The 2023 Rugby World Cup has been underway in France for a matter of weeks now, with the four respective pools wrapped up. Now, we’re preparing to enter the thrilling knockout stages before the final takes place at the Stade de France in Paris on October 28.
It’s incredibly difficult to tell who’s going to be crowned the winner of the sought-after Webb Ellis Cup at this stage, however, with very little to separate Ireland, South Africa, France and New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup betting market.
Some of those teams, and others not yet mentioned, have stood out as potential candidates to win the World Cup. So, we have picked out three teams who have impressed us after the first three weeks or so.
Ireland
Ireland went into the 2019 World Cup in Japan with big expectations but failed to deliver, as they finished second to the hosts in their respective pool before being knocked out in the quarter-finals by New Zealand.
Going into this World Cup in France as the number one-ranked side on the planet meant the boys in green were under increased pressure and scrutiny – but Andy Farrell’s men are thriving under the intense spotlight.
Ireland set a new record for their biggest World Cup victory in the 82-8 thrashing over Romania and they followed that up with a 59-16 win over Tonga. It was in their third pool game that Farrell’s side made their biggest statement yet, however, beating defending champions South Africa 13-8 at the Stade de France. Ireland concluded the pool unscathed with a 36-14 win over rivals Scotland.
The next step for Ireland is breaking their quarter-final hoodoo against New Zealand, as they have never progressed past the last eight. After that, who knows how far this Irish side could go?
France
Another side that would have been feeling the heat ahead of the World Cup was France. Les Bleus were given the title as pre-tournament favourites and the pressure of performing in front of a home crowd cannot be overstated.
Just look at the last time France hosted the World Cup, as they lost the opening game to Argentina and then were defeated by the South American side again in the third-place play-off. Les Bleus faced New Zealand to raise the curtain on this year’s tournament, and they emphatically beat the All Blacks 27-13 at the Stade de France.
France have since beaten Uruguay 27-12 and set a new personal World Cup record win in the 96-0 victory over Namibia in Marseille. They thrashed rivals Italy 60-7 in their last Pool A game on October 6 and should carry on winning ways to head into the knockout stages on form.
There’s no question that this is arguably France’s best chance of winning their first Webb Ellis Cup, and the news that Antoine Dupont — who is perhaps the best player in the world right now — could be back in time for the quarter-final will be music to the host’s ears.
Wales
After finishing second bottom with just one win in the Six Nations earlier this year, who would have thought Wales would feature on this list? That wasn’t the ideal start to his second stint in charge of Wales, but Warren Gatland has since rejuvenated the Dragons and they appear on course for another deep run in the World Cup.
Wales opened with a 32-26 win over Fiji in Bordeaux and followed that up with a 28-8 bonus-point victory over Portugal next out in Nice. But it was in Lyon that the Welsh made everyone sit up and take notice, as the Dragons comfortably beat an Australian side in disarray 40-6 to become the first team to book their place in the knockout stages.
Wales are still ranked outsiders to win the World Cup, with some operators pricing them as far out as 25/1, but top spot in Pool C has resulted in them theoretically facing easier opponents in the quarter-finals in the form of Argentina, and they’d be fancied to go through to the last four.
From there, things will likely get tricky for Wales. But a run to the semi-finals would have been beyond their expectations and they could have a good chance to win a bronze medal.
