a sell-out crowd.
"We've got to win this time or rugby is in trouble," Bush said.
Final prediction
New Zealand versus France
New Zealand to win 26-18
Billy Bush's All Black career
(Source: www.allblacks.com)
Full Name:William Kingita Te Pohe Bush
Born: January 24, 1949
Position: Prop
All Black Debut: May 5, 1974
Matches: 37
All Black points: 4, 1 try
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.
