Experienced journalist and editor covering the sports and betting industry. A football, NFL and rugby specialist, he is a FWA member and judge at the Football Content Awards.
Rugby World Cup Information
In this Rugby Union Betting Guide, we will be taking a look at the 2027 Rugby World Cup tournament, which is the 11th edition.
This tournament was created back in 1987 when it was co-hosted in Australia and New Zealand, and it was New Zealand that won its first of three World Cups.
Below, we are going to look at the upcoming season, look back at past champions and look at betting odds to enhance your betting experience with the World Cup.
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Rugby World Cup Preview
Who won the Rugby World Cup?
The reigning champions of the Rugby World Cup are South Africa, after they defeated New Zealand 12-11 in France in the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final. That made them back-to-back winners, having also won it in 2019 in Japan.
When is the Rugby World Cup?
The 2027 Rugby World Cup kicks off on 1st October 2027 in Australia. This is the 11th edition of the tournament and the second time Australia has hosted the whole event; they were joint hosts with New Zealand for the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987.
Who are the favourites to win the Rugby World Cup?
New Zealand have now won the last tournaments between them, South Africa with three and New Zealand with two, so it is no surprise to see those two dominate the pre-tournament betting market.
Who will win the