Rugby World Cup Odds – All Blacks, Host England Head the Pack

The best and brightest in the realm of rugby union will flock to England in September for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the eighth edition of the event that began back in 1987.

Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa – the three historic rugby powers – have each have won the title twice, while England surprised by taking the title in 2003. (England also finished as the runner up in 1991 and 2007.)

New Zealand are the reigning champs, narrowly edging France (8-7) in the 2011 finals, and come into 2015 as the odds-on favorite. But England and South Africa are primed to give the All Blacks a run, while Australia will be motivated to return to the upper crust of world rugby after dropping to No. 6 in the rankings.

Let’s take a closer look at the odds and make our picks.

The Favorites:

New Zealand (11/8) – The All Blacks are the deepest team in the field, but also have plenty of star power with Ma’a Nonu, Luke McAlister, Dan Carter, and Richie McCaw just a sampling. While there are a few injury concerns, and they’ve never won the World Cup outside of Auckland, nobody wants to see the Haka before a match – especially at the World Cup.

England (4/1) – Not only will England be playing in front of a friendly crowd, but travel within the UK will be minimal for the team, which plays all but two matches at Twickenham Stadium in London. Two of the three times the World Cup has taken place in Europe, England has reached the Final. George Ford and Jonathan Joseph are becoming great players and there has been an emphasis on fitness by coach Stuart Lancaster over the last year. If they remain healthy, and don’t have to rely on some question-mark depth players, there is no reason the home team shouldn’t advance far.

South Africa (9/2) – The Springboks are dangerous because they counter better than any team in the world. They are getting some key players back from injury, and Pat Lambie and Willie le Roux are a pleasure to watch. They also won the last World Cup held in Europe, taking the 2007 title in France in 2007 (15-6 over England).

The Next Two:

Ireland and Australia have the best odds outside the three main favorites.

Ireland (8/1) – Ireland have been Europe’s Six Nations champ the past two seasons, including a 2015 win in England. But the opportunistic squad has some key players banged up, and they’ve lost some pre-tournament tuneups.

Australia (10/1) – Australia’s front row is not dependable, but they have a lot of talent in Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell on the back line, while Israel Folau is available and explosive. The Wallaby are a nice upset option.

The Field:

The rest of field is rounded out as follows:

Wales (16/1)

France (20/1)

Argentina (80/1)

Samoa (150/1)

Scotland (250/1)

Fiji (1000/1)

Italy (1000/1)

Canada (2000/1)

Georgia (2000/1)

Japan (2500/1)

USA (2500/1)

Namibia (5000/1)

Romania (5000/1)

Uruguay (5000/1)

Betting Pick: New Zealand is the most talented team, but they’ve never won outside of home in the World Cup. Australia and England are in the same pool, making things that much more difficult for two teams we really like. If you think Australia and England are on fairly even terms, the Wallaby are a nice value play. That said, we’re picking the home team to win it all and 4/1 is nothing to laugh at.

(Photo credit: Craig Boyd (Flickr: AUSSIE_USA_021) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)