Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

World Cup boss says Wallabies could beat All Blacks in final

Updated at 5:57 am on 27 August 2011

Rugby World Cup boss Martin Snedden says Australia has a genuine chance of beating New Zealand in the final.

Mr Snedden, a New Zealander, is in Australia trying to entice more people across the Tasman and says spectator numbers are a big part of the equation.

He says the event in New Zealand has to provide a much better on-field spectacle than the 2007 tournament or the popularity of future showpieces will be at risk.

But he says another is he doesn't want to see a repeat of the grinding, stodgy matches in 2007, culminating in the tryless final in which South Africa beat England.

If that becomes the norm, Mr Snedden says, it will cause serious problems for the event's continuing popularity.

He says more Australians should come because the perfect scenario would be a New Zealand-Australia final in which the Wallabies would have a genuine chance of winning a third World Cup.

Copyright © 2011, Radio New Zealand