Wales Rugby World Cup Odds: Dragons Still A Big Outside Bet To Win Webb Ellis Cup
They are just one game away from reaching their third semi-final out of the last four tournaments, but Wales are still seen as outsiders for Rugby World Cup glory from the viewpoint of rugby union betting sites.
Heading over to France with just two wins from eight international tests after Warren Gatland’s sudden return to the hot seat last winter, there were considerable doubts over Wales’ ability to make it into the knockout rounds of the RWC.
Yet having safely guided the Dragons into the last-eight – at the very least – on three occasions during his first stint as head coach, Gatland has done so again with several points to spare in 2023.
Wales Get Into Last-Eight With Flying Colours
While they had to hold off a late surge from Fiji to earn victory in their opening fixture of Pool C at Bordeaux on September 10, the Welsh went on to record convincing triumphs at the expense of Portugal, Australia and Georgia.
Their 40-6 success over the Wallabies on September 24 at Parc Olympique Lyonnais was a major statement of intent, even if much of the post-game chatter was devoted to Australia’s limp display.
They had also opted to change their head coach with less than 12 months to go until the starting of the World Cup, but it is the Welsh who have been able to adapt to this change of coaching structure with a greater degree of assurance.
Having appeared to be at a low ebb just a couple of months ago, Wales are now a much more confident outfit and eventually finished nine points clear at the summit of the Pool C table.
This puts them into a quarter-final duel with Argentina at Stade de Marseille on Saturday (kick-off 4pm UK time/5pm local time) and the Welsh will enter this contest as firm favourites to win.
Dragons Expected To Defeat Argentina
As it stands, a flurry of betting apps – including SpreadEx and BoyleSports – are offering odds of 4/7 on the Dragons coming out on top in this game.
By contrast, the longest odds available on Argentina are 7/4 with Betfred.
Should Wales come through this game, they will just be another 80 minutes away from reaching the Webb Ellis Cup decider for the first time.
However, there is a continued reluctance amongst bookmakers to make them a viable contender for a World Cup triumph.
Wales Still Well Down The List Of Potential World Cup Winners
Of the eight teams left in the tournament, they are currently only rated as sixth favourites for an RWC final victory.
Though Wales are above Argentina in the outright betting (the Pumas are only on offer from somewhere between 40/1 to 50/1), they actually find themselves further adrift in the betting as the tournament enters its sixth week of fixtures.
Before their comprehensive bonus point win against Georgia last weekend, Coral, Unibet and Ladbrokes were providing odds of 16/1 on Wales securing an historic World Cup title.
A week on, Unibet have pushed them out to 18/1 with Ladbrokes and Coral offering the even longer odds of 20/1.
Previously, the most common value being placed on a Welsh World Cup success story was 22/1.
This still remains the case, with 12 different betting sites offering these odds on Gatland’s men – Bet365, BetVictor and Parimatch being amongst this group.
Alternatively, Paddy Power and William Hill have joined Coral in rating Wales as a 20/1 prospect in their bid to reach the RWC promised land.
Wales Would Face Tough Battle If They Progressed Into Semis
The fact that Wales would face the winners of the game between Ireland and New Zealand in the final-four of the tournament does go some way towards explaining why they are still seen as outsiders for a World Cup success.
The Irish and their All Blacks counterparts have been performing on a much higher level than the Welsh over the past two years and there is no guarantee that they will even get past an Argentinian side that have earned three straight wins since losing their opening Pool D game to England.
There have been plenty of green shoots for Wales, however, with a plethora of players – Sam Costelow being the most recent example – showing they are adept at kicking off the tee.
They also have one of the in-form marksmen at the World Cup in the shape of Louis Rees-Zammit, whose hat-trick in the Georgia game puts him onto five tries over in France.
Wales will need someone with a bit of X-factor if they are to pull off an unlikely World Cup triumph and the Gloucester winger is the kind of player who could provide it in abundance.