World Cup Rugby News Update: France Suffers Blow
The Rugby World Cup is in full swing as the finals stage is getting closer.
Tournament favorites France suffered a huge injury blow in their dominant win against Namibia.
It’s still all to play for as the best rugby teams embark on France.
Dupont Injury Looms Large
Everything was going well for France after beating the New Zealand All Blacks and thrashing Namibia 96-0, but they’ll pay the price for playing Antoine Dupont against the terrible African team.
Dupont, their inspirational half and captain, broke his jaw in the victory, and the team will struggle to win without him.
“There’s a suspicion of a crack or fracture in his jaw,” head coach Fabien Galthie said. “He’s gone for tests. We’ll wait for the results before moving forward. We need to take advantage of this great victory and the players’ fine performance.”
Rugby World Cup results from that match didn’t matter much following the win over New Zealand, so we’re not sure why France played Dupont.
It has forced our sportsbook to adjust the odds for France, which will do well to win without its captain.
Big Clash for New Zealand
New Zealand’s loss to France in the opening game of the Rugby World Cup looms large.
They play Italy next, which won’t be a hard game for the three-time World Cup champions. However, there is a chance for France to let Italy beat them, which could knock out the All Blacks.
They have never missed out on the finals, so it could be a big turning point. However, as it stands, if the All Blacks beat Italy by enough points, it would make it hard for Italy to progress.
There are concerns about the All Blacks form. They haven’t looked their best, but it’s a long tournament, and sports betting markets aren’t letting them out of their sights.
They are on the second line of betting behind South Africa, which firmed into favoritism following Dupont’s injury.
Fiji Leading Island Nations
Pacific Island rugby has always been on the outside looking in, but with Fiji’s win over Australia, the tide is turning.
A betting online outsider against Australia at +180, the Fijians proved too strong over the concluding stages and now have a great chance to make the finals.
It would be a mammoth effort from Fiji, the best team from the Pacific Islands, including Samoa and Tonga.
Fiji has two Rugby World Cup fixtures left. It plays Georgia and Portugal. We have no fears about it beating Portugal, but Georgia could give it a run for its money.
However, bettors should be confident in Fiji winning both, and there is also talk of Fiji joining the Rugby Championship alongside New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina.
“It would be a massive, massive boost for such a small country as Fiji,” kicking coach Seremaia Bai said.
“If you want to be the best, you have to play with the best and New Zealand and Australia are not far away from Fiji.”
“We need to have a crack and participate.”