There are some interesting options in the Name the Finalists betting markets for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. There could be a bit of profit for you to seriously look at here, and the options may be a bit more surprising than you may first think. The first thing to do before looking into this market too much, is to size up the draw and who will be meeting who in the knockout stages. There is a big division of power in the world of international rugby, and looking at the pool stages, it is not too hard to pick out who is going to get through. The only big shock we have seen so far, is Ireland beating Australia in the pool stage, which means that there may be a bit of a shake up. Ireland were projected to come in second to Tri Nations winners Australia in their pool, but with that upset, it could throw the Wallabies into a tougher quarter final against South Africa. It means that Ireland may just have done themselves a huge favour, being thrown into a possible quarter final against Six Nations opponents, Wales. What the Ireland result really has done, has separated the knockout stages of the World Cup into a Northern and Southern Hemisphere tournament. If Australia do fail to win their Pool, then we will not get the highly anticipated climax of Australia v New Zealand. That would now only happen in the semi finals. So at least we should see a Northern Hemisphere v Southern Hemisphere 2011 Rugby World Cup final if everything else goes to plan in the pool stages. The options in this market actually show what the bookies think, that one definite finalist is going to be New Zealand.
2011 Rugby World Cup Name The Finalist Betting Odds
New Zealand/England: 4/1 at SkyBet
New Zealand/France: 4/1 at SportingBet
New Zealand/Ireland: 5/1 at Bet365
New Zealand/Wales: 8/1 at Paddy Power
New Zealand/Australia: 12/1 at Totesport
Australia/England: 18/1 at Bet365
Australia/France: 20/1 at Bet365
South Africa/England: 22/1 at Bet365
Projected Quarter Finals
Ireland v Wales
England v France
South Africa v Australia
New Zealand v Argentina
Projected Semi Finals
Winner of Ireland/Wales v England/France
Winner of South Africa/Australia v New Zealand/Argentina
So now, looking at the projected paths to the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, it is offering some very interesting options. It means now, with the top half of the draw now likely missing Australia, Six Nations sides England and France now look favourites to battle it out for a place in the final. New Zealand were always likely to run into South Africa at the semi final stage, but now it looks as if that could be Australia, and so there will be an almighty clash in the semi finals of the bottom half, no matter what. The biggest questions here is who will prevail? The bookies heavily fancy all options on host nation New Zealand getting there, and if you are with them, then your options are going to be limited to most likely pairing them up with England, France, Wales or Ireland. The Wallabies may have just shot themselves in the foot in losing to Ireland, as they will now have to go through South Africa and New Zealand on the way to the final. They have beaten them both recently, and if you fancy the Wallabies to bounce back, then there is tremendous value in backing them to pair up with the likes of England or France to make the final.
So now the top half of the draw could be a Six Nations shoot out. Who would you back to prevail? England won the Six Nations this year of course, beating France, but Ireland in turn, beat the English. Will Wales have more of a say than many may think? Well, judging by the odds floating around at the moment, it is France who are being tipped as having the best chance to get to the final over their European counterparts in the top half of the draw.
We now then have to take a long look at the bottom half of the draw, which Ireland may well have done enough to avoid. The bottom half is arguably the tougher route to the final. Remember that Australia beat South Africa twice in the Tri Nations, and triumphed over the All Blacks as well in the final match of the tournament. But New Zealand are on home turf and will that see them take a huge advantage over either South Africa or Australia in the semi finals. Will the Kiwis finally be able to shake off that label of being chokers? The Australia v Ireland result really has shaken things up and it is worth looking in to the Name the Finalist betting odds to try and pick up some extra odds in your 2011 Rugby World Cup betting. With the Ireland triumph over Australia, the 2011 Rugby World Cup may have just become a little easier to predict. The Kiwis don’t look as if they have any serious Tri Nations hangover, South Africa look powerful but a bit cumbersome while the young Australian side has shown some inexperience. Is it all pointing to the Kiwis tasting Rugby World Cup glory on their home soil, silencing all doubters? Are there more twists to come. There has to be more to come, no side has really stood out so far in the Pool matches, no one has stood up and said “come beat us!” so the Quarter Finals, which start on October 8th are looking more and more interesting. Still a lot of rugby to played between now and them, but you can see the likely draw ahead, can you pick out the two finalists?
Latest 2011 Rugby World Cup Betting Odds
New Zealand: 4/6 at Blue Square
Australia: 7/2 at Unibet
South Africa: 10/1 at Ladbrokes
England: 16/1 at Ladbrokes
France: 16/1 at Bet365
Ireland: 50/1 at SkyBet
Wales: 66/1 at Victor Chandler
Scotland: 200/1 at Totesport
