After four years of waiting, the 2023 Rugby World Cup is here. It’s undeniably the biggest two months in the rugby calendar, with 20 teams arriving in France, all eager to make their home countries proud. With 48 matches unfolding across 51 days, culminating in one team lifting the William Webb-Ellis trophy, fans are going to be treated to a rugby extravaganza in what is being billed as the most open, competitive Rugby World Cup in history.
Ireland are the number-one team in the world. The All Blacks are the best sporting team in history. South Africa are defending champions, and France are playing hot rugby in front of a raucous home crowd. Oh, and Australia have Eddie Jones back in charge.
Who will come out on top? Read on as we break down the 2023 Rugby World Cup odds, and outline the best Rugby World Cup 2023 betting predictions ahead of the first match this weekend.
| Tournament: | 2023 Rugby World Cup |
| 🧾 Format: | Four groups of five teams, the top two progress to single-elimination playoffs |
| 🏟️ Venue: | Stadiums across France |
| 🗓️ Dates: | Friday, 8 September to Sunday, 28 October |
Before going over our 2023 Rugby World Cup betting tips, let’s look at the latest rugby union odds heading into this tournament. Here are the outright winner odds:
Looking at these 2023 Rugby World Cup odds, it’s clear that one of four teams could realistically win the tournament. New Zealand, despite getting thrashed by South Africa 10 days ago and only winning 69% of matches under Ian Foster, are narrow favorites to lift the trophy at 3.75 (11/4). Right behind them is France, on a 12-match winning streak at home at 4.00 (3/1), followed closely by South Africa, the defending champions at 4.33 (10/3). Ireland is the other contender, ranked No 1 in the world, sitting on 6.00 (5/1).
Australia, England, and Argentina are all outside chances, with odds between 12.00 (11/1) and 23.00 (22/1). Beyond these three chasers, the odds move into highly unrealistic territory, overpassing thee-digit numbers.
For 36 years now, the best teams in world rugby have come together once every four years and fought it out for the greatest prize in the sport: the William Webb-Ellis trophy. It’s not about the money; it’s all about the prestige. While in some other sports, World Cups are dwarfed by other competitions (think: cricket, basketball), in rugby, the entire four years of every nation revolves around getting ready for this six-week period.
Only four nations have ever won the crown that was at stake nine times. Of course, the leading positions belong to New Zealand and South Africa, both being triple winners. Australia can level them if grab the title this year, with England having a single success in the rugby WC tournament. Here’s a look at how the tournament has unfolded in recent years:
With South Africa entering the Rugby World Cup 2023 as defending champions, can they do what only New Zealand have done before and win back-to-back titles? Here’s the format they’ll need to navigate in order to do so.
The Rugby World Cup is typically consistent in its format, with the first month of play seeing four groups of five teams play a round-robin. The top two nations from each pool then advance to the quarter-finals, with the winner of Pool A playing the runner-up of Pool B, and vice versa, and the same with Pools C and D.
Here’s how the groups have been organized for this tournament and how we say each will unfold:
| Pool A Participants | Predicted Group Finish |
|---|---|
| New Zealand | Winners |
| France | Runners up |
| Italy | Third |
| Namibia | Last |
| Uruguay | Fourth |
The only intrigue here is who’ll claim the top spot: historical monsters from New Zealand or home-supported France? The rest of the pack is far from even dreaming of the playoffs, with Italy, Namibia, and Uruguay fighting for points only among them.
| Pool B Participants | Predicted Group Finish |
|---|---|
| South Africa | Winners |
| Ireland | Runners up |
| Scotland | Third |
| Romania | Last |
| Tonga | Fourth |
A pretty similar situation is in Pool B, where two event favorites, South Africa and Ireland, won’t leave much chance for the rest of the participants. Of course, Scotland fans will demand playoffs for their team, and they will likely overcome Romania and Tonga but finish third.
| Pool C Participants | Predicted Group Finish |
|---|---|
| Australia | Runners up |
| Wales | Fourth |
| Fiji | Winners |
| Georgia | Third |
| Portugal | Last |
The most interesting Pool contains three real candidates for playoffs, with Australia and Wales to be online bookies‘ favorites. However, we say Rugby 7s power in the face of Fiji will fight even for the top spot in Pool C, leaving Georgia and Portugal in the battle for the last spot.
| Pool D Participants | Predicted Group Finish |
|---|---|
| England | Runners up |
| Argentina | Winners |
| Japan | Third |
| Samoa | Fourth |
| Chile | Last |
It’s hard to expect anyone except England and Argentina in the playoffs from Pool D. However, what everyone should expect is the tough battle against Japan and Samoa, even for favorites, with only Chile to be the team to warm up on.
