Women’s Rugby World Cup Betting: England Favourites To Lift The Trophy
The women’s edition of the Rugby World Cup is set to get underway in New Zealand this weekend and UK betting sites are offering their take on who is expected to come away with the overall prize.
When this tournament was last played in Ireland back in 2017, it was the forthcoming host nation who climbed the podium.
Due to the Sevens World Cup that took place in San Francisco in 2018, it was brought forward by 12 months instead of continuing on the four-year cycle that had been in place since 1994.
The polar opposite has occurred on this occasion, however, with the Covid-19 pandemic ensuring that New Zealand couldn’t play host to this global spectacle at the same point last year.
The tournament is still referred to as the 2021 Rugby World Cup (a decision was taken to drop ‘Women’s’ from the official title for marketing reasons) and it is expected to be a hectic few weeks of action that will culminate in a final at Eden Park in Auckland on November 12.
England Are Favourites For World Cup Glory
In addition to winning in 2017, New Zealand – commonly known as the Black Ferns – have won five of the last six World Cups.
This kind of record would make you think Wayne Smith’s side are favourites to prevail on their home patch, but they find themselves playing second fiddle amongst the best betting sites for rugby union in advance of Saturday’s opening fixtures.
The runners-up to New Zealand five years ago at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast, England reached the World Cup promised land in 2014 having previously lost three consecutive finals to the Black Ferns.
Currently ranked number one in the world, the Red Roses have won the last four Six Nations Championships and are currently on a 22-game winning streak in test rugby that stretches all the way back to November 2019.
New Zealand were the last team to get the better of England, but the southern hemisphere giants went on to suffer back-to-back defeats to Simon Middleton’s charges in 2021.
As things stand, England are the 1/2 favourites to come away with their second World Cup crown.
France will provide a stern test of their resolve in the pool stages, but with eight teams from 12 making it into the knockout rounds of the tournament, England are virtually guaranteed to progress to the business end.
Black Ferns Still One Of The Teams To Watch Out For
New Zealand have gone through considerable turmoil in recent times with Glenn Moore resigning earlier this year in acrimonious circumstances.
However, former All Blacks assistant coach Smith has stepped into the breach and has won all six of the games he has been in charge of to date – which includes three victories over Australia.
Given Moore’s tenure ended with four consecutive reversals – which followed a two-year barren spell where the side didn’t compete in the international arena – so it is understandable that the Black Ferns are only second favourites for this tournament.
Nonetheless, they are seen as major contenders for top honours and this is reflected in the fact that betting apps have them listed at 2/1 in the race for the World Cup title.
France Are Be Dark Horses Again
While they are yet to make it to a tournament decider, France are a side that are always there or thereabouts when it comes to the final reckoning.
On no fewer than six occasions, France have secured a third-place finish at the World Cup – including the inaugural finals in 1991, when they shared a bronze medal with New Zealand.
Despite being further back at 11/1 with William Hill, they are the most likely team to upset the apple cart.
Although success has eluded them in recent editions of the competition, France were Six Nations champions in 2014, 2016 and 2018, and remain a formidable outfit.
Canada And USA Also In The Reckoning
First-time finalists in 2014, Canada are rated at 22/1 with bet365 to go a step further in the coming weeks.
Generally regarded as one of the stronger rugby nations, the Maple Leafs were also ranked fourth at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups. Having failed to make it to the semi-finals in Ireland five years ago, the Canadians will be eager to produce a better performance this time around.
The changing of the old system that only saw the top teams in each pool advancing to the Championship knockouts will certainly help them in this regard.
They are also currently placed third in the world rankings ahead of France and will have their sights set on justifying this status in their opener against Japan in Whangārei on Saturday.
Intriguingly, Canada’s final game in Pool B will be a derby encounter against the USA, who claimed fourth spot at the 2017 World Cup.
The Eagles are set to host the 2033 finals and will believe they are capable of making it out of a pool that also features Six Nations side Italy.
Of the 32 players head coach Rob Cain has brought with him to New Zealand, no fewer than 19 are currently plying their trades in the English Premiership.
This has given them exposure to top-quality rugby on a regular basis, with back-three pair Alev Kelter and Lotte Clapp both being members of current league champions Saracens.
Even though odds of 50/1 suggest their journey in New Zealand may not extend beyond the last-eight, you can expect them to leave some sort of impact on the proceedings.
Australia Down The Pecking Order For Global Tournament
Further back the field, Australia are rated at 50/1 with 10Bet for World Cup supremacy.
Being in the same pool as New Zealand will make life tricky for the Aussies, though they are more than capable of beating Wales and Scotland in the remaining games of the tournament’s preliminary phase.
A lack of match time could be the biggest Achilles heel for the Wallaroos. Until May of this year, Australia had only played six times since losing to Canada in a fifth-place play-off at the 2017 World Cup.
Rank Outsiders Not Set To Trouble Top Sides
Outside of this top-six, the remaining teams in the tournament are being viewed as rank outsiders to claim World Cup glory.
Fiji are rated at 250/1 with Betfair, while the same bookmaker is offering odds of 300/1 on Italy emerging as surprise winners.
Even further back at 500/1 are Wales, Japan, South Africa and Scotland – the latter having reached this stage through their performances at a brace of qualification tournaments.