RUGBY BETTING PREVIEW - IRELAND VS NEW ZEALAND

Rugby

2023-10-14 - Ireland vs New Zealand

A Sports Betting Preview by Stu

Ireland v New Zealand
Rugby : France : World Cup 2023
Sunday 15th October 2023 - KO 0600 AEST (NZT)

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Ireland

Ireland remain undefeated through the tournament thus far but know now that a quarter final loss will send them home and 3 other teams from the other matches leaving just 4 left in the running for world cup glory.

Ireland's defence and tactics don’t allow for the high scoring matches we have seen in the other pools but a win is a win and Ireland would love nothing more than to cement their number one world ranking with their first ever world cup title, New Zealand being a large hurdle to leap on their way to doing so.

Irelands results so far, a big victory over minnows Romania, 82-8, Tonga, 59-16, South Africa, 13-8 and 34-14 over Scotland.

New Zealand

The All Blacks suffered their first ever pool play loss in a world cup tournament when losing their opening match to France, 27-13.

Since that loss the All Blacks have quietly gone about their business with less pressure as all the focus is on France, Ireland and South Africa being the top 3 ranked teams at the world according to the ranking system.

New Zealand cruised past their pool A opponents Namibia 71-3, Italy 96-17 and Uruguay 73-0 showing some blistering attack and excellent defence when called upon.

Odds

For the first time ever, NZ will not start as favourites in a match against Ireland $1.72 to $2.25, the line is 1.5 points and the bookies are expecting a low scoring match as do I, combined points 44.5

The Betting Verdict

Everything is simple from here on out. Win and you survive another week, lose and you are gone. World rankings, previous meetings, none of that matters once the match start and this one has the makings of a classic.

Incredibly, Ireland have never won a quarter final at a world cup, their last effort was a heavy defeat to New Zealand 46-19 in 2019 which may be in the back of their minds leading into this one. If Ireland can win this heavy weight clash, it will be their 18th in a row which will equal a record jointly held by NZ and England.

New Zealands last meeting with Ireland was a very rare series loss at home, 1-2 after claiming the first match easily the Irish stood up and won the next 2. New Zealand will likely draw upon that experience as motivation in this one, to silence the mostly 80,000 Irish fans singing loudly at Stade de France.

Although New Zealand has some infamous history with the Referee Wayne Barnes, he is widely regarded as the best in the world and should allow the match to flow, which has become an issue in Rugby of late.

Picking a winner here is close enough to 50/50 – I think the All Blacks with a full strength squad to select from will likely just eek past the Irish returning good odds of $2.25 and if you see that as a unlikely a low scoring match under the 44.5 points set is also a great option returning $1.90.

The Pick :

Ireland 16-20 New Zealand

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take the New Zealand to win H2H at odds of $2.25 with Bet365