Ireland Rugby World Cup Odds: Latest Outright Betting For France 2023

Daire Walsh

There is just under two months until their campaign begins in earnest and betting sites are offering their considered view on how Ireland will perform at this year’s Rugby World Cup finals.

Just under four years into his first head coach role, Wigan native Andy Farrell couldn’t have asked for much more from his Irish troops over the past 12 months.

If you go back to this point in 2022, Farrell had just guided the Green Army to a series win against the All Blacks down in New Zealand – an historic first for an Irish side.

A Successful 2023 For Farrell And Ireland So Far

He had just fallen short in a bid to secure top honours at the Six Nations Championship a few months later, though there was some silverware in the form of a Triple Crown.

Confidence was high heading into the Autumn Nations Series in November and while the performances weren’t necessarily perfect, there ultimately were victories at the expense of South Africa, Fiji and Australia on successive weekends at the Aviva Stadium.

This increased the pressure on Farrell’s men to deliver the goods in this year’s Six Nations, but despite facing adversity at different stages in the tournament, Ireland won all five of their games in this spring window by 10 points or more.

This ensured that they claimed a Grand Slam for just the fourth time in their history and for the third time in the era of the Six Nations (2000-present).

Already the number one ranked team in world rugby following their groundbreaking success in New Zealand, Ireland have remained in this lofty position ever since.

Although France and New Zealand – second and third respectively – are less than two points adrift of them in the rankings table, this is a notable feat for the Irish.

Irish Looking To Reverse Previous World Cup Fortunes

The next step for this team is to make a big splash at the World Cup, something that they have struggled to do on a number of occasions in the past.

While there have been notable pool stage wins over Australia and France (this year’s hosts), Ireland are yet to progress beyond the quarter-final stage of international rugby’s premier tournament in its previous nine editions.

There were earlier exits in 1999 and 2007, but otherwise the Irish have suffered no fewer than seven quarter-final defeats – the most recent being a 46-14 humbling at the hands of the All Blacks at Tokyo Stadium in 2019.

Under the tutelage of Farrell, Ireland will be more determined than ever to finally reach the last-four of the Rugby World Cup.

Of course, a team that has expanded their trophy cabinet already this year won’t simply be content with a semi-final spot and will understandably have their sights set on going all the way in France.

Teams Still Ahead Of Ireland In World Cup Betting

Yet in spite of their excellent form, Farrell’s men are currently seen as the fourth most likely side in the tournament to lay claim on the Webb Ellis Cup.

Even though Ireland have beaten all three sides in recent times, France, New Zealand and South Africa are seen as the frontrunners for World Rugby glory.

This is somewhat unsurprising when you consider that the French will be playing on home soil, while the All Blacks and defending champions the Springboks are three-time winners of the tournament.

That said, the gap between Ireland and South Africa – who will face off in the pool stages – is very tight and they could trade positions in the eyes of rugby betting sitesat the drop of a hat.

For what it’s worth, 13 bookmakers are offering odds of 4/1 on the Irish adding a World Cup title to their list of accolades, some rate them at 9/2, with a couple of others currently having them available at a price of 5/1.

However, when you see that fifth favourites England are available at odds that range from 9/1 to 12/1, it is clear that four teams are seen as main contenders for the tournament’s top prize.

Top Sides Set To Clash In Last-Eight Of The Tournament

The only issue is that this quartet are on the same side of the draw and are expected to be on a collision course in the last-eight of the World Cup.

Should Ireland make it out of Pool B, their quarter-final opponents are most likely to be either France or New Zealand.

In a similar vein – unless the likes of Scotland, Tonga or Italy upset the apple cart – South Africa will also be pitted against one of these teams in the knockout rounds.

It is questionable whether there is actually any advantage to being a group winner, but Ireland are currently favourites to emerge at the summit of Pool B.

A total of nine bookmakers are offering odds of 5/6 on the Irish securing top spot in the tournament’s initial phase, while some betting apps rate South Africa’s chances at 5/4, while Scotland are an outside bet at 8/1.

Ireland In The Running For Final Slot And Hot Favourites To Beat Romania In Opener

For those who are interested in placing a bet on Ireland reaching the World Cup final on October 28 at Stade de France, Ireland are currently 6/4 in the Rugby World Cup 2023 betting odds to achieve this goal.

As for their opening game of the pool against Romania in Bordeaux on September 9, Ireland are overwhelming favourites to secure a convincing win.

They have played The Oaks in international tests on nine separate occasions in the past, winning all nine.

This is expected to be their most comfortable game of the tournament and this is reflected in the fact that Ireland are 1/750 to secure a victory over the Romanians.

Though a subsequent clash against Tonga in Nantes seven days later could test them physically, it is only towards the end of the pool that we will get a real sense of where Ireland are at as a team for the tournament.

There was some good news for Farrell and his coaching team in recent days, after it was revealed that team skipper Jonathan Sexton will be available for selection from the word go at the World Cup.

He has received a three-match suspension arising from an incident that occurred in the aftermath of Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup final defeat to La Rochelle in May, but this will only rule him out of the upcoming warm-up games against Italy, England and Samoa.

The evergreen Dubliner is set to bring the curtain down on his glittering rugby career after the completion of the World Cup and if Ireland are to enjoy a successful campaign in France, they will most likely need a fit and available Sexton steering the ship from his fly-half post.