It’s been a wild year of international rugby and the next three weeks will cap it off perfectly.
Outside of regular international rugby competitions such as the World Cup, Rugby Championship and Six Nations, Northern and Southern Hemisphere teams only have a few narrow windows to test their skills against each other. One of these windows occurs mid-year, and the other occurs about now. This year’s July window saw the All Blacks lose a home series to Ireland, South Africa beaten in their own backyard by Wales, and Australia go down to England. Now, Southern Hemisphere teams are out for blood, heading north for a season-defining set of fixtures.
We breakdown some of the best of these happening this weekend and look at the bookmaker odds from William Hill.
Over the next 48 hours, four heavyweight clashes will occur:
- Wales vs. New Zealand
- Ireland vs. South Africa
- France vs. Australia
- England vs. Argentina
All of these matches are not only an opportunity for teams to move up in the global rankings and benchmark themselves ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup, these are games played for pride as well. New Zealand have not had their best season, Ireland want to prove they deserve the No.1 ranking in the world, and England are eager to step out of the shadows of other Northern Hemisphere sides.
Here’s a look at the odds for these four match ups:
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 4th, 3:00 A.M. (EST)
The tightest of these clashes will undoubtedly be Ireland vs. South Africa.
As the current world champions, South Africa sit third in the world rankings behind Ireland and France having not had an opportunity to play either team above them since claiming the Rugby World Cup in 2019. This match represents a true test of whether South Africa are still the best in the world or if their shine has faded and Ireland is the new leader. With odds of 1.50 to 2.70, the bookies give Ireland a slight edge in this one courtesy of home advantage and recent form. This one will be a nail-biter, but Ireland should take it by less than seven points.
Wales vs. New Zealand will also be a grueling contest with the All Blacks ahead in the odds at 1.20 compared to 4.50. Don’t be fooled by the discrepancy in these odds however—the All Blacks were overwhelming favourites to beat Ireland and Argentina at home this year and failed to do so. A trip to Cardiff is no easy feat and though it’s been 69 years since Wales last beat the Kiwis, now is as good a time as any. Best bet is the All Blacks taking this one by 10.
The final two games of the weekend seem like no-brainers with France leading Australia 1.14 to 5.50 in the odds and England ahead of Argentina 1.12 against 6.00.
However, while Australia and Argentina may be 6th and 8th in the world rankings respectively, these are also teams that have beaten South Africa, England and the All Blacks in 2022. While they may not be favoured to win, there’s a very good chance one of these could end in an upset.
Take the Aussies squeaking by to shock Les Blues and Argentina losing a close one against England.
