'If they can't win it at home with this team, they will never win the World Cup'

France are on track to own the “favourites” tag once the Rugby World Cup kicks off in September, an expectation that can either make or break a team.

The hosts have been growing steadily since the last quadrennial tournament, boasting a physical forward pack and some of the world’s finest backs.

The French were however bested by Ireland in the most recent instalment of the Six Nations tournament and Andy Farrell’s men pose perhaps the greatest threat to France’s World Cup ambitions, being the only side to claim victory over France since 2021.

Pundits have been largely torn between the two nations when naming the current best side in the world. But, there are no illusions, anything can happen in a World Cup.

Therefore, predicting a World Cup favourite is as difficult as ever and as Dan Carter recently said, “Very rarely do the favourites win the World Cup.”

One Kiwi pundit isn’t convinced about one of the two top options.

“I certainly agree as far as France is concerned,” Commentator Tony Johnson told Rugby Nation. “And you look at how their U20s are going, they are an absolute powerhouse now.

“It shows you how well their setup is working. Their three-tier competition, it’s a very powerful force that they are now. They’re an outstanding team.

“If they can’t win it at home with this team, they will never win the World Cup. That’s my way of thinking, but you can never underestimate the ability of the French to create drama when you didn’t think there was any, they’re very good at that.

“Ireland, I’m not so sure about Ireland. I mean they’ve beaten the All Blacks two or three times now but they’ve never gone past the quarter-finals, I think that’s a big mental block for them.

“Also, I think they’re very heavily dependent on Johnny Sexton, so what kind of shape and frame of mind he is in on the day is going to be huge. So perhaps not so much Ireland for me but definitely France.”

One of the biggest conversations ahead of the World Cup is about the pools, which have both of the aforementioned potential favourites on the same side of the draw as well as the most recent winners South Africa and New Zealand.

That opens the door for a team outside those four, on the other side of the draw, to make a deep run at the Webb Ellis trophy.

“My smokey at the moment is the Wallabies,” Johnson added. “Just watch out for them, they’ve got the easy side of the draw and they’re assembling a very powerful team under a guy who’s always proven to be better in the short term rather than the long term in Eddie Jones.”