2011 Rugby World Cup Betting – Outright Winner Odds & Tips

Sports Betting

Well, we are at the Quarter Final stage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup betting and we have a feast of Rugby to come on the weekend. Because of Ireland’s great triumph over Australia in the Pool stages, the draw has separated out into two distinctive halves, with Northern Hemisphere teams occupying the top half, and the Southern Hemisphere teams making up the bottom half. There has always been the great discussions over Northern v Southern Hemisphere rugby, and now, in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final on October 23rd, a nation from each will go head to head for glory. There were no real surprises in the Pool stages, not in terms of which teams got through. The eight we see here left in the tournament was pretty much expected. That is not to say there were upsets, as France went down badly against Tonga in a massive shock, while the Ireland victory over Australia caused this separation in the draw. So now it is time to look once again at 2011 Rugby World Cup outright winner betting odds. There has been no surprise in this market, with the host nation still out as favourites.

Quarter Finals
Ireland v Wales, England v France, South Africa v Australia, New Zealand v Argentina
New Zealand: 8/11 at Bet365
The All Blacks have lost Dan Carter, their influential number ten, so now we will see how they cope without him. Carter is the all time record points scorer in international rugby and the big key in the All Blacks machine. You do have to look beyond that though, at the draw and the quality in depth in the squad. They will face either South Africa or Australia in the semi final, sides they both lost against in the Tri Nations, but beat them both on home turf. So New Zealand still have the edge here in outright betting at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. They have home advantage and if they make the final, you have to ask yourself whether or not you can see any of the Six Nations sides beating them.

Australia: 7/1 at Bet365
The Aussies are trading quite well still in the rugby betting here, but after their defeat to Ireland in the Pool stages, they have made their task harder. We were hoping for an Australia v New Zealand final, but that can only happen now in the semi final. The Wallabies have a tough quarter final against South Africa, the defending Champions. Australia have won four of the last five against the Springboks, including two victories over them in the Tri Nations. Their scrum has been targeted with Ireland battering them up front and any opponents coming up against them will know that. The current Australia side is a very promising one, inexperienced a little bit, a little bit maverick, not the complete package, but with huge running potential. Our tip from the start, but that was because they should have been playing Wales in the quarter final and then England or France in the semi’s. Now they have to go through South Africa and the All Blacks just to get to the final.

South Africa: 7/1 at Bet365
The Springboks are actually looking like more of a threat. They had their stuttering start against Wales, but even in that match they showed a lot of determination and simple will to win. They have a powerful pack, a powerful defence (which has conceded the fewest points of all teams in the Pool stage) and they are going to take some stopping. They sacrificed the Tri Nations, resting their star players in order to build a better defence of their World Cup title. They are building momentum, and with the weather not being very good in New Zealand, they have the set play and forward power to really grind out some big results. They may tire in games, but they play smart tournament rugby and have wise, experienced heads on their shoulders who have been here before.

England: 11/1 at SportingBet
Interestingly, England have not shown any kind of form that they are going to go and win the World Cup this time. Martin Johnson’s men have had their problems off the field, and they have not shown any confidence on it. They stuttered to top spot in the group, with some poor performances against Argentina and Scotland, and no-one is really standing up to claim places in the side. That makes Johnson’s job of picking a starting fifteen very difficult, as he doesn’t know what his best side is. England do have potential, but they look nervous and afraid to run and throw the ball around. The pack has not been mobile or dynamic and they haven’t used Manu Tuilagi, their most potent line breaker as much as they should. If they shake off the shackles a bit they can win the tournament. Many are suggesting that they could still cough and splutter their way to the final still. They are playing poorly and still winning, so maybe that will count for something. They only have to beat Six Nations teams to get to the final. Still a chance.

Ireland: 14/1 at Bet365
Here we are, we are seeing the Ireland of old. The experienced side has really shown up well, even though they went into the tournament with no form. Their win against Australia was crucial and they have set themselves up with an easier draw to reach the final. The big challenge now is maintaining that intensity. Their forwards are playing well and as a unit, something we didn’t see much of at the Six Nations. They are a completely different animal than what we saw at the start of the year. Now they make a big tip to reach the final from the top half of the draw.

Wales: 18/1 at Stan James
The young Welsh side, have been winning a lot of plaudits. They had South Africa on the ropes in their first Pool match, but couldn’t finish the job off. They also responded well to the physical challenges laid down by Samoa and Fiji. The thing going for Wales at the moment, is their fitness. They focused hard on that during their build up and it is clearly paying off. They have not looked as good as they have at the moment for quite some time. Consistency is the key for Wales. They have been guilty of getting a bit over confident, over passing and a few too many handling errors by overplaying things. They can’t afford to do that in the latter stages.

France: 20/1 at SportingBet
The French’s defeat against Tonga in the Pool stages, as well as clearly not being able to compete with New Zealand, losing against them too has left them on the fringes of things. They have actually lost some of their threat, with coach Marc Lievremont playing players out of position, and rumours of unrest in the dressing room. They were pretty terrible against Tonga, it has to be said. Not looking a big threat at the moment, as you have to question their mentality when their backs are against the wall.

Argentina: 275/1 at Paddy Power
Have drawn the tough quarter final against New Zealand. Unlikely to go any further therefore, and a long way short of the team they were four years ago when they finished third.

2011 Rugby World Cup Betting Tip:
Right now, New Zealand look stronger favourites than before. However, would take a good look at South Africa as they are rolling very nicely and will tough things out in bad weather. Ireland from the top half of the group are looking like a very good proposition too.

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