This weekend sees Southern Hemisphere international rugby kick into life for the first time in 2023, with an abridged version of the Rugby Championship taking place over the next three weeks. The impending Rugby World Cup means we’ll see less action than usual, with only three rounds of play, making every match a virtual sudden-death clash in this tournament.
Despite all eyes being on the bigger silverware later this year, there’s still plenty on the line in the 2023 Rugby Championship. South Africa will want to fine-tune their game ahead of their Rugby World Cup defense in September, while Australia have only a handful of matches for new coach Eddie Jones to prepare his side. Add in an All Blacks side coming off one of their worst-ever seasons, plus an Argentinian team who found real success in 2023, and the next six games will be very revealing.
We break down the 2023 Rugby Championship odds and outline the best Rugby Championship 2023 betting predictions ahead of the first match this weekend.
| ℹ️ Tournament: | 2023 Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship |
| 🏟️ Venues: | Stadiums in New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, and Argentina |
| 🗓️ Dates: | 8th to 29th July 2023 |
| 🗓️ Round 1 Date: | 8 July, Saturday |
Before going over our 2023 Rugby Championship betting tips, let’s look at some of the rugby union betting odds heading into this tournament. Firstly, here are the outright winner odds:
Given that New Zealand have won the Rugby Championship more than any other team, it’s no surprise they sit as 1.73 (8/11) favorites to win the tournament yet again. Following them, South Africa are 2.87 (15/8) favorites, well ahead of Australia at 6.50 (11/2). Once more, Argentina are heavy underdogs, paying 26.00 (25/1) to win the 2023 Rugby Championship.
Taking a closer look at the 2023 Rugby Championship odds, here’s how the bookies see the opening two matches playing out.
South Africa are heavy favorites to defeat Australia at home, paying 1.28 (2/7) compared to the visitor’s 3.75 (11/4).
New Zealand are also strong favorites to win on the road, with odds of 1.14 (1/7) to win in Mendoza, against Argentina’s 5.50 (9/2).
For almost three decades, the Southern Hemisphere has had an international rugby competition of some description. What started as the Tri-Nations became the Rugby Championship in 2012, where New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina compete in a double round-robin contest annually.
This year, however, the Rugby World Cup sees the format shortened to a single round-robin. This means each side has only three matches, with four points awarded for a win, one for winning by more than three tries, one for losing by less than seven, and two for a draw. The side with the highest points after three rounds will win the Rugby Championship 2023.
With New Zealand dominating the Rugby Championship historically, can one of their rivals capitalize on the shorter format to sneak a victory? Read on to find out about our Rugby Championship 2023 betting predictions.
First of all, let’s look at our prediction for an outright winner in this Rugby Championship 2023 betting preview. Here’s our expert pick:
3 (100%)
0
While this result is in line with the bookmakers’ odds, it’s actually something of an anomaly. One thing that rugby fans know is this: New Zealand always wins the Rugby Championship, except in World Cup years. Just take a look at the last times they failed to win this competition – 2019, 2015, and 2011.
However, this is no typical season for the All Blacks. Usually, they enter a World Cup year as heavy favorites to win the Webb Ellis trophy, with this as their only goal. This year, however, the All Blacks have some work to do prior to the World Cup. After suffering multiple shock defeats last season, they need to restore their fans’ confidence.
We say that a hardened, focused All Blacks side will show up to this Rugby Championship and come away victorious. It helps that their toughest match is at home too, against South Africa.
Turning our focus towards this weekend’s matches, here are our 2023 Rugby Championship betting tips for round one of the competition:
3 (75%)
(25%) 1
Outright betting odds on this match are lousy; however, there’s a real opportunity to gain a return by backing New Zealand to win by a slim margin here. Last year saw Argentina beat New Zealand, England, and Australia, showing some genuine progress. With their Sevens team performing strongly and several players now drafted into the game’s longer format, defeating Argentina in Mendoza will be no easy task.
An All Blacks team with a healthy dose of fresh blood that haven’t played together in over six months will no doubt take a little time to get going this season. It’s reasonable to expect that this will be an ugly, tight match, and our Argentina vs New Zealand prediction is the All Blacks just scrape home by 1-10.
2 (50%)
(50%) 2
On the contrary, we expect South Africa to canter home against Australia. The Springboks are one of the favorites heading into the Rugby World Cup and have been a powerhouse for the past decade. Playing at home, with a World Cup defense around the corner, South Africa will definitely be nothing less than clinical.
However, the big factor in this South Africa vs Australia preview is Australia. The Aussies are under the coaching of Eddie Jones yet again, having sacked Dave Rennie after an appalling 2022 season. Many are expecting Jones to transform the Wallabies, and rightfully so – he’s something of a rugby wizard. In saying that, his focus will undoubtedly be on winning the Rugby World Cup, not the Rugby Championship.
Expect Australia to fall short of everyone’s initial expectations in this match, and take a bit of a pounding – exactly what Eddie Jones will want, so they remain underdogs in September.
The road to the Rugby World Cup 2023 begins for the teams down south this weekend, as the Rugby Championship 2023 kicks off in Mendoza and Pretoria. Our rugby predictions here are all about the All Blacks, who will buck the trend of recent years and win a Rugby Championship to restore confidence heading into a World Cup. Watch out for South Africa as well, who could bring Australia and Eddie Jones back down to earth this weekend.
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