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This weekend sees the Rugby League World Cup kick-off, a year later than planned courtesy of the Covid-19 pandemic. England host the tournament, with the home favorites looking to pick up their first taste of the silverware, having only ever won as Great Britain in the past.
| Event: | Rugby League World Cup 2022 (Postponed from 2021) |
| Venues: | Stadiums across England (final at Old Trafford, Manchester) |
| Date: | Saturday 15 October to Saturday 19 November |
Here’s a look at the overall outright odds for the Rugby League 2022 World Cup:
There’s a clear favourite to win the tournament across betting sites in the UK, and that’s Australia. Outside of the defending champions, four other participants are predicted to be competitive, with the odds beyond these five teams dropping to 201.00 (200/1).
Great supportMobile appsLive bettingLive bettingMany sportsFast payoutsWelcome offersFast payouts24/7 supportVIP programLive gamesMany bonusesMany sportsIn-play modeLive streamingThe Rugby League World Cup is the first World Cup held for any form of rugby. First occurring in 1954, four decades before the inaugural Rugby Union World Cup, the Rugby League World Cup has been held 15 times over the past 68 years.
Historically, Australia have dominated the fixture, with previous tournament results unfolding like this:
Australia is again the overwhelming favourite, while Great Britain is now competing as its separate countries, and England will be eager to claim an inaugural crown.
Looking ahead to this month’s tournament, there is plenty of excellent Rugby World Cup betting to be made. Here are three of our top predictions:
The draw has been kind to home favourites England, and there’s a good chance they’ll be able to put together a strong run into the Grand Final of the Rugby League World Cup this year.
New Zealand and Australia have been drawn on the opposite side of the draw to England, meaning the hosts only need to navigate a semi-final against Samoa or Tonga to make the final. This is by no means an easy feat; however, many of the England players are used to playing in big English stadiums in front of packed crowds in the Super League. There’s a good chance that England will be able to rise to the occasion and handle the pressure of a semi-final a bit better than the likes of Samoa or Tonga, who are perhaps a little less prepared for the big stage.
Do this, and they’ll head into the Grand Final with the bet paying 3.00 (2/1).
Across 21 NRL games this season, the big Cowboy Jeremiah Nanai has scored a whopping 17 tries.
This was the third highest in the NRL and is the most of any active player at the Rugby League World Cup. With the second rower scoring an average of 0.81 tries a game in 2022, expect this form to continue in the Rugby League World Cup.
This is an excellent bet with odds of 51.00 (50/1) for Jeremiah Nanai to be the top try scorer in the Rugby League World Cup. Not only is Nanai playing for Australia, which means he’s likely to play more matches deep in the tournament with more chances to score, but he’s in hot form and has been picking up tries left, right, and centre this year.
This wouldn’t be a world cup without an upset, and we think Papua New Guinea are primed to spark one here.
The big men from the north of Australia haven’t had much international rugby league on the calendar recently. Still, with team news indicating that they’ll have a healthy dose of NRL talent in their squad, they’re looking good to pull off a big win at this tournament. Drawn alongside Wales, Tonga, and the Cook Islands in Pool D, realistically, Papua New Guinea need one big game against Tonga to top the pool.
Should they be able to draw Tonga into a physical confrontation, there’s every chance they’ll be able to squeeze out a tight win and top the pool.
For those who like going against conventional wisdom and backing the underdog, here are our bonus expert picks for the Rugby League World Cup 2022.
That’s right—they did it in 2008, and we think the Kiwis will do it again this year. Even new Australian bookmakers expect their compatriots to win, but the conditions are perfect for little brothers New Zealand to score another shocking upset.
Seeding puts New Zealand and Australia on course to meet each other in the semi-finals of the Rugby League World Cup this year, and with zero expectation that New Zealand will win the match, there’s every chance they will. While the Warriors have had a poor NRL season, failing to make the Top Eight yet again, New Zealand has four matches across group play and their quarter-final to get themselves strong form.
With a healthy payout of 5.00 (4/1) and only 80 minutes of bold football required in reality to get past Australia and have one hand on the trophy, backing New Zealand for the win here isn’t entirely unthinkable.
In a tournament classically dominated by rugby league superpower Australia this year, we believe an upset is brewing. Home side England will be eager to impress in front of a home crowd and are recently coming off a strong Super League year, while New Zealand loves nothing more than beating big brothers Australia on the big stage.
Tune in online to live stream the Rugby League World Cup and see if the NRL bookies have their predictions correct for this event or whether we’ll see a changing of the guard in rugby league this month.