You’ve already seen a little taster of our Rugby World Cup 2023 predictions, but now let’s get into the real thing. Read on for the best 2023 Rugby World Cup betting tips on the internet.
Bookmark this page, print it out and show it to your Aunty. This is it – the inside scoop, the goss, everything you need to know about betting on rugby’s biggest show. Here are our top four Rugby World Cup 2023 betting predictions:
1 (33%)
(67%) 2
That’s right, we say the Men in Black are going to give Ian Foster, arguably the worst coach in the team’s history, the last laugh. New Zealand have been building well in 2023, winning their first four matches of the year with solid wins over Australia (2), South Africa, and Argentina. Last week’s heavy loss to South Africa was viewed by many as a major setback, but here’s the thing: it’s the reason they’ll win this World Cup.
You may remember in our Rugby Championship 2023 predictions earlier this year that the All Blacks always lose the Rugby Championship before they win the Rugby World Cup. It’s just how it goes – there’s something about the taste of defeat that wakes the boys up and gets them hungry to avoid it later in the year.
Well, this year, New Zealand won the Rugby Championship, which was something of a concern. Now, with a harsh defeat at the hands of South Africa, all is well in the world. The All Blacks have had their loss, and they’ll now come out like a nation possessed and win the Rugby World Cup 2023.
3 (100%)
0
One of the great stories of rugby union over recent years has been the improvement of the Pacific island nation Fiji. Their inclusion in Super Rugby Pacific with the Fijian Drua has enabled them to have regular rugby professionals getting sharpened by the best in the world, plus loosened eligibility criteria mean Fijians plying their trade abroad are able to return home as well.
This, plus the fact that Fiji have found themselves on a remarkably weak side of the draw (those four favorites we mentioned? They’re all in one half of the draw, and it isn’t Fiji’s), mean that the Flying Fijians just might have a shot at making their deepest ever Rugby World Cup run. We say they’re a shot at qualifying first in their pool – all it would take is for them to defeat either Australia or Wales, both entirely realistic options.
Do so, and they’ll play a likely quarter-final opponent in England, who they defeated at Twickenham just last week when they weren’t even at full strength. Fiji making the semi-finals may sound outrageous, but we posit that anything else would actually be a surprise.
2 (67%)
(33%) 1
Oh, Australia. After sacking their head coach late last year, they brought back the mercurial Eddie Jones with the mandate of throwing together a quick fix on a struggling Wallabies team. Instead of patching up the sinking ship, it seems Jones has ripped out some more of the floorboards.
We see Australia getting across the line against Georgia, only just. This outcome pays not the highest odds but still great ones, with a traditional Australia vs Georgia game expected to be a cricket score. Given how disjointed they are and the fact that Australia have lost all five of their matches so far this year, we say it will be an ugly, close game, with the Wallabies’ flashes of class in the midfield making the only difference.
0
(100%) 3
Speaking of flashes in class, expect to see boatloads of them from New Zealand’s Will Jordan across the course of this tournament. Backing him to be the Rugby World Cup’s top try scorer is a lucrative bet, considering that the youngster is the All Blacks’ go-to x-factor man at the moment, and he can’t seem to not score tries.
Across his short Test career so far, Jordan has scored 22 tries in 22 appearances. Considering that he’s spent much of the past two years struggling with injury issues, a full-health Jordan, up against the likes of Uruguay and Namibia with a license to pop up in the midfield – that’s a recipe for more tries than you can count.
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for – the Rugby World Cup is here. With the crescendo of 20 teams’ focus of the past four years coming to a head over the next two months in France, we can expect drama, brilliance, and heartbreak.
But who will experience glory and great results? Our rugby WC predictions say it will be Fiji who will make their deepest run ever. At the same time, New Zealand should pass all the way, with the All Blacks returning the rugby world to normality by reclaiming the William Webb-Ellis trophy at the end of October.
