All Blacks vs The Springboks
Rugby Union
Twenty teams came into the tournament, and now only two remain to battle for the Webb Ellis Cup and also take the outright lead as the only nation in the world to have lifted the coveted trophy on four separate occasions.
New Zealand are the favourites to win the 2023 Rugby World Cup at odds of 4/5 ahead of this Saturday’s final. South Africa will go into the final as marginal underdogs at odds of 5/4 to lift the trophy.
New Zealand vs South Africa – 8pm GMT
Our Picks:
New Zealand to win @4/5
Over 43.0 points @11/10
*BetBuilder at Bottom*
The wait is finally over, and after two months of intense competition, New Zealand and South Africa will square off in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final at Stade de France.
This is a rematch 28 years in the making, and there is very little to choose between these two rugby powerhouses, who will leave absolutely everything on the field in an attempt to claim the title for a record fourth time. The big question is whether South Africa have enough left in reserve, having already faced France, England, Ireland, and Scotland in this competition already.
The Springboks have made something of a habit of digging deep when their backs are against the wall, but the All Blacks have fired at the right time after a underwhelming build up to the world cup look solid and will be hard to beat.
Head to Head
In the long history of their rivalry, the All Blacks and Springboks have faced each other 105 times, with the All Blacks holding the lead with 62 victories to South Africa’s 39, while four matches ended in a draw. They clashed twice this year, and in the Rugby Championship, New Zealand emerged victorious over the Springboks with a 35-20 win in Auckland, while South Africa won the warm-up match back in August 35-7.
New Zealand likely starting lineup: 15. Beauden Barrett, 14. Will Jordan, 13. Rieko Ioane, 12. Jordie Barrett, 11. Mark Tele’a, 10. Richie Mo’unga, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Ardie Savea, 7. Sam Cane (c), 6. Shannon Frizell, 5. Scott Barrett, 4. Brodie Retallick, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 2. Codie Taylor, 1. Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16. Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17. Tamaiti Williams, 18. Nepo Laulala, 19. Samuel Whitelock, 20. Dalton Papali’i, 21. Finlay Christie, 22. Damian McKenzie, 23. Anton Lienert-Brown
South Africa likely starting lineup: 15. Damian Willemse, 14. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13. Jesse Kriel, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Cheslin Kolbe, 10. Handre Pollard, 9. Faf de Klerk, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6. Siya Kolisi (c), 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16. Deon Fourie, 17. Ox Nche, 18. Trevor Nyakane, 19. Jean Kleyn, 20. RG Snyman, 21. Kwagga Smith, 22. Jasper Wiese, 23. Willie le Roux
Betbuilder:
Mark Telea – Anytime try scorer
Over 41.5 points
New Zealand to win
Over 4.5 Tries in the match
Total Odds @11/2
Great News For Rugby:
World Rugby welcomes new data that confirms rugby continues to experience accelerated global growth as the sport bounces back from the pandemic, while drawing inspiration from record-breaking men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups.
The 2023 figures paint a positive picture for community rugby with the sport now played by 8.46 million players across 132 national member unions, an increase of 11 per cent on 2022 levels. Emerging rugby nations and women and girls are the major drivers of new growth for the game.
Best Rugby World Cup Picks and Tips, Image Credit: youtube.com
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