After 40 matches and five weeks of pool play, the Rugby World Cup 2023 quarter-finalists have been found. While Portugal was valiant in their group matches and Australia flopped to their earliest ever World Cup exit, the teams we’re left with are largely as expected. In just three short weeks we’ll know which side takes home the Webb Ellis Cup, but picking who that will be is a tougher task.
Arguably this weekend will go a long way to determining who lifts the trophy on the 28th of October. It’s a clash of the heavyweights with world No. 1 Ireland squaring off against three-time champions New Zealand, and hosts France taking on defending champions South Africa. But can the likes of England or Argentina make a rush up the other side of the draw and cause an upset in the semi-finals? We break down all the latest odds from bookmaker bet365 to answer this question and more ahead of the quarter-finals this weekend.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: October 12th, 2:30 A.M. (GMT)
In terms of the outright betting odds to win the Rugby World Cup 2023 overall, bookmaker bet365 illustrates just how close this tournament is. France and Ireland are joint favourites on 4.00, with New Zealand and South Africa barely a whisker behind at 4.50. After these four, the odds fall off dramatically. England is considered half a chance at 12.00, while Wales is a dark horse on 23.00, before both Fiji and Argentina have been virtually written off at 41.00.
The big question becomes who wins this week out of New Zealand vs. Ireland and France vs. South Africa, and which one of these two will win their likely meeting in the final? We say this week New Zealand will execute a sweet, sweet revenge for their home series defeat to Ireland last year, condemning the world No. 1 team to yet another World Cup quarter-final exit. In the other big game, we say France, with a fit Antoine Dupont, will squeeze past South Africa.
With the final game of the Rugby World Cup likely mirroring the opening clash back in September between New Zealand and France, we say the result will differ. The All Blacks, with the confidence of an impressive win over Ireland and off the back of a rout of Wales in the semi-finals, will be too much for France to handle, who will be feeling the pressure of playing in front of an expectant home crowd. Expect New Zealand to pip France in a repeat of the 2011 final, winning a thriller to claim their fourth Rugby World Cup title and redeem Ian Foster’s era as head coach.
