The New Zealand men’s professional rugby team, also known as the All Blacks, recently suffered a heavy defeat to the Springboks in South Africa, losing 26-10 at the Mbombela Stadium. The All Blacks are the most successful side in men’s international rugby, but several recent losses have raised concerns about many areas of the team, with people questioning whether their downfall has begun.
The New Zealand men’s professional rugby team, also known as the All Blacks, recently suffered a heavy defeat to the Springboks in South Africa, losing 26-10 at the Mbombela Stadium. The All Blacks are the most successful side in men’s international rugby, but several recent losses have raised concerns about many areas of the team, with people questioning whether their downfall has begun.
They also lost to Farrell’s Irish side 32-22 at the Sky Stadium in Wellington on July 16th, plus another defeat to Ireland on July 9th saw them lose 32-12 at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. In fact, the Ireland Rugby team’s latest win in New Zealand saw them become only the third team in history to beat the All Blacks on their home turf! With all this in mind, what will New Zealand’s hopes be heading into the Rugby Union 2023 World Cup?
On the decline, or just a temporary blip?
If you’re wondering what New Zealand’s chances of winning the world cup might be, to get a better understanding of how they might perform, the best thing to do would be to look at the current odds for New Zealand winning their upcoming matches to see how they are priced. For example, right now, the odds for New Zealand to win the Rugby Championship are 7/4 in fractional odds (which is 2.75 in decimal odds and +175 in American/Moneyline odds).
In other words, they are NOT the current favourites to win. The current favourites at most major betting sites, such as William Hill Sports (https://sports.williamhill.com/betting/en-gb), for example, are South Africa, priced at around 17/20 (1.85, or -118). You also have Australia at 4/1 (5.00, or +400) and Argentina at 66/1 (67.00, or +6,600). Although the odds for winning the Rugby World Cup 2023 (which isn’t scheduled to begin until Friday, September 8th, 2023) are out now, a lot can happen between now and then, which means that the odds can change a great deal.
With that in mind, at the time of writing, France are currently the favourites to win at 11/4 (3.75, or +275), while New Zealand are second favourites to win and are priced at 3/1 (4.00, or +300). You then have England, Ireland, and South Africa, who are all currently priced at 5/1 (6.00, or +500).
Who are the All Blacks?
The All Blacks are the most successful national rugby team ever to grace the sport, and they have been at the top spot in the official World Rugby rankings more than any other national rugby side since the ranking system began. One of the most incredible facts about the New Zealand men’s national rugby team is that they have won more than a whopping 75% of their games in the past century.
Possibly the most famous All Blacks player ever is Jonah Lomu, who sadly passed away in 2015. He is often regarded by many as the first true global superstar of rugby union. Even those of you who are only vaguely familiar with the sport will be able to associate his name with rugby. The team is known for performing their iconic Haka before every international match, which sends tingles down the spines of everyone from the players they face to the spectators watching on television around the world.
The All Blacks have also won every major rugby competition in the world on more than one occasion, and some of their most notable victories include the Rugby Championship (aka Tri Nations) and the Rugby World Cup (1987, 2011, and 2015).
About the upcoming Rugby World Cup 2023
The upcoming Rugby World Cup 2023 will be hosted by France. It will be the tenth Rugby World Cup since it started, and it’s scheduled to run from September 8th until the final on October 28th. It will be the third time the French have hosted the event, and it will be the first time that the Chilean national side has ever taken part in the tournament.
The main venues where you will be able to watch the action as it unfolds are the Stade de France, the Stade Velodrome, the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, the Stade Pierre-Maurot, and the Nouveau Stade Bordeaux. Other venues include the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, the Allianz Rivera, the Stade Beaujoire, and the Stadium Municipal.
A total of 16 nations will be competing against each other to win the world cup, and apart from the teams already mentioned above, Australia, Scotland, Fiji, Japan, Tonga, Italy, Georgia, USA, and Samoa, will also be taking part. Will New Zealand be hopeful this time going into the tournament, and can they win an unprecedented fourth time?
