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In the last two Rugby World Cups, New Zealand took home the championship title back-to-back. This raises the question of whether or not any of the other teams this year can break the All Blacks’ winning streak, let alone in an Asian field.

Read full article with a discussion and team odds: TOP 5 TEAMS PREDICTED TO WIN 2019 RUGBY WORLD CUP (https://www.bitcoinsportsbetting.co.uk/news/top-5-teams-predicted-to-win-2019-rugby-world-cup/)

https://d2hudwv46dfy3b.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Top-5-Teams-Predicted-to-Win.jpg (https://www.bitcoinsportsbetting.co.uk/news/top-5-teams-predicted-to-win-2019-rugby-world-cup/)

What do you think of the predictions?

Going with the back to back champions is a safe bet. The other four seems good with their W/L% but I would still not count Australia out of for the 2019 Cup. They are still strong contenders.

This stat is a great guide for people that want to know the status for every team and the percentage of winning is a great thing for gamblers to make their decision, That is why I guess I will make a big bet that New Zealand that has 88% in winning the champion is the number 1 favorite to pick that gonna win this year, but South Africa is a little to close with a winning rate of 83% they can snatch that championship if New Zealand has a possibility to make an error move, pretty much I think that will be a possibility how people would look at this and bet for the 2019 champion.

I think New Zealand is the strongest candidate to win this world cup.What I have never managed to understand is how come the USA which has the best NFL Championship and people there are very passionate about this sport has never managed to be a superlower in the International level with their National team.

It's very difficult to actually stop the New Zealand record. They are indeed a very strong team. But there is also nothing impossible, I'm sure this competition will have a new champion besides New Zealand.

Absolutely it is safer to go ahead with the two time champions but we should not forget South Africa is also a very strong competitor of New Zealand and both of them are in the same group in the pool matches! So my pick will definitely include South Africa as second choice while NZ remains my first choice!

But it is sports and it's world cup, so you never know!!

In fact competition will be more interesting, All teams are ready to win the championship. I personally nominate South Africa because they have players who have a lot of experience that makes them simply beat all the matches.

New zealand would be my first pick then next is South Africa and just like avikz said this one is a strong contender but beating out a back to back champion team wont be an easy task but lets see!

I will say Wales as my home team, I do think they have the determination to improve and knowledge of how to do it.   However I dont believe they will succeed without improving their chances and upsetting their opponents via more successful drop goals.

I’m also looking for a new champion this year but New Zealand are getting stonger every year and looking at their record they still made a good wins compare to other teams. I like New Zealand team but i want the Ireland to win the title this year, the final will be more intense for sure.

All eyes will be on New Zealand who is going for a three peat. Every team would definitely want to beat them up. I would like to see a new team to lift the trophy for the first time. It's a long shot but I'm going for the host country  :D

We already know how the quality of the New Zealand team is, they are great and extraordinary every year. Anything can happen, if Ireland can win in this competition, of course it's something very good. So we can see new champions besides New Zealand.

I really don't know about the rugby but I try to follow from today so I will be hope that lots of people helpful for me to understand the rules and regulation and also makes me interesting to watch this rugby games I I hope it will be a good experience for me

Though Ireland has got just 60% win compared to New Zealand leading with 88% I have some belief that Ireland is gonna grab the world cup this time. New Zealand seems quite strong as they are the one to play increased number of matches, as well stays on the top. I find South Africa to be an unlucky team to win a world cup.

England is a very strong team tho so I'll go for them but without that list my bet would definitely USA. I've watched their games one time and I'm pretty impressed with their performance especially their quarterback (I just assumed that positions are also the same with football), his surname is Baker if I'm not mistaken. He is so fast because once he run the ball no one can chase him ;D.

I am not much of RUGBY fan, but with the little that I have set my eyes on, I think I am going to give it to new Zealand gain for their tremendous performance so far. I am not supporting them because they won the last game, but I have seen how string and fighter they are, I think they are not ready to let go off the wining soon and they might eventually still be the winner of this year’s game.

If we look at it clearly, I think new Zealand are still the master of this game, they must have been burn with it lol, and it is certain that they will still proof their loyalty to the cup this year again. Well, fingers crossed and I am watching to see if I will be right or not, because of new Zealand, I have to really watch the cup.

I am not a very big fan of rugby, so please excuse me for my lack of knowledge. My favorite team happens to be New Zealand, which seems to be the strongest side participating in this edition. South Africa was one of the stronger sides, but their quality has gone down during the recent decades. I am rooting for NZ, but at the same time I wish all the very best for all the teams that managed to qualify.

And it is also heartening to note that the world cup has expanded to 20 sides to give more diversity to the competition. Their approach is very encouraging and it comes at a time when the cricket world cup has reduced the number of participants to 10.

USA is currently ranked 15th, so I wouldn't really recommend that you bet on USA. And I believe USA hasn't won any Rugby World Cup championship yet.

For the first time in history, an Asian country is hosting the Rugby World Cup. Japan will be welcoming 19 other national teams in this year’s competition which will span from September 20 to November 2.

