Odds in their favour: Why the All Blacks are sudden World Cup favourites

The All Blacks will no longer have the option to play the rare underdogs tag when they arrive in Paris next month.

France’s odds of lifting the William Webb Ellis Trophy have taken a hit after their star first five Romain Ntamack was ruled out of next month’s Rugby World Cup.

Ntamack ruptured cruciate ligaments in his left knee in the second half of the 30-27 victory over Scotland in a World Cup warm-up on Saturday, the team said following scans.

A fortnight ago hosts France and the All Blacks were co-favourites to win the final at $3.50 at the New Zealand TAB but following Ntamack’s injury, Les Blues have drifted out to $3.75.

The All Blacks have remained steady at $3.50.

There has also been a slight change in the match result market for the opening game on September 9 in Paris between the old foes, with New Zealand moving from $2 to $1.82 as a result of Ntamack’s injury.

Many bookmakers worldwide also moved the All Blacks from co-favourites with the hosts to outright favourites to win the World Cup, following their unbeaten start to the 2023 season.

Bet365, Sky Bet, Paddy Power, William Hill, 888 Sport, Betfair and several others rank the All Blacks’ chances higher than the hosts.

New Zealand leapfrogged the French in the world rankings into second following last month’s 38-7 win in Melbourne against the Wallabies.

World number one-ranked Ireland, who’ve never made the semifinals of a World Cup, are at $5.50 at the TAB, alongside three-time winners and defending champions South Africa.

After last year’s series loss to Ireland, New Zealand’s odds were at $3.75 to win the World Cup outright but increased to as high as $4 following the loss to Argentina in Christchurch in August last year.

Romain Ntamack (right) celebrates his try against the All Blacks in 2021. Photo / Photosport

Matthieu Jalibert is set to fill in as Ntamack’s understudy when the tournament begins.

“Romain, we are thinking of you a lot,” the French rugby federation posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The whole group is supporting you. We wish you a good recovery.”

In his own post, Ntamack wrote: “I’ll be back.”

The exciting playmaking partnership between Ntamack and halfback Antoine Dupont has been one of the key reasons behind France’s improvement under coach Fabien Galthié since the last World Cup in 2019.

- with AP

Luke Kirkness is an online sport editor for NZ Herald. He previously worked as an assistant news director in the Bay of Plenty and before that at the NZ Herald, covering mainly consumer affairs. He won Student Journalist of the Year in 2019 at the Voyager Media Awards.