Most nations have played a match in the Rugby World Cup now, with all the favourites having done so. But has it altered the odds at all?
There have been a few surprises so far. France pulled off a huge win against New Zealand, while England put their bad form to one side to dominate Argentina, with a man short for much of the game.
It’s all food for thought, but it’s still giving us no further clue on who could actually win come the end of this long tournament. Which makes it an incredibly exciting tournament to look forward to.
It’s a little similar to playing the best online slots at present. You could put your money down on five spins, and you’ve still no idea which spin will win something, if one will win at all. And that’s the same with the contenders. After one game, it’s still impossible to know where to put your money!
That’s not stopping the bookies from having their say though. We take a look at who the bookies are backing at this stage of the tournament…
South Africa
The pre-tournament favourites are still leading the way. The South Africans are priced at around 13/5 with most bookmakers, and were comfortable in their opening game, beating Scotland 18-3.
They were ruthless in the second half against the Scots, and many pundits are backing them to go all the way this year, thanks to their speed and power.
France
The hosts certainly laid down a marker in the tournament opener against New Zealand and they’re looking incredibly good. They’ve never won the tournament before, so to do so on home soil would be really quite special for what is a special team at present.
It would be fitting for a side who has in captain Antoine Dupont one of the greatest players of this generation, if not all-time, and for the romantics, a France win certainly should be looked at at 3/1 presently, second favourites.
New Zealand
Despite defeat to France, of course the All Blacks are up there with the favourites. You can never write them off and they’ll be keen to bounce back following their first ever defeat in a World Cup pool game.
Their most difficult game is over now, and they have a solid run to make it through to the knockouts where they can kick on and use their experience in the competition to make it all the way. They’re priced at 7/2 to do so currently.
The Best of the Rest
Ireland are the world number one ranked side at the moment and are fourth favourites to win the Rugby World Cup for the very first time. They weren’t really tested against Romania in their opener, but still looked ruthless and clinical, and will certainly be a side to watch.
The same can be said about England and Australia. Both teams aren’t in great form, but they know how to do well in tournament rugby and picked up solid wins first time out. At 9/1 and 10/1 respectively, they are perhaps good outside bets, and could surprise a few late on.
