The Rugby World Cup is always a brilliant tournament, with the leading rugby union nations competing for the ultimate prize in the sport. In 2019, the ninth Rugby World Cup will be held in Japan and that means it’s the first time that the tournament has been hosted in Asia.
The Rugby World Cup will take place between 20 September – 2 November, with twenty teams arriving in Japan to compete in this tournament and the outright betting suggests that several nations could end up winning in the final.
There are four pools that each feature five teams. The teams in each pool play each other and the leading two teams then go through to the knockout stage which starts with the quarter finals and is then played down to the final.
New Zealand Strong Favourites to Win
New Zealand are the most iconic team in rugby union and the All Blacks are currently the 11/10 favourites with bet365 to remain world champions by winning the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Indeed, Steve Hansen’s team are bidding for a consecutive hat-trick of World Cup titles after winning on their own patch in 2011 before repeating this trick in England in 2015 when beating Australia in the final.
It should be noted that New Zealand have practically been favourites for every World Cup since the tournament was founded and yet they have failed to oblige on five different occasions and there is sure to be some stiff opposition in Asia when it comes to this tournament.
Can England Get Things Right Under Eddie Jones?
England are trading at 9/2 to win the Rugby World Cup for the second time and they will be managed by Eddie Jones who has transformed the national team since that group exit at the 2015 World Cup.
It wasn’t a great Six Nations tournament in preparation of this World Cup, with England finishing second behind Wales after losing to the latter at Twickenham, while they also drew with Scotland which was highly unexpected.
However, they did record a win in Dublin and have to be respected considering that Jones has a large pool of players upon which to call. Ireland themselves are trading at 5/1 and they were originally the favourites to win the Six Nations, although perhaps Wales are better value.
The Welsh continue to be managed by Warren Gatland and they are 6/1 chances to win the World Cup for the first time in their history. Indeed, they finished in third place in 1987 and have since failed to match that achievement.
Can South Africa and Australia Challenge in Japan?
South Africa are available at 9/1 to win the 2019 World Cup, with the Proteas looking to claim a third triumph after previously winning in 1995 and 2007.
Rassie Erasmus’ team will feature players from some of South Africa’s best domestic sides, while the same applies to Australia who have been chalked up at 14/1 and could go deep into the tournament.
France are often unpredictable when it comes to rugby union and that explains their odds of 28/1, while Scotland are trading at 40/1. Argentina are realistically the only other team who could win and they’re 50/1, while Japan are a much bigger 250/1.