Rugby World Cup 2023 Betting Guide

It's not long now until the 10th edition of the men’s Rugby World Cup, kicking off in France where 20 of the best international teams will compete for the William Webb-Ellis trophy. So we’ve put together a handy guide for you explaining how to bet on the Rugby World Cup 2023 in South Africa.

Included in our comprehensive Rugby World Cup 2023 Betting Guide is all the information you need to bet on this spectacular tournament in South Africa. Here you’ll find fixtures, pools, odds, and betting tips, plus a complete list of the best betting sites for the Rugby World Cup 2023. Let's get stuck in!

Where and when is the Rugby World Cup 2023?

The Rugby World Cup 2023 will take place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across 10 glorious host cities.

Which teams have qualified for the Rugby World Cup 2023?

The Rugby World Cup 2023 will feature 20 teams – 12 of which have qualified by finishing in the Top 3 of their pool at the previous 2019 Rugby World Cup 2019 hosted in Japan. The remaining eight teams made the cut through from a global qualification process where the highest-ranked teams from the following regions went through: Oceania (1 team), Europe (2 teams), Americas (2 teams), Asia/Pacific (1 team) and Africa (1 team).

Rugby World Cup 2023 pools

Rugby World Cup 2023 is a round-robin style tournament with a pool stage followed by a knockout stage made up of 3 single-elimination rounds concluding with the final and a third-place playoff. For any Rugby World Cup nation to progress in the tournament, they must finish in the Top 2 out of their pool of 5 teams.

Pool A

• New Zealand
• France
• Italy
• Uruguay
• Namibia

Pool B

• South Africa
• Ireland
• Scotland
• Tonga
• Romania

Pool C

• Wales
• Australia
• Fiji
• Georgia
• Portugal

Pool D

• England
• Japan
• Argentina
• Samoa
• Chile

Rugby World Cup 2023 fixtures

A total of 48 matches will be played across 51 days during the Rugby World Cup 2023. The host nation, France gets the tournament underway on 8 September with their first match against powerhouse, New Zealand. The Springboks will play their opening match against Scotland on 10 September in Marseille. 

Want to know more? Click here to see the full schedule of Rugby World Cup 2023 fixtures. Most South African betting sites will also have all the fixtures listed on their sites, along with odds.

Rugby World Cup 2023 betting markets

There is a huge variety of Rugby World Cup 2023 betting markets available for rugby punters in South Africa. With everything from Match Winner, Half Time Result and Handicaps to Anytime Try Scorer and Top Points Scorer.

In terms of Outright Betting, the most popular bet is to predict the Rugby World Cup 2023 winner, but you can also choose from these rugby betting markets and more in South Africa:

• Name the Finalists
• Winning Pool
• Which teams will qualify from their pool
• All Northern/Southern Hemisphere Final Yes/No
• First-Time Winner Yes/No
• Top Six Nations Team
• Top Rugby Championship Team

Rugby World Cup 2023 odds

Most rugby punters out there probably can't remember a time when New Zealand wasn't the team to beat in the Rugby World Cup, and the same can arguably be said for 2023. However, host nation France is the tournament favourite for 2023, and you can be sure that Ireland and South Africa won’t go down without a fight either!

You can find the latest odds for the Rugby World Cup 2023 winner and other exciting markets on Betway and other top rugby betting sites in South Africa.

Rugby World Cup 2023 winner

For the past decade or longer, New Zealand has been a supreme force in rugby, although teams like France and Ireland are pushing hard to challenge their dominance. Despite being the defending champions, the Springboks are not the favourites to be the Rugby World Cup 2023 winner. New Zealand, France and Ireland are all expected by the bookies to have a better chance of winning, but it's really anyone's guess as to which of these teams will actually lift the trophy on 28 October.

Here is a list of the previous Rugby World Cup Winners:

• New Zealand - 1987, 2011, 2015
• South Africa - 1995, 2007, 2019
• Australia - 1991, 1999
• England - 2003

The Rugby World Cup has only ever been won by four teams - namely New Zealand, South Africa, England and Australia. However, there has not been a time in rugby’s history when France and Ireland have been as strong as they are today, suggesting that a new nation could well be crowned champions for the first time in 2023!

Rugby World Cup 2023 betting tips

When trying to predict which team will win the Rugby World Cup 2023 there are numerous factors to consider, but arguably none are as important as a team's form going into the tournament. In gauging a team's form in the run-up to the Rugby World Cup, two major international tournaments worth looking at are the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship. 

One valuable Rugby World Cup 2023 betting tip is to study these tournaments closely, looking at not just the winners of these tournaments but also which players played crucial roles in the success of their respective teams. Especially when it comes to betting on exotic markets such as Top Try Scorer and Player of the Tournament, the more information you can gather the better your chances of success will be! 

Here are some tips to help with your Rugby World Cup 2023 betting strategy:

• Look at the current form of each team
• Think about how the opposing teams match up (strengths vs weaknesses)
• Always consult the list of absent or injured players before betting
• Consider which teams have the best reserve players
• Whichever team dominates the breakdown has a huge advantage overall
• Bet early to take advantage of any potential value in the markets 
• Don’t ignore the bookie’s favourites (they are dominant for a reason)

Rugby World Cup 2023 betting sites in South Africa

We hope that our Rugby World Cup 2023 Betting Guide has provided everything you need to bet on the tournament in South Africa online. Our last word of advice will be to suggest some of the best rugby betting sites in South Africa which we have chosen based on the quality of their Rugby World Cup betting odds, markets, promotions, banking options and customer service.

• Betway
• Hollywoodbets
• Lulabet
• Sportingbet