NZ has always been a promising team. Like you, I'm also rooting for them.

https://i.imgur.com/X34w7VL.jpg (https://imgur.com/X34w7VL)

https://i.imgur.com/HOPPuTZ.jpg (https://imgur.com/HOPPuTZ)

Thoroughly overexcited over here, not a betting man, would love it to be England or a rank outsider, but also delighted if it's the All Blacks as their play is so beautiful.

Thanks for sharing these great inforgraphics. Best of luck to your fave team. Mine's NZ, though. Next is SA. Gotta keep placing bets. The World Cup is about to start!

In my opinion, the Rugby world cup is probably the most diverse global tournament as far as any sport is considered. In no other competition, you can find the largest countries in the world (Russia, Canada.etc) competing against the smallest nations (Tonga, Fiji, Samoa.etc). Also, unlike the FIFA world cup and the recently concluded FIBA world cup, none of the continents are over-represented. All the continents are represented, although I would have hoped for the inclusion of China and at least one team from the South Asia - Southeast Asia region. Too bad that they couldn't qualify.

Talked to 2-3 friends and all of them are supporting New Zealand. I am not rooting for any team in particular, but would prefer NZ winning this tournament. Anyway, it is great to have this world cup expanding to 20 teams, as earlier Rugby was considered as a sport which was limited to a certain geographic range. As per odds checker, NZ is having the best odds at 6/4, with South Africa and England some way behind at 9/2. Ireland and Wales are ranked 4th and 5th respectively.

China are 80th in the world at rugger - bunch of poofs.
Taiwan are 65 - well it's a small place.
Hong Kong are 24th - very very respectable.
https://www.world.rugby/rankings/mru?lang=en

today (20/9/19) is the opening day of the rugby world cup, and tomorrow (21/9/19) is the match of 2 favorite team champions (New Zealand vs South Africa).  it's like remembering their final in 1995  :D

Watched the opening match between Japan and Russia. Japan had an easy win, with Russia losing 10-30. But while Russia was fielding a 100% native side, the Japanese team was mostly of foreign origin, with most of the players either having an oceanic ancestry (Will Tupou, Timothy Lafaele.etc) or originating from South Africa (Lappies Labuschagné, Wimpie van der Walt.etc).

I am not against teams fielding players of foreign origin. But in my opinion, it should not be to the extent that the majority of the team is composed of foreigners. Look at the recently concluded FIBA world cup. They had a limit of just one naturalized player per team.

Rugby is much dominated by the Western nation, from the ranking table itself we can get a clear visual about the leading teams. Among the top ten teams Japan seems to be the only Asian country to get tenth position. In the first match Japan has started its winning rally, somehow finally it'll be taken by New Zealand from my view.

Rugby is not very popular in Asia (at least not as much as the case in Oceania and the British Isles). However, the governing body (World Rugby) has taken a lot many progressive steps to make the sport more popular in countries where it is not being played on a large scale, with a lot of success. The reaction of the Japanese public to this tournament have been overwhelming.

A number of high-octane matches are scheduled for today, with one very exciting match ongoing right now (Australia vs Fiji). At half-time, Fiji is leang Australia by a slim margin of 14-12. Considering the fact that Australia is one of the favorites to win this world cup, it will be a major upset in case Fiji is able to hold on to the lead. BTW, later today we have the NZ vs South Africa match (the top two ranking sides).

..the top two tipped sides akshooly
the top ranked side is Wales whoops ireland add ana extra lol
lol
lol
lol
not a chance

Out of the three matches today, the first two ended with expected results. Australia managed to defeat Fiji 39-21 (after trailing during the half time) and France edged out Argentina by 23-21. The match between two of the top-ranked teams is ongoing now, with New Zealand currently on the top with a 17-10 lead against South Africa. A win by NZ will confirm their invincible status in rugby.

NZL is playing with good momentum againist South Africa and is leading by 17 -10 in the 58th min of the match.
I think NewZealnad team to be super favorites to win the tornament. In the last two world cup in 2015 and 2011, NZ were the winners and they are the only team to win two consective world cups.

Today's match between Ireland and Scotland just ended and it was real entertainment. Although Ireland win this match comfortably but Scotland really played well and keep the possession of the ball in their hand but did not manage to break the defense of Ireland.
England and Tonga match is about to begin and it will be another thriller.

Sad to see the Bitcointalk users not showing much interest in this thread. Rugby is a great sport and it is one of the ideal games for doing gambling. Upsets are not very rare and those who are willing to take some amount of risk can get good returns if they do their research thoroughly. I made my first bet today (in favor of Samoa), and ended up winning.

On Sunday, we had the very exciting Italy vs Namibia match, in which Namibia showed a lot of heart by taking on a very strong Italian side. They went down in the end, but the match was not one-sided. Next saturday they are taking on South Africa, and I will be making a bet in favor of Namibia. South Africa is currently ranked 2, but I think that there is a strong chance of upset.

