Now, the rugby world is again together as the autumn internationals take center stage across the United Kingdom and Europe.
Certainly, an intriguing slate of Rugby betting odds matches awaits in November. Ireland will expect to win all four of their November Tests. In turn, they head into the batch of games against New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji, and Australia as the best team in the northern hemisphere. The squad is settled. Namely, Dan Sheehan and Jack Conan are missing through injury. And with this being a Lions season, expect this to double up as an audition for plenty of the men in green.
Andy Farrell will temporarily step aside from Ireland duties next year to focus on the Lions. Still, before he heads off to plan for Australia, he’ll want a quartet of dominant performances. And he’s gone for Caelan Doris — potentially Lions captain in waiting — to lead his team through the autumn. To illuminate, Doris is Ireland’s youngest captain since Brian O’Driscoll first took on the honor in 2003. Correlate that he should now lead the team into the next World Cup.
So, expect this to be the November in which Ireland is molded in Doris’ offshore betting image. Ireland’s depth has been bolstered by the return of Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, Iain Henderson, and Jamison Gibson-Park.
Jack Crowley has been the heir apparent to Johnny Sexton. But he faces competition for the fly-half jersey from Ciaran Frawley and Sam Prendergast. Crowley is likely to hold on to the fly-half shirt. But he will be aware of others breathing down his neck.
South Africa will be another popular betting choice. Of course, the Springboks have cemented their status as the southern hemisphere’s dominant side since the beginning of the season. It may have seemed obvious to some after back-to-back World Cups that they would be the team to beat on tour. Now they will visit Scotland, England and Wales. However, this year’s Rugby Championship win was their first since 2019.
The Boks have mastered the art of using four-year cycles to build up their teams and peak at the crucial moments. When the British & Irish Lions visited in 2009, they were at their strongest and won the series. In 2021, they strengthened enough to retain it just in the nick of time. In each of their four World Cup wins, they hit their best form just as it was needed.
However, this time, the Springboks have yet to come down from the high of their last World Cup win. Far from starting afresh and playing catch-up again, they have pulled well clear of the rest of the southern hemisphere.
Of great concern is that South Africa has had some late injury setbacks. Starting with Damian Willemse joining Sasha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as a fly-half scratching for the three-Test tour.
It can be taken as a positive that there is ample strength in depth. Hence, it is unclear who will start at fullback, particularly, But Aphelele Fassi has been the Springboks’ surprise package this year. He had only three Test appearances when he turned 26 in January. But after working on his tackling and kicking game, he is now a regular starter (albeit not guaranteed) and a potential long-term successor to Willie le Roux.
Meanwhile, Scott Robertson’s Rugby Lines tenure as New Zealand’s coach has had a mixed start. The results of the end-of-year tour will go a long way toward determining whether year one will be deemed a success or not.