Wales Rugby World Cup Odds: Dragons Are 22/1 To Win Webb Ellis Cup
Daire Walsh
With three semi-final appearances to their name, Wales can boast to having the best record of the three Celtic nations that regularly compete at the Rugby World Cup. However, that is not reflected in their odds on betting sites.
Whereas Scotland have only once reached the last-four of the Webb Ellis Cup – and Ireland are yet to progress to that stage from nine previous attempts – it is a more familiar occurrence for the Dragons.
Although it was followed by a significant lull period, Wales advanced to the penultimate phase of the inaugural World Cup in 1987.
After beating neighbours England in the previous round, the Welsh found eventual winners New Zealand too hot to handle in the semi-finals.
However, victory against Australia in the third place play-off ensured the Dragons finished the tournament on a high.
Wales Always Competitive Under Gatland
Fortunes were mixed for Wales in World Cup finals under a succession of head coaches, before Warren Gatland eventually got them back on track in a meaningful way.
Back in 2011 in his native New Zealand, Gatland got one over on his former side Ireland at the quarter-final stage and only narrowly lost out to France in the final-four.
Following quarter-final elimination to South Africa in 2015, Gatland bookended his lengthy spell as Welsh head coach by facing the Springboks for a place in the showpiece decider just under three years ago.
Both this and their subsequent play-off clash with New Zealand saw them coming out on the wrong side of the result, but it was a strong showing overall in Japan from Wales.
The Welsh will be one of the main challengers when it comes to the 2023 Six Nations betting.
That’s down to their recent history of success, which has seen them winning four Grand Slams from 2005 to 2019, as well as six titles in total over the past 17 years.
Yet Wayne Pivac’s charges have had a difficult time either side of securing the Six Nations in 2021, with just one win to show for their efforts from five games in the 2020 and 2022 editions of the competition.
Rugby World Cup Odds
This goes some way to explaining why the odds on Wales to win the Rugby World Cup aren’t as low as they might be amongst the best betting sites for rugby union.
Before their deciding test with current world champions South Africa in Cape Town, Rugby World Cup betting odds showed that Wales were 18/1 to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.
This made them seventh favourites to claim glory in France next year and while this particular ranking hasn’t changed, the nature of their reversal to South Africa on Saturday – a 30-14 defeat saw them losing the series 2-1 – has affected their Rugby World Cup betting odds in recent days.
Their current form has seen Wales drop behind South Africa and their southern hemisphere rivals Australia in the race for the global title.
That’s why UK bookmakers Betfair and 888sport are placing a value of 22/1 the Rugby World Cup outright odds on Wales being crowned winners of the tournament for the very first time.
Qualifying for the knockout stages of next year’s World Cup is entirely feasible with themselves and Australia the favourites to progress from Pool C ahead of Fiji, Georgia and a still-to-be determined final qualifier.
That said, Wales did suffer a shock defeat at the end of this year’s Six Nations to Italy, who are currently just below Fiji and Georgia in the world rankings.
Some Signs Of Encouragement For Wales This Summer
A Guinness Pro12 winner with Scarlets in the past, the aforementioned Pivac still has some credit in the bank as a consequence of that Six Nations triumph of 2021.
Indeed, despite the disappointment of their third test loss on the tour to South Africa, it was generally felt that Wales exceeded expectations this summer.
After losing by just three points (32-29) in the opening test in Pretoria, a Josh Adams try helped the visitors to squeeze past the Springboks in their second showdown at Bloemfontein on July 9.
If they are able to build on the positive aspects of their performances in these games over the next 12 months, then their Rugby World Cup 2023 odds on betting apps could very well be altered.