From the African side, I think the South Africans are strong but I don't know how they fair in the world championship. I have not been following this game in details. I just know that I have not seen a skinny guy playing the game  ;D

Yes, I also see that people are not very interested in this Rugby world cup here. One of the reason which I can think of is that Rugby is not being very popular in Asia so this eliminates the Asians from showing interest here. I think the viewership and interest of this sports will increase in Asia as this world cup is held first time in Japan.

Yesterday we witness one of the closet match between Uruguay and Fiji and probably the first big upset of this world cup.
Important to mention that this was Uruguay's first win in 16 years and only their 3rd  world cup win. Juan and his team had a memorable moment of their lives when they beat Fiji.
With this win, Uruguay move up to 3rd position in the pool D.

Watched the match highlights after reading your post. It was a very close one, and Uruguay managed to scrape through by a slim margin (30-27). In rugby you don't expect the teams from Oceania to go down against Latin Americans. But Uruguay was able to score a major upset. BTW, today we had two very one sided matches (Italy vs Canada, and England vs USA).

Most of the matches which i saw in rugby world cup till now are one sided ones. Same goes for the on-going match between ARG and TGA. TGA is losing this match by 7 - 28 and this is another example of a boring match. Maybe as the tournament progresses, we may see a close finishes.

Argentina is currently leading by 28-12, and I won't regard this match as an one sided affair. Tonga is not a very strong side, but they put 100% effort in to this game and gave a good fight to Argentina. BTW, we have the Namibia vs South Africa match later today, and I expect it to be really close (although South Africa is one of the tournament favorites).

I agree that there were a number of one-sided matches so far in this tournament. But at the same time, we had one big upset (Uruguay defeating Fiji by a margin of 30-27). Considering the limited geographic reach of rugby as a sport, we can expect wide discrepancy in the skill levels between various nations. So one sided matches are expected, at least during the group phase. Still I would say that they did the right thing by expanding the world cup to 20 teams, rather than limiting it to a handful of nations (similar to what the cricket world cup has become).

Well thanks. You guys get paid and I get to just about keep up without much effort.
I'd suggest that Wales thrashing scotland might be a bit unexpected. what happened exactly? It'd be reasonable to expect the scots to put up a decent fight, if in no way to win.
Anyone know of a good youtube channel for the highlights or even just best tries? pls

Probably the match between Uruguay and Fiji was the only one which got a lot of attention and interest. It turned out to be a thriller.
For today's match i love the way Tonga played but scoring wise it was still another one sided world cup match. :-\

Everyone expected Namibia to give a good fight against South Africa, and in the end we got the most one sided match of the tournament so far. South Africa mopped the floor with their African neighbors, and won by a record 57-3 margin. Very difficult to believe that it was the same Namibian side which gave such a tough fight to Italy. The highlights of the match can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvI7jxkWZhM

Although Uruguay played brilliant against Fuji, they have not started well today against Georgia and have been missing the ball. Remember this match is crucial for both teams as the current points of Uruguay is 4 and Georgia is 0 and a win can really make them stay in the race of qualifying to the next round.
Australia and wales are currently at the top of pool D with 5 points each.

Though I am not a Rugby fan nor understand the whole game, I have heard that the hosts of the Rugby Union World Cup Japan are performing excellently in the competition having won all two games against Russia and surprisingly against Ireland as well, am sure there performance will bring a boost for Japanese to become more interested in the sports.

Yes.. it was a real upset. No one expected Ireland (one of the top sides) to go down against Japan. A few months back, Ireland was ranked no.1 and as far as I know, Japan has never managed to find a slot among the top 10. Very difficult to believe that this was the same Ireland side that destroyed Scotland a few days back (27-3). Now Japan is very likely to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Yes Japan tops the Pool A with 9 points and they have not lost a single match yet. Remember that Japan has a good history of playing good in the world cup which held in their country. Previously in 2002, they hosted the Fifa world cup and surprised every one by reaching the semi finals of the world cup. This time around they are ready to give another surprise with their performance in Rugby.

Someone already made a post here confirming that more than half of the Japanese players are of foreign origin. This increases their chances of a good performance, but at the same time the lack of native players may adversely impact the popularity of the sport among the general population. I have no issues with 2-3 foreign players in the squad. But having a majority foreign side is not good, IMO.

BTW, we had another one sided match today, with Scotland destroying Samoa 34-0. I was surprised because Samoa is not a very weak side. They regularly participate in the world cup, and they have a few past upsets to their name. And on top of that, Scotland had suffered a humiliating defeat from Ireland just a few days back (27-3). Japan is currently on the top with 9 points in Pool A. Ireland is second with 6 and Scotland and Samoa are trailing with 5 each.

Yes that's unbelievable! Gamblers who bet on Japan should be rich now  :D
BTW tomorrow Japan will play against Samoa what do you think? I think it's a pretty sure bet.
Another one is Australia vs Uruguay.
But for England vs Argentina, it's a little bit more difficult to predict the outcome.

