Favorites to win are New Zealand, though the form of the All Blacks, as the team is known, has been a bit patchy of late. Other likely contenders are France, Ireland and South Africa.
Some participants sadly don’t have separate stock markets, such as Wales and Scotland, and one market that may have bulldozed the others is not featuring, because the U.S. did not qualify for the tournament. New Zealand ENZL are their biggest competitor on the pitch, but Cook sees a limited challenge coming from Wellington’s stock market. “Italy is often cited as a country at risk of significant financial strain, but this is yet to occur – the opposite of their rugby, which is often deemed to be on the cusp of notable improvement, but this is also yet to occur,” he adds.