Rugby World Cup 2023

A highlight of the 2023 sporting year is the Rugby World Cup, an event that rolls around every four years and always provides great drama. Will the mighty Springboks go back to back? They won the title in 2019 in Japan in great style. Or will the All Blacks rebound to add yet another title? Or will England go one better than their runner-up finish in 2019?

Quick links

Rugby Union betting guide

Rugby World Cup fixture

Rugby World Cup finals

Rugby World Cup Predictions

Rugby World Cup top try-scorer betting

Rugby World Cup match results and running tally of leading try-scorers

How to watch the Rugby World Cup


Can the host nation France rise to new heights this time around?

South Africa and Australia are dual winners of the William Webb Ellis Cup, and they can never be ruled out, but they seem to be a long way off the pace of the All Blacks, so New Zealand’s greatest challengers may come from the north.

Can Ireland, so dominant in the Six Nations in 2018, provide a fairytale result, even though they have never even made the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup? They were favoured to do well in 2015 but were embarrassed in the quarter-finals 43-20 by Argentina.

England also have a point to prove after not even making the knockout rounds on their home turf.

Our rugby boffins at the World Gambling List have run the rule over the contenders and pretenders and here’s our breakdown of rugby union’s biggest event…

Quick guide to 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan

First match: Japan v Russia, September 20, 2019, at Tokyo Stadium, Chofu.

Defending champions: New Zealand (defeated Australia 34-17 in the final at Twickenham, London, in 2015).

The draw: There are 20 teams split into four pools. Each team plays all pool rivals once and the top two teams from each pool qualify for the quarter-finals. There are 40 pool matches in total.

POOL A: Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Russia, Samoa.
POOL B: New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Namibia, Canada.
POOL C: England, France, Argentina, United States, Tonga.
POOL D: Australia, Wales, Georgia, Fiji, Uruguay.

Quarter-final 1: winners Pool C v runners-up Pool D – Oita Stadium, Oita.
Quarter-final 2: winners Pool B v runners-up Pool A – Tokyo Stadium, Chofu.
Quarter-final 3: winners Pool D v runners-up Pool C – Oita Stadium, Oita.
Quarter-final 4: winners Pool A v runners-up Pool B – Tokyo Stadium, Chofu.

Semi-final 1: winners QF1 v winners QF2 – International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama.
Semi-final 2: winners QF3 v winners QF4 – International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama.

Bronze final: losers SF1 v losers SF2 – Tokyo Stadium, Chofu.

Final: winners SF1 v winners SF2 – International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, November 2, 2019.

Results of past RWC tournaments

Year Winners Runners-up Score Host nation/s
1987 New Zealand France 29-9 Australia/NZ
1991 Australia England 12-6 UK, Ireland, France
1995 South Africa New Zealand 15-12 South Africa
1999 Australia France 35-12 Wales
2003 England Australia 20-17 Australia
2007 South Africa England 15-6 France
2011 New Zealand France 8-7 New Zealand
2015 New Zealand Australia 34-17 England
2019 South Africa England 32-12 Japan
2023 ?? ?? ??-?? France

Created with the HTML Table Generator

Rugby world rankings

(As at September 16, 2019)
1 Ireland
2 New Zealand
3 England
4 South Africa
5 Wales
6 Australia
7 Scotland
8 France
9 Fiji
10 Japan
11 Argentina
12 Georgia
13 USA
14 Italy
15 Tonga
16 Samoa
17 Spain
18 Romania
19 Uruguay
20 Russia

Betting on RWC pool winners

Markets are available with allmajor bookies on who will win each group at RWC 2019 and the only team we could consider backing from a value standpoint is Argentina in Group C. The Argentines are around $5.50 in early betting and are third favourites for the group behind England ($1.50) and France ($4.33). If they can continue their improvement, by the time the teams head to Japan we expect them to have shortened up considerably in this market.

Who will win the 2019 Rugby World Cup?

The top chances and what fans can expect from their team:

New Zealand: Red-hot favourites and anything other than lifting the William Webb Ellis Cup will be considered a failure by their fanatical fans. This pressure for perfection can weigh heavily upon teams but the All Blacks have delivered in style at the previous two World Cups and we think they will make the final again in Japan. Coach Steve Hansen has compiled an incredible record and another title will be the icing on the cake as he comes to the end of his reign.

South Africa: One gets the sense that the Springboks could be again building towards something special. Their best is certainly good enough, as they showed with a rare victory over the All Blacks in 2018 in New Zealand. They have a superstar at fullback in Willie le Roux.

Australia: Have a great record in this event, but their form has been patchy to say the least. Coach Michael Cheika needs to revitalise his squad and quickly as there are calls for him to be replaced. It would be a major surprise to see the Wallabies claim their third World Cup title.

England: Have plenty to prove after the disaster of the World Cup in 2015 when they could finish only third in their group behind Australia and Wales. Still up there with the best in the northern hemisphere and Australian coach Eddie Jones is vastly experienced and has coached in Japan.

Ireland: Huge expectations on the men from the Emerald Isle after a grand slam in the Six Nations in 2018. They are at the pointy end of the IRB rankings but now most prove themselves on the biggest stage. Have a class act in Jonathan Sexton steering them around the park from fly-half. Finally beat the All Blacks after 110 years of trying with a 40-29 win in Chicago of all places in 2016. The Irish have a golden generation of players and will believe this is their time.

Wales: Outside chance of making it through to the last few and along with Ireland and England are the best of the Northern Hemisphere chances. Scored a Grand Slam win in 2019 Six Nations and that has raised expectations that they could be dangerous. Also drawn in the same pool with the struggling Wallabies so could emerge top of the group without surprising anyone.

France: You never really know what to expect with Les Tricolores, but they have made the final three times in the eight World Cup tournaments so far, so they should be respected. The Gallic flair in the backs and brutality up front could come to the fore but they have been off the pace for several seasons.

Rugby World Cup bet types

The Rugby World Cup is set to be one of the betting events of this year and will be a major player during this time. Some of the bet types we expect to be offered during the World Cup are:

Head to head: This is when you bet on who wins the match. For example Australia might be 2.10 outsiders against New Zealand, priced at 1.60.

First try scorer: You bet on which player you think will be the first try scorer in the game. The sportsbooks will offer fixed odds before matches on who will score first.

Parlay or multi-bet: This is when you put on a succession of bets on one ticket. The number of legs you add and the odds of each outcome determine how much you could win. For instance, you might have Australia to win at 1.10, England to win at 2.20 and Tonga to beat Fiji at 4.50. These odds would then be multiplied by the amount you wagered.

Outright tournament winner: This is a futures market which is available to bet on, often years out from the start of the Rugby World Cup. This is also one of the most popular betting markets overall with Rugby bettors.