This tournament is getting boring now. We are having too many one sided matches, back to back. Two days back New Zealand whacked Canada 63-0. And yesterday Fiji mopped the floor with Georgia (45-10) and Ireland destroyed Russia (35-0). And today we had another one sided match, with South Africa defeating Italy 49-3. I can't wait for the next round. I hope it will be more competitive. 

The next round will only starts from 19 October . Till then we have to see these one sided matches. But there is one good thing for the gamblers as they can sure shot win their bets on strong teams.
So far Pool D is interesting one and still it is not sure who will qualify from that pool. Wales and Fiji are on top two positions but Australia and Georgia have equal chances.

I do not think so that the tournament is boring. Which country are you representing in this world cup ? If your country is winning you must be enjoying it.  Also you can see the jam pack stadiums in all the matches and enthusiasm in the players nd crowd is just fantastic. The scoring line may disappoint but if you are rugby lover, this is the best one and a half month of matches to enjoy.

As expected Japan remains undefeated :
Japan Samoa 38-19
Australia was also an easy predictable win
Australia Uruguay 45-10
For England Argentina I expected a more tight score
England Argentina 39-10

Well.. my country failed to qualify for the tournament. Rugby is not a very popular sport here in India and this time India didn't even sent a squad for the Asian round of qualification. World Rugby has spent a lot of money in India, but the returns were quite low. But at the same time, I don't want India to import players from South Africa and Oceania and qualify with their help (similar to what Japan has done). It will be better if we could qualify on our own.

BTW, I did enjoyed some of the matches. One example was the Uruguay vs Fiji match.

I think there are no Asian Teams (other than Japan) who play Rugby. Maybe because it requires a very strong physique which normally asians do not have.
More interesting world cup matches are yet to follow. The knock out stages will start from next Saturday and the teams which have already qualified for the quarterfinals are England, Australia, Wales, NewZealand, Russia and France. The other two teams are yet to be selected.

Even the Japanese team is mostly comprised of expats. There are players from South Africa, Australia and Oceania in their team. But still it is a good way to improve the quality. By playing together with these players, the quality of the local players will also improve. Apart from Japan (ranked 10th globally), South Korea (31 in global ranking) and Hong Kong (ranked 24th) also have strong sides from Asia.

This is the first world cup which is held in Asia. This shows that Asia region is not very popular for rugby. Even the Asia Rugby Championship doesn't have any impact on increasing the demand for this sports in this region.

There was a major upset in the ongoing rugby world cup, as Japan knocked out one of the favorites (Scotland). The hosts won by 28-21. The win enabled Japan to progress to the quarter finals, which is a huge achievement for any Asian team. Their quarter final match is scheduled for Sunday and it will be against one of the highest ranking teams (South Africa). The chances are very low for another upset, as South Africa may prove too strong for them. But who knows? You can't rule out the upsets.

Who would have thought Japan's rugby team would reach the Quarter Finals? Congrats to Team Japan!

Seem to remember the coach for the Japan side that beat South Africa whenever it was, 2015?, he said sth to the effect of: the beauty of coaching Japanese players is that they do what you tell them to do.
May not seem much or seem weird, but I think he was saying that quite often players think too much, try and react too much and forget their drills and lines. Not every 18 stone whizz is also blessed with a rugby brain.
That coach is afaiu now coaching England who have mountains to climb.
Congratulations to the Japanese Rugby Team.
Many many condolences to the Japanese nation in their latest disaster. Your forethought and now your resilience are inspirational.

Japan is in quarterfinal its not upset as they already done good job in last few tournaments and now they are playing home with this advantage we can expect they can reach in last eight now 19 October first quarterfinal is going to played between England vs Australia its going to be very good contest even England is hot favorite for winning this and in second one New Zealand vs Ireland its also going to be one sided.

Unfortunately, Japan is not going to progress any further. Their opponents in the semi-finals are South Africa. And currently South Africa is being regarded as one of the top sides in the world of rugby. Japan has virtually zero chance of winning against South Africa, but they should be proud of their scintillating performance so far in the tournament.

I think Japan have achieved what they wanted in this world cup. This might have wished they could avoided South Africa in the knockouts but that did not happen. I still hope that Japan team will be full of confidence and they play positive in their probably last match of this memorable world cup.

Don't think that it is 100% certain that South Africa will defeat Japan. The latter are known for causing upsets and although it may sound ridiculous, there is a very small chance that Japan may progress to the semi-finals. It is going to be a David vs Goliath battle and there can be times when David emerges as the victor. But even if they lose, Japan can be proud of what they achieved so far.

And remember that South Africa had thrashed Japan 41-7 during a warm up match before the start of the tournament. I was checking the odds for the South Africa vs Japan match. Even the gambling sites have acknowledged that there is a small chance that Japan may commit an upset. Most of them have Japan at 4/1 and South Africa at 1/6. BWIN has Japan at 9/2 and SA at 3/20.

There is only one time when these two team met other than in this 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches. That was the time in 2015 world cup when Japan defeated South Africa by a close match 34-32. That was an upset and we can witness another upset tomorrow in the quarter finals. SA will be favorite but Japan may come out of something on a given day.

Wow!!! This is new information for me. Many thanks for posting this!!

I was not following the previous world cup and I searched in the net a bit regarding this match. I was able to find the highlights of the match as well... and you can watch the brief highlights here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ghArmsJjQM

It was the New Zealand expat Karne Hesketh who played a large role in the Japanese victory back then. So I would say that making an odd in favor of Japan looks very attractive now, even with 4/1 or 9/2 odds.

Its worth taking the risk as the odds looks attractive for Japan. I will bet small portion of my money on this match and hope Japan can come up with the historic upset. Changed my mind after seeing the history.
Also whom do you think are favorites in today match ? NewZealand should win their match but the match between Australia and England will be a nail-biter  and I am betting on Australia.

https://i.imgur.com/npMgIFn.png
Very little else matters when England beat Australia, which is often and thoroughly.

Well maybe fellow bitcoiners matter. I've noticed whenever anyone in this thread has said they're putting a bet on x versus y, it has been very clear they have no rugby knowledge to back that up. They 'wasted' money on some kind of romantic guess.

I am sure you are pointing this to me as I had made a bet on Australia and lost. Australia did finish 2nd in the pool D but I thought it was more difficult group than the England pool group. Also I like the Australian team more than the England one.
I am not the big expert but betting is risky for the experienced ones too.

Well.. I am afraid that you lost money today. England literally hammered Australia by a big margin (40-16), and in the other match New Zealand won against Ireland by an even bigger margin (46-14). The remaining two quarter finals will be played tomorrow and I am expecting Wales and South Africa to win them (against France and Japan respectively).

I was looking to see some close matches in the knock out stages of the tournament but this did not happen today. Both the quarterfinals were one sided. New Zealand and England dominated from the beginning and did not let any chance for their opponents.

Well... you can't complain about the New Zealand vs Ireland match... NZ is to world rugby is to what the United States is to Basketball. It is almost impossible to beat them, or even to get a close match against them. But there were some very close matches in the tournament and we can't expect each and every match to go down the wire.

So today we have some very exciting matches. The first one is Wales vs France, which I expect to be a very close match. And later in the afternoon, we'll be having Japan vs South Africa, which is going to be a very exciting match. I will support the underdogs for the second match (Japan) and I may be placing a bet on them. Japan has previously beat the Springboks, and a repeat performance is not that impossible. And if they qualify for the semi-finals, it will be a historic event, as no Asian team has managed that before.

What  a drama in this bloody match. This is probably the best world cup match. France was winning by 19-13 but right at the depth Wales come back and won this match by 20-19. Lots of joy and tears at the end of the match. Heart broken for France today.

Apologies virasog, not aimed at you particularly (Aus was probably a good bet), shouldn't have been so general sorry.

Congrats Wales, just, now
Come on Japan!

The turning point for this quarter final was Sebastien Vahaamahina Red card which eventually resulted in France defeat. There was no need to show that much aggression when the team is actually winning. This made France team one man down and wales did attacked better in the last 20 mins to marginally win the close contest.

Japan lost as most of the people expected however I lost the bet again.  :'(   South Africa were too good for them. They did play well and kept the score 3-5 in the first half. But they could not keep the same performance in the 2nd half.

I should have made a bet on this match. But I was unlucky today and made a bet in favor of Japan. And they lost to South Africa by a very heavy margin. Now I think that I should have chosen Wales instead. Anyway.... may be I'll be lucky with the semi-finals. England will be taking on New Zealand and South Africa will be up against Wales. I'll go for Wales during the 2nd semi finals.

BTW..... todays match between Wales and France was unreal. No other world to describe that one. The red card to Sébastien Vahaamahina changed everything, and France was leading until then. After that they had to play with 14 men and lost the advantage to Wales. Congratulations to the Welsh players including Aaron Wainright and Ross Moriarty. They played like champions today.

Today was an entertaining day as I witness two of the best matches. Wales are really lucky to go through the semi finals. However Japan disappointed a bit as being a host nation , everyone was hoping they could do the impossible and beat the giant South Africa.

One thing which make me surprise me is that the Semi finals are on next Sat/Sun. Why they are taking so many days for the semis ?

They want to maximize the TV viewership and in my opinion, it is not a bad thing. The number of viewers will be more during the weekends when compared to the weekdays. So they have the semifinals on Sat/Sun next week and the final on the Saturday the week after that. And it gives the teams enough time to prepare as well. During the 2015 world cup also they had a similar schedule.

I still think it is strange decision. We do not see such schedule in other sports like Fifa World cup etc. Teams do need times to practice but this much time is very uncommon.  They could have scheduled the two semifinals on Saturday and the final could be on the Sunday. There was no point to stretch the final to Friday (Now where is that viewership excuse, as friday is not a weekend).

It's also about those big bodies recovering from their exertions. You can't put everything on the line every day.

