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The All Blacks' technical playing skills, combined with organisational and management culture will see the team outplay the French in the World Cup Final this weekend, predicts consultancy Towers Watson. 

The analysis includes French and New Zealand employment benchmarking data, which represents the views of 160,000 employees at over 160 companies

Angela Paul, Towers Watson's head of research for Europe, who is in charge of organisational surveys and insights, said: 'We thought it would be an interesting experiment to take our employee opinion research data and apply it to the management and cultural styles of the Rugby World Cup finalists in order to predict a winner. Both countries have strengths in different areas but ultimately our analysis agrees with that of the bookmakers and predicts a home victory for New Zealand.'

According to Towers Watson, New Zealanders have an organisational edge over the French in executing tasks and delivering outcomes. When it comes to executing tasks, the Kiwis score 83 per cent to France's 60 per cent. 

The researchers also consider New Zealand better at bringing about change. New Zealand scored 74 per cent to France's 52 per cent. And All Black team members are more likely to speak up if things are not working, enabling the game to change direction when needed.

Finally, when it comes to delivering, the Kiwis have the edge. New Zealand scored 90 per cent in this test compared to France with 55 per cent.  New Zealanders are more likely to feel valued for what they contribute which again can drive their engagement on the day.

Yves Duhaldeborde, director for EMEA at Towers Watson, said: 'Assuming these cultural differentiators play out on the field and assuming the leadership style has a significant role to play in determining who wins, our data points to a clear victory for New Zealand. Having said that, we should remember that as this is a one-off knock-out sporting event and not the long-term game of organisational cultural improvement. Given the French aptitude for upsetting the odds, already seen on two occasions in this competition, anything could happen on Sunday.'

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