Australia united in pursuit of ultimate goal

The Wallabies always seem to hit the ground running at the World Cup and this tournament is no different. They have looked at the top of their game thus far and are still available at 8/1.

Far be it from me to disagree with my Bettingchoice colleague Ashley Wishaw who has backed France to win on home soil but I can't see any better value than Australia. Stirling Mortlock's side made light of a good Welsh team in their second pool game and the manner of victory hinted at more to come from the 1991 and 1999 champions.

They are currently third in the betting behind New Zealand and South Africa but at at 3/5 and 7/2 respectively there is little value to be had, especially as the Kiwis have not yet been tested. The question therefore becomes are the Springboks better value than the Aussies and the answer is a categoric no.

Murmurs have persisted about the Australia scrummage since the last World Cup but due to the efforts of Matt Dunning - who looks like a bigger, harder version of the Jones brothers from Wales - the persistent excellence of Nathan Sharpe and Dan Vickerman in the second row and the tournament revelation to date in the shape of Rocky Elsom and now the scrum is seen as a strength.

Behind them the half-back pairing of George Gregan and Stephen Larkham was split up for the Wales ganme but you would never have known it. While Gregan continues to influence referees and bring his huge experience to bear, outside him the young rookie Berrick Barnes played like a seasoned professional.

The side is run brilliantly by Mortlock, who showed how protective he is of his team when he flattened Gareth Thomas after Thomas had illegally florred Barnes resulting in Wales losing their captain for the game and perhaps the whole tournament through injury.

SportingBet are also running some Final specials and while first scoring play bets and winning margin bets are hard to call this early without knowing the finalists werecommend taking the evens on offer for a player not to be sin-binned in the game.

There have been few yellow cards this tournament due to the professionalism, especially, of the bigger sides, and in a game of that importance both sides will want to keep their full complement on the field.

Verdict: Australia to win @ 8/1 (SportingBet); no sin-bin in the Final @ Evs (SportingBet)

(Editor's Note: Can Australia do the unthinkable and win three World Cups or are New Zealand worth their odds-on price? Follow the latest betting and in-running prices on SportingBet!)