Can one of these three nations stop New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup 2019?
Three-time Rugby World Cup winners New Zealand head into the 2019 edition of the tournament as the favourites. The All Blacks have won the last two Rugby World Cup tournaments and leading sportsbooks have them pegged to take home the trophy once more.
The Rugby World Cup 2019 will be played in Japan as the competition takes place in Asia for the first time. Rugby fans can follow this link and wager on the team they predict will win the tournament and be crowned world champions.
The competition will kick off on September 20th and the 20 nations competing at this year’s event are preparing for a gruelling month-and-a-half long competition. The All Blacks are the favourites to win but can one of the following nations upset the two-time defending champions?
England
England finished off the Six Nations in second place, five points behind winners Wales. Eddie Jones team are the second favourite behind New Zealand at this autumn’s World Cup. Although England has been labelled as possible World Cup winners, their form this year makes it seem more likely they will miss out on lifting the trophy.
The English start out with Tonga in the first game, but things will get more difficult from there. The United States will be out to prove they can hang with the big boys. Matchday 3 sees England play Argentina and then France to finish off pool play.
The semifinals are a likely destination for England but getting to the final will take some improved form from what we have seen this year so far.
Ireland
Ireland will feel good about their Pool A draw at the Rugby World Cup 2019. The Irish were drawn alongside Scotland, Japan, Russia, and Samoa in Pool A. The Six Nations third-place finishers should go through the pool stage with little difficulty to set up a quarterfinal game against the runner-up of Pool B. That could very well be South Africa.
The Irish have never made it past the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup. Currently listed as the third favourite, according to leading sportsbooks, the Irish could finally succeed in making the semifinals.
Ireland should be optimistic they can make a run to the semifinal or final of the Rugby World Cup 2019. This may be their best opportunity to reach those stages of the competition.
Wales
Wales capped off a brilliant Six Nations campaign with a perfect 5W-0D-0L record and a brilliant +49 points differential.
It comes as a bit of a surprise that sportsbooks have placed Wales as the fourth favourite for the World Cup 2019. Wales are ranked second in the world behind New Zealand. While the Welsh Six Nations championship win was impressive, there are many within the Wales camp that believe they have not yet reached full potential.
Wales’ best finish at a Rugby World Cup came in 1987 when they finished third. Since then, they have managed just one semifinal appearance. Could the Rugby World Cup 2019 be different for the Welsh and manager Warren Gatland?
* 18+ Responsible Gambling BeGambleAware.org