My prediction goes to the team New Zealand, They just crashed Ireland in the semi-final with a huge difference which is 46-14 at Tokyo Stadium, now they are taking preparation to regain their title and they are fully favorite in the final against England, who is the winner over Australia in the first semi-final of this world cup, I thought Australia and New Zealand will both face in the final but very unfortunate that Australia couldn't manage their game at the end, whatever the scenario is, I think New Zealand is going to win this final against England, but there is no way to think that England hasn't any chance to win, but New Zealand is my favorite.

Well..... New Zealand is miles ahead of the other teams and for the past 1-2 decades they have dominated the sport. South Africa used to be a good opponent for them, but they have suffered many setbacks during the last 10-15 years (in part due to the involvement of politics). I would rate England as the third best team out there, but beating New Zealand is a very tough task even for them. Wales is the surprise entrant in the semifinals, but I would never write them off. They showed a lot of heart during the match against France.

New Zealand crush Ireland in quarter final and now we are going to have Semi Final New Zealand vs England and South Africa vs Wales and both matches are going to one sided as New Zealand is in very good form and hot favorite for winning this Cup and South Africa is also good they can manage win against Wales but hard them for facing New Zealand in final.

New Zealand is the best, but that doesn't necessarily mean that England is weak. England is one of the top sides as far as international rugby is considered. I would rate them among the top 4 sides. The match can be one sided, but the chances are more for a close fight. Even for the other match (South Africa vs Wales), I am expecting a very close fight. And I won't be really surprised if it turns out that the final is to be played between Wales and England.

I'm a Wales fan but I think they have very few chances against South Africa. The other match instead is not as foregone as you may think, because England has a good offensive team and Farrell is a great kicker and a charismatic captain.

No one expected Wales to beat France, especially after they trailed by 13-19 with just a few minutes remaining. They won by 20-19, and it was one of the biggest upsets in this edition. Now South Africa is much stronger when compared to France, but they are not invincible. At least they are not New Zealand, who are the no.1 side. IMO, any team other than NZ can be defeated.

Any result can happen in any competion but right now after watching few matches I am expecting we are going to watch Grand Finale between New Zealand vs South Africa as both are already done good job in matches and now they are going to face real challenge from both good and tough teams I am feeling we have final between these two.

Yes... the chances are more for a New Zealand vs South Africa final, as these two are the top two ranking sides. Even among them, the gap between New Zealand and South Africa have widened over the past few years. One of the reason is the decline in the standards of the South African rugby as a result of political intervention and quota system. In the long term, I expect New Zealand to become even stronger and South Africa to become weak. They may be overtaken by teams such as England as the no.2 side.

That would be a dream final between NZ and SA.  Comparing both teams head to head reveals interesting results however NZ does look better based upon previous history.

https://i.imgur.com/TloiXdc.png

What about recently? Didn't SA beat NZ? Was that a fluke or NZ fielded a weaker side?

Anyway, as with almost any competition, the semi-finals are often much more thrilling than the finals.

Sadly England tend to go very wrong very fast against the All Blacks, while I expect Wales to fight to the bitter end.

I don't follow Rugby so don't know which team is stronger but i am cheering for New Zealand and I hope they win so that i can rub this win on my colleague's face. Down to earth bloke but after winning the cricket world cup not so.....  ;D

When did SA beat NZ ? In the group match in pool b between these two teams NewZealand came out to be the winner by 23 -13.
This happened very early in the tournament.

https://i.imgur.com/YOgu9ge.png

hmm was a draw https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/rugby-championship/scores-fixtures/2019-07
it was Oz https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/rugby-championship/scores-fixtures/2019-08

This draw happened in July 2019,  I mentioned the more recent win by the NZ, that is Sep, 2019


NZ did lost this match but it was against Australia (a much weaker team then SA)  but then there are days when underdogs win.

Wow! In case a final is played between New Zealand and South Africa, then it will be the 100th international match between the two nations! Being a fan of the New Zealand team I want them to win the final, either against South Africa or Wales. Rugby lovers would be overjoyed if there is an upset during the Wales vs South Africa match. I am perfectly OK with a NZ vs Wales final. That would be even more exciting.

https://i.imgur.com/tiqWpGY.jpg

uh. This is the longest week ever in British rugby. Fact.

Less than 24 hours to go for the first semi-final (New Zealand vs England) and I am getting nervous. The odds look very competitive for both the sides. I just checked Bwin, and they have England at 9/4 and New Zealand at 17/50. Also they have a bet for Aaron Smith to score first try, which is placed at 25/1. For me, the last one is very tempting and I may go for it.

The odds for the other sites are like this:

Bet365: NZ-1.40, ENG-3.40
TAB: NZ-1.33, ENG-3.35
Betfair: NZ-1.42, ENG-3.70
Topbetta: NZ-1.36, ENG-3.20

Just putting some light on the history between the two teams before the actual big match. Its seems that NZ is far better team than England but i don't know why i am fearing the semi final upsets. I wish i am wrong.

https://i.imgur.com/91ktKQr.png

Someone defeating New Zealand in rugby is like beating the United States in basketball or defeating Usain Bolt in a 100m race. Theoretically it is possible, but the chances are very very low... But look at the odds. Even if you bet for NZ, there is a good chance of getting some positive returns. I have seen odds up to 1.42, which means that if you are betting $100 on NZ, then you can get $142 if they win.

