What you need to know about the Rugby World Cup 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: Manu Tuilagi of England celebrates with his team mates Joe Cokanasiga and Tom Curry after scoring his team's third try during the 2019 Quilter International between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium on August 24, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
The Rugby World Cup 2019 is slated to kick off from September 20, and will last till November 2. This is one of the mostly eagerly anticipated events in the sports world this year, and it is the 9th edition of the World Cup. Most importantly, this is the first time that the Rugby World Cup will be held in an Asian Country – Japan.
A Little Bit About the Venues
The Rugby World Cup opening match will be held at Ajinomoto Stadium (also called Tokyo Stadium) in the city of Chofu in Tokyo. Originally, the opening match was to be held at the National Olympic Stadium, but that venue was changed in 2015, after revisions were made to that stadium’s plans for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The last match will be played at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama’s Kanagawa Prefecture.
There are 12 venues for this World Cup, and besides the two mentioned, there following venues are where the matches will be played over the next few weeks:
- Sapporo Dome in Sapporo City, Hokkaido Prefecture.
- Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium in Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture.
- Kumagaya Rugby Stadium in Kumagaya City, Saitama Prefecture.
- Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Fukuoka City, Shizuoka.
- City of Toyota Stadium in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture.
- Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture.
- Kobe Misaki Stadium in Hyogo-ku, Kobe.
- Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium in Hakata-ku Fukuoka.
- Kumamoto Stadium in Kumamoto Prefecture.
- Oita Stadium in Oita Prefecture.
Teams Playing in the Rugby World Cup 2019
Here is the list of the teams that have qualified for this year’s Rugby World Cup. The listing is according to their world ranking:
- Ireland – World Rank 1
- New Zealand – World Rank 2
- England – World Rank 3
- South Africa – World Rank 4
- Wales – World Rank 5
- Australia – World Rank 6
- Scotland – World Rank 7
- France – World Rank 8
- Fiji – World Rank 9
- Japan – World Rank 10
- Argentina – World Rank 11
- Georgia – World Rank 12
- USA – World Rank 13
- Italy – World Rank 14
- Tonga – World Rank 15
- Samoa – World Rank 16
- Uruguay – World Rank 19
- Russia – World Rank 20
- Canada – World Rank 22
- Namibia – World Rank 23
Betting During the Rugby World Cup 2019
Bettors across the world are going crazy with speculation. If you are also looking at betting on the rugby matches that are due to start on September 20, then here are a few tips for you.
Favorites to Win: The All Blacks from New Zealand are the favorites for the Rugby World Cup 2019 thanks to their past performance, with the odds 4/5 in their favor. The biggest question is whether this powerhouse of a team will be able to pull off a hattrick of World Cup wins.
Challengers to the Favorites: Many are saying that the pressure may be too much for the All Blacks. And that there are 3 challengers that could upset the popular expectation of another New Zealand win.
- The first challenger is South Africa. This team is strong all over the park, but especially so in defense. Handre Pollard is their star as the kicking fly-half, and Chelsin Kolbe is also expected to perform well. The odds for South Africa winning are 9/2.
- The other two favorites with the bookies are England and Ireland. Both are strong teams and could thwart Now Zealand’s chances of yet another World Cup victory. The English team has a 4/1 odds in its favor, while the Irish team is looking at odds of 8/1.
Odds for Winning for the Other Teams
The odds for the other teams in the Rugby World Cup are rather long.
- Wales has a 10/1 odds of winning
- Australia has a 14/1 chance of winning
- France has a 28/1 chance of winning
- Scotland has a 45/1 chance of winning, as does Argentina
- Japan has a 125/1 chance of winning.
Wales’ chances dropped after their half-fly Gareth Anscombe suffered an injury because of which he dropped out of the World Cup. No. 8 Taulupe Faletau also broke his collarbone and was dropped. The only chance Wales has is with Dan Bigger, but he may not be enough to lead his team to victory.
With South Africa in the same group, Scotland and Japan are not expected to make it beyond the Quarter Finals. France has been showing a lack of consistency and Argentina is not expected to stand a chance with England in its group.
If you are planning to bet on the World Cup this year choose sports betting in the UK from an authorized provider. If you are anywhere else in the world, also ensure that you use only authorized providers for your betting, or you could lose a lot of money – and not to the game.
