Wallabies Next Game, Latest Odds and Analysis
For the first time in almost three decades, Australia and New Zealand will meet in a midweek international test at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne on Thursday and betting sites are ready for the kick-off.
The decision to move this encounter from a more traditional weekend slot was made a number of months ago, due to the crowded sporting schedule in Australia over the course of the next few days.
The preliminary finals of the 2022 Australian Football League season are set to take place on Friday and Saturday, while the semi-finals of the National Rugby League are also due to be held on the same days.
When these southern hemisphere giants last clashed on a weeknight back in August 1994, it was the Wallabies who came through with four points to spare (20-16) over New Zealand.
Australian betting sites are offering their take on whether there will be a repeat result in this last meeting or if the All Blacks are ready to shake off the inconsistency of recent months to finally ignite their season.
Race For Rugby Championship Title Remains Tight
After four rounds of The Rugby Championship, online rugby betting sites are still finding it nigh-on impossible to predict who is going to come out on top. Thus far, all four teams in the competition have recorded two wins and two losses.
Despite being under the greatest scrutiny, New Zealand are currently at the summit of the table with 10 points to their name.
Australia, South Africa and Argentina are on nine points, but the Wallabies are currently above their closest rivals on a tie-break.
In the event of three teams being level on points, the order of merit is determined by the results between each side.
As the Australians have beaten both South Africa and Argentina, they currently occupy second spot with two games remaining.
This could all change in the coming weeks, of course, given the Springboks and the Pumas are facing each other in back-to-back tests.
The Aussies will be meeting the All Blacks again at Eden Park in Auckland on September 24 but will be focused on coming away with the spoils from Thursday’s game – which also doubles up as a Bledisloe Cup fixture.
All Blacks The Favourites Against The Wallabies
Having lost out 24-8 to South Africa in the last round of the Championship at Sydney Football Stadium on September 3, the Wallabies will be determined to leave an impression in their final home game of the campaign.
New Zealand on the other hand gained revenge on Argentina for a shock third round reversal by dishing out a comprehensive 53-3 demolition to Michael Cheika’s charges.
Although it is currently difficult to predict how the All Blacks are going to perform from game-to-game, they will go into Thursday’s test as the favourites to prevail.
At the moment, Ladbrokes are offering odds of 1.2 on New Zealand prevailing and keeping themselves in contention for a third consecutive Championship title.
An All Blacks win is also valued at 1.17, which gives an indication of how formidable a side the three-time World Cup winners continue to be.
Australia have beaten New Zealand under the tenure of head coach Dave Rennie (a 24-22 victory in Brisbane back in November 2020), but have also shipped some heavy defeats to their arch-rivals in more recent times.
This goes some way to explaining why the Wallabies are outsiders, with Betfair having them as far out as 4.5 for a fifth round success.
As is generally the case in test rugby, a draw is seen as a long shot in Melbourne. The shortest odds to be found for this end result is 21.0 and the longest price stretches all the way to 29.0.
Emphatic Winning Margins In The Championship Thus Far
Although a close-run affair should be anticipated, this would actually buck the trend we’ve seen in the Rugby Championship 2022 betting to date.
New Zealand are the only side thus far to come away with a losing bonus point, garnered in their 25-18 reversal to Argentina in a third round showdown at Rugby League Park in Christchurch.
It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that a New Zealand win of between 1-5 points is ranked as the fourth most likely winning margin amongst bookmakers (at odds of 7.5) with an Australia triumph by the same tally lagging behind in sixth.
As it stands, a New Zealand victory ranging from 6-10 points has the shortest value, with bet365 offering 5.5 on that result happening. The odds on Australia holding the same cushion over the All Blacks come in at 10.0.
Rennie Alters His Starting Line-Up For Visit Of His Home Nation
Given how much earlier in the week this game is taking place, we already know what teams Rennie and his counterpart Ian Foster have selected.
It was anticipated that Rennie was going to ring the changes for the meeting with his native New Zealand and so it has proven.
There is a completely new half-back combination with Bernard Foley and Jake Gordon taking over from Noah Lolesio and Nic White. Andrew Kelleway and Lalakai Foketi are also added to the mix, but Tom Wright, Len Ikitau and Marika Koroibete all retain their spots in the back line.
Rob Leota and Pete Samu will offer a fresh look to the Wallabies back-row, in addition to Dave Porecki assuming hooker duties from Folau Fainga’a.
It will be a tall order for Australia, but until the All Blacks start putting a consistent winning run together again, tier one nations will believe they are capable of getting the better of them.
Even though the Wallabies will have two shots at toppling their neighbours, a midweek home test may well represent their best chance of success in the current landscape.