That's a very good odd for betting on Newzealand. Normally we do not get such good odds for the strong teams so here is good way to make some easy money by betting on the NewZealand today.
All eyes on the match which will undergo in 2 hours from now.

I thought about it for quite some time, but in the end I placed $50 for New Zealand. I initially thought about betting $100, but I had a few bad bets this month and wanted to limit my exposure. I am thinking about placing a bet for the second semi final as well (South Africa vs Wales). The chances are that South Africa will win. But the odds for Wales look very attractive and I want to place a bet favoring them. Bwin is having Wales at 5/2 and South Africa at 3/10. Skybet is having even better odds for Wales at 11/2 and SA at 1/3.

I think i'm late. New Zealand odds is down to 1.36 now. NZ to become champion is at 1.80. I am confident NZ will become champion again this World Cup. This will be a historic grandslam. ;D

Nope... you are not late. Around 45 minutes still remaining for the start of the play between New Zealand and England. BTW, although 1.36 looks good for New Zealand, I have seen better odds out there (I remember one of the sites having them at 1.45). So browse around various gambling sites in case you want to get the best deal. Also, 1.80 for the championship odds looks good.

All of you are wrong. Newzealand are about to be eliminated from the World cup. How sad would that be ?
England are leading by 15 - 0 and they look more focused and determined today.

Edit: 5 points taken back. The lead is still 10 - 0 and it is massive.

New Zealand is down and out look like we are going to have double this year as England won Cricket world cup and now Rugby world cup is also going their way today they completely outclass New Zealand without Empire's help good job advance congrats to them.

It has also become practically possible and the Giants are out of this race.
The unbeatable and the favorites are going to exit Japan today.

Final Score:  England 19   NewZealand 07

https://i.imgur.com/LPbP0iX.jpg

You better kneel.

It took me at least 10 minutes after the match to digest the results. England got to a large lead early on, but I was always having a feeling that NZ being invincible would be able to overcome that lead. But England held on, and won in the end. Everyone who made bets in favor of New Zealand lost their money today (moral lesson: never take any team for granted).  ;D

It was one of the biggest upsets in the history of the rugby world cup. No one expected New Zealand to lose a match, no matter how strong their opponents are. I lost some money betting on them, but still I enjoyed the match. The same happened during the FIBA World Cup which occurred last month. Everyone expected the US to win, but they could not even qualify for the finals. Anyway, we have another semifinal between Wales and South Africa today. Hopefully we may get another upset.  ;D

After seeing the yesterday match, I am not betting on today's match as we cannot be sure who will win this one. South Africa is favorite between the two but we have seen wales coming back in the quarterfinal in the dying moments. They have full capacity to provide another upset today.
Its better to avoid the betting today and enjoy the match.

Watching the semi-final match between Wales and South Africa. With less than 15 minutes to go, both the sides are tied at 16-16. The match is extremely tight and it can tilt either way. However, from what I have seen so far, I would say that Wales is having an edge. They are playing really well and the South Africans seems to be in panic mode. Also, there is a good chance that we'll be heading towards overtime. Wales did well to level up, after trailing by 9-16 until the 65th minute.

Edit: South Africa wins. Handre Pollard puts them 19-16 from a penalty.

This was another interesting Semi final which I enjoyed a lot. It was difficult to tell who will win the match before the 80 mins. Both teams played aggressively but South Africa being lucky to move ahead.
Final between England and South Africa, whom do you rank the favorites?  Very difficult to predict now.

It looked as if Wales may pull off another upset. But they were lucky and couldn't match the South Africans in the end. A rugby world cup final without New Zealand is not going to be very exciting. That said, in my opinion England has the maximum chances in the final. They had such a comprehensive win against the New Zealanders. On the other hand, South Africa really struggled today.

NewZealand had bad day and they were eliminated. But this means the final is wide open and anyone can win it. England will come hard at south Africans but at the start of the tournament South Africa was considered as the 2nd best team of the tournament. So I am expecting it to be a great final where it is hard to guess the winners.

Wales should have won this, so I would expect South Africa's team to take this now unless people really think England have excelled and have more to pull out of the bag as a surprise in the final.   Should be a good game either way but that was a nice upset bet for anyone who backed England tbh.

It was a tough match for Wales. They were trailing 9-16, and then worked hard to level the scores at 16-16. Unfortunately just a few minutes before the end of the play, the South Africans managed to take the score to 19-16. Anyway, the final match is going to be very exciting, and I will be rooting for England this time. Their performance against the tournament favorites New Zealand was nothing short of exemplary. Most of the betting sites are also predicting a victory for England. 

