The Rugby World Cup is nearly upon us, and in a favourable time-zone no less. The lead in has been messy and without a clear-cut favourite. New Zealand got their doors blown off by the Wallabies in Perth, before returning the favour in Auckland. Over in the Europe, starting line-ups have had the consistency of lumpy porridge, rendering wins and losses without much meaning outside selector’s offices. The top spot in world rankings has bounced around from the Kiwis, to Wales, landing in Ireland after the Green and Red B-sides had a run around two weeks ago.
All of that said, BlueBet traders still back in New Zealand to clasp their hands on the Webb Ellis Cup for the third time on the trot. They sit at $2.25 to be the eventual winners. Rieko Iane ($9.00), Sevu Reece ($9.00) and George Bridge ($10.00) are first, second and third favourites for top tryscorer. Despite the losing the Rugby Championship for the first time in four years, the All Blacks are still a steady bettor’s favourite.
Next favourite is England at a clean $5. The English had a torrid 2015 World Cup on home soil but have looked solid under the chaotic reign of Eddie Jones. Their pack will come in as one of the strongest in the field and the scoring ability of Owen Farrell puts them in a good position to choke teams out via the scoreboard.
If you bet on England, you’ll probably have a knot in your gut until South Africa is out of the tournament. Just behind them at $5.50, the Springboks feel like a much safer bet, especially if they can get an upset win in their second group match against New Zealand which would give them a likely quarter-final matchup with either Samoa or Scotland. Remembering that the Boks tied with a full strength All Blacks team in the Rugby Championship, it’s not hard to imagine.
Ireland and Wales are sitting at $9 and $11 dollars respectively, while Australia rounds out the realistic favourites at a tempting $14 dollars. Ireland benefits from their good form when the pools were decided and sit in by far the easiest situation in Pool A with Scotland, Samoa, Japan and Russia. However, some pundits predict the weaker competition could come back to bite them in the knock-out stages. Wales and Australia will face each other in the pool stage and both will view their second weekend matchup and a barometer for their chances, as should bettors.
Rounding this up, New Zealand is the safe bet to win. Their squad is superior and recent World Cup history is written in black ink. South Africa and England are good back up plans. If you’re one of the Wallabies’ believers, now’s your chance, the odds will never be better.
Prediction: All Blacks to win @ $2.25, Sevu Reece top try scorer @ $9.00
