Rugby World Cup 2019 winners' odds, favourites and betting

And then there were four. The 2023 Rugby World Cup has entered the semi-finals, with South Africa, England, Argentina, and New Zealand the remaining countries still vying for the championship. Sports Brief looks at their respective odds to win the Webb Ellis Cup before the semis stage takes place. The Springboks' title defence has not been easy.…

Today, one of the most important matches of 2023 Rugby World Cup pool play will take place in Toulouse. Japan and Samoa enter tonight's match (3:00 pm ET, Peacock) with their quarterfinal hopes still alive, but only one team will still be in the hunt after the final horn sounds at Stadium de Toulouse. Entering the contest, they and the rest of Pool…

But the significance of the teams' encounter in Toulouse, France, on Thursday night, September 28 (kickoff at 4 AM JST on Friday) cannot be overstated. Both head coaches have declared that their team needs a win to keep alive hopes of advancing to the RWC quarterfinals in France.Does world No 12 Samoa have the edge?Samoa owns a 12-5 record in…

Wales assistant coach Rob Howley was sent home from the World Cup in Japan on this day in 2019 after a breach of betting rules. The then 48-year-old former Wales captain had been a part of Warren Gatland's coaching team since 2008 and left Wales' World Cup squad base in the southern Japanese city of Kitakyushu while an investigation into his…

You can watch England v Japan in the Rugby World Cup on ITV1, 8pm Sunday Japan lost 52-13 the last time they faced England, and the Red Rose have conceded totals of three (three times), seven, ten and 11 points in their pool matches against tier-two teams at the last three World Cups.

Australia secured their first win under Eddie Jones last weekend, in a hard-hitting 35-15 win over Georgia. The Wallabies ended their five match losing streak, that stretched back to the start of the 2023 Rugby Championship this past Summer. This match against the Flying Fijians is arguably the hardest to predict of the weekend, with the Pacific…

If the Brave Blossoms were to venture out of their hotel in Monaco, where they are staying ahead of their Rugby World Cup Pool D game with England, and head to the famous casino they would see their opponents are overwhelming favorites to not just win Sunday's game in Nice, France, but top the pool. The 2003 champions put aside some recent poor…

South Africa gets its title defense started at the Rugby World Cup on Sunday. Back in 2019 in Japan, the South Africans used a swarming defense, a solid kicking game and a dominant set-piece to win rugby's biggest prize for a record-tying third time. Now they are aiming to add a more expansive approach through new flyhalf Manie Libbok as they begin…

SA Rugby magazine reflects on the 2019 World Cup in Japan, in which the Springboks lifted the Webb Ellis Cup for a third time. In 2008, the International Rugby Board (now World Rugby) announced that a record 10 unions had expressed interest in hosting either the 2015 or 2019 tournaments. The following year, the IRB rubber-stamped Rugby World Cup…

Rugby World Cup 2023 is fast approaching, with the blockbuster opener between tournament hosts France and the All Blacks now a week away. The Stade de France showstopper highlights a huge opening weekend of action with South Africa and Scotland doing battle, and England and Argentina also facing off. Read on as we run an eye over Pool…

Japan coach Jamie Joseph named an initial 30-man squad for the Rugby World Cup on Aug. 15. Three days later he added four players, while also announcing that lock James Moore had pulled out of the squad due to a conditioning issue. On Aug. 28, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced that lock Uwe Helu and center Shogo Nakano had dropped out of the…

OPINION: The final spot for the World Cup in France went to Portugal and now the biggest rugby spectacle in the world is just around the corner. While spectators will be entertained by 20 teams from all over the world for more than a month, from Friday, September 8 to Saturday, October 28, we pick the top seven most interesting games not to be…

Loose forward Kazuki Himeno was on Tuesday named Japan captain for the 2023 Rugby World Cup as the Brave Blossoms seek to replicate their impressive performances on home soil four years ago. Hosts Japan were the first Asian team to make the quarter-finals in 2019, beating Ireland and Scotland before losing to eventual champions South…

When the Rugby World Cup 2019 kicked off in Tokyo, Japan, the excitement was palpable. The anticipation of Japan's performance, however, held a twinge of uncertainty. A relative underdog in a sport dominated by Western and Southern Hemisphere giants, Japan was more familiar to the world as the gracious host rather than a fierce competitor. Yet, as…

Rugby World Cup 2023 kicks off in France on September 8th and Rugby betting expert Kevin Dolan gives his thoughts on the various groups (pools), and where the betting value lies in respect to who will come out on top and progress through to the knockout rounds. Pool D is a fairly complex group overall consisting of 2003 World Cup winners England,…

With little over a year and a half until the Rugby World Cup 2023, teams are in full throttle preparing for the prestigious competition... The quadrennial tournament will take place in France on the 200th anniversary of the'creation' of the rugby sport while also marking the 10th edition of the Rugby World Cup. Scheduled to take place over six…

You can go ahead and pick your jaw from the floor now. Yes, it has been over nine decades of rugby in the land of the rising sun. It is a bit odd for a country so averse to external traditions to rank as the tenth most powerful nation in this sport discipline. There are currently over 3600 professional clubs in Japan that are home to more than…

With just under two months remaining before Japan faces Russia in the opening match of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the Brave Blossoms return to the Pacific Nations Cup after a three-year hiatus. The PNC usually features the Pacific nations of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, but this year Japan, Canada and the United States also join the tournament to aid with…

Loose forward Kazuki Himeno was on Tuesday named Japan captain for the Rugby World Cup as the Brave Blossoms seek to replicate their impressive performances on home soil four years ago. Hosts Japan were the first Asian team to make the quarter-finals in 2019, beating Ireland and Scotland before losing to eventual champions South Africa. Himeno,…