These are the odds, from the major betting sites:

Bet365: SA-2/1, ENG-1/2
Unibet: SA-15/8, ENG-1/2
Betfair: SA-15/8, ENG-8/15
Ladbrokes: SA-7/4, ENG-8/15

I think England are favourites, they certainly are with the bookies. NZ were favourites & England destroyed them in the semi final. I expect England to win it.

Look like very easy win for England after they beat New Zealand very good but still any result can happen as its best team on the day can win now we have to wait just few days for this all.

It will not be easy for any team so if you are thinking that England will win this easily, you are wrong. Tomorrow is the final and new world cup winner will be decided. It will be games of nerves and who ever stays strong will win this world cup.

I know its not easy with any team in any competition but right now we are say England is really team to watch as they are doing until now they have some good players and these making this a great winning unit and final is going to be held on Saturday now we have less then 48 hours for have new world champion in rugby.

It is not going to be easy for either of the teams. Apart from New Zealand, England and South Africa ranks as the powerhouses in rugby. And both these teams have almost equal chances of winning the match (as evident from the odds being offered). My pick is going to be England, as they defeated the strongest team in the tournament during the semi-finals.

BTW, today we have the match for the 3rd place, between New Zealand and Wales. NZ will be devastated after their loss to England and will be looking to return home with a consolation win. On the other hand, Wales will be having a rare opportunity to commit an upset against the top ranking team. They have done well so far and a win against NZ would be a perfect end to their world cup campaign.

I do hope for another upset in this world cup. If Wales managed to beat NewZealand today, the NewZealand supporters will be furious.
On the other hand, wales have nothing to lose and if they win today, for them it will be the worldcup win for them, a very big achievement.

New Zealand defeated Wales quite comfortably, by a margin of 40-17. So they can go home with some of their honor intact. On the other hand, Wales fought well, but defeating a team such as New Zealand is close to impossible. Still they can be proud of their performance in the tournament. They gave a close fight against South Africa as well.

I'm taking a bet on England at 1.43. South Africa is tough but it lost to New Zealand in the group match and had a hard time with Wales. England on the other hand had a great time in the group stages. A comfortable win on Australia and a double digit lead against this World Cup favorite New Zealand. I expect England's odds to continue going lower until the start of the game.

I’m not a massive rugby fan but I am English & I did enjoy the semi final. I usually stay in bed until late on a Saturday but I will be getting up early to watch the final tomorrow, probably with a couple of cheeky beers ;)

Well I won't get the chance to see it live and frankly, rather you than me: I reckon it will be pretty tight and gut-wrenching to watch. What's nice is I see young kids carrying rugger balls around and playing in the parks. Happens once every ~12 years when we do well lol.

1.43 doesn't looks good. I would not take such a high risk with those odds. I checked various websites and all of them have odds for England at around that range (2/5 or 4/9). South Africa looked shaky during their semi-final (unlike England who managed to beat New Zealand), but in my opinion both these teams have almost equal chances today.

Okay ladies and Gents its ON! grab the popcorn  ;D

Tough 10 mins for England at start, they are not looking good and South Africa dominating the game so far.

Look like we are going to have another upset as England is really bad today and South African doing good job 2 Minutes left in first half and score is 6 - 9 in favor of South Africa  so we have to wait for second half until no nothing especial all points by penaltites no try no enjoyment.

How can you say that England are favorite for today's match ?

South Africa will win this final unless England come up with something stunning in the last 30 mins.

England was hot favorite in start as they beat another hot favorite in semi final but today most of match is dominant by South Africa.

Good win. Gents, it's been a pleasure. Let me know if there's another rugby thread ever please.

LOL.. another upset in the final and now the tournament is over. The odds in favor of England ranged from 2/5 (1.40) to 4/9 (1.444). Anyone who went with those might have lost their money today. I was expecting a close match, but in the end it turned out to be very one-sided in favor of South Africa. Never expected this wide margin (12-32). 

This world cup is a real memorable one and we have to wait for another 4 years to get the new Rugby thread.  :)

This picture is memorable and will not be unforgettable for a long long time.

https://i.imgur.com/BaXxqlR.jpg


Hats off to Japan for hosting such a wonderful event.

It was really one sided and south Africans were so much ahead than England boys. At least we were hoping to see hard contest after watching semi final match where England's performance was so good but team south Africa just played beyond their best. Its really heartbreaking for England team and their supporters ::)(Including me) but there is no way to deny that this day was completely for South Africans.

Nice to see South Africa winning a global competition, when their fortunes are down elsewhere. I have been following their cricket and football teams for quite sometime, but both are not doing good. Rugby has been one of their strongholds, and it is good to see them winning the world cup. Where is the fun, if New Zealand wins it every time?

I am not a big fan of rugby. But this time, the world cup caught my attention. I have a lot of respect for the World Rugby, for their selfless efforts to grow the sport outside the traditional regions (Oceania, South Africa and the British Isles). This time they had a total of 20 teams, from all over the globe. It was heartening to see teams such as Georgia, Japan and Uruguay competing alongside the rugby super-powers such as England and New Zealand.

Anyway, it was a great tournament. See you guys in 2023, in France!!!!