What Are The Odds On England To Win The Rugby World Cup?
Daire Walsh
It may be just under 14 months before their first game of the tournament against Argentina, but betting sites are already beginning to feel better about England’s chances of success at the Rugby World Cup in France.
Following another Six Nations campaign that saw them winning just two games from five and finishing well outside of the reckoning for championship honours, the pressure on the side and their head coach Eddie Jones was starting to mount.
A subsequent defeat to the Barbarians in a non-test encounter didn’t help matters and another reversal in the first test of their summer tour to Australia left many believing that England had run its course under Jones’ watch.
England Flip Summer Series On Its Head
Yet, England managed to turn the series around with an impressive 25-17 win over the Wallabies in the second test at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
This set up a tantalising series decider in Sydney last weekend, where tries from Freddie Steward and Marcus Smith – not to mention 11 points from the boot of Owen Farrell – propelled the visitors towards a 21-17 victory as well as summer tour glory.
While it was always unlikely that Jones would be dismissed at such an advanced stage of the World Cup cycle, the performances and the results of the past couple of weeks have certainly ensured he has some added credit in the bank.
Interestingly, the odds on England winning the Rugby World Cup with the best betting sites for rugby union were more or less the same before last Saturday’s series showdown against Australia as they are now.
Rugby World Cup Outright Odds
Prior to the weekend’s action, Rugby World Cup betting showed that 14 bookmakers were rating England at 5/1 to win the global tournament – third favourites behind host nation France and three-time champions New Zealand.
In the aftermath of their second consecutive triumph over the Wallabies, most betting apps are still offering Rugby World Cup 2023 odds of 5/1 on England.
A couple are valuing them at 4/1, while BetVictor are rating the likelihood of the English claiming the Webb Ellis Cup at 7/2.
Ireland are on their coat tails as a consequence of their outstanding series victory in New Zealand, but the pedigree of England and Jones at the World Cup makes them quite an enticing proposition – even this far away from the tournament’s opening fixtures.
England And Jones Have Strong World Cup History
Throughout the history of the World Cup (which first began back in 1987), England have reached the final on three separate occasions. In addition to winning it outright in 2003, they also finished runners-up to South Africa in both 2007 and 2019.
Remarkably, the aforementioned Jones was involved in some capacity for all three of these finals.
19 years ago in Sydney, he was coach of his native Australia when a 100th minute drop goal from Johnny Wilkinson saw them suffering an agonising extra-time defeat to Clive Woodward’s England.
Four years later, England were back at the same stage of the tournament under the guidance of Brian Ashton.
Although Jake White was in charge of South Africa for this showpiece finale at Stade de France, Jones was working in the background as a technical advisor and helped the Springboks to pull off a 15-6 triumph.
Having masterminded a superb pool stage victory over South Africa with Japan in the 2015 World Cup, Jones was then in the English corner as the southern hemisphere nation stood between him and tournament glory.
This game didn’t go according to plan for the Tasmanian however, as the Springboks maintained their tradition of winning the World Cup every 12 years with a 32-12 final success in Yokohama.
Despite this disappointing ending, it was still regarded as a successful tournament for England, given they had to overcome Australia and New Zealand on their way to the final.
Odds Likely To Change Over Time
Though there are question marks over England’s ability to replicate this journey in France next year, it is easy to see why online betting sites are intrigued by their candidacy.
The autumn internationals at the end of this year next spring will also likely have an impact on the 2023 Six Nations betting, as well as England’s Rugby World Cup betting odds as we approach next year’s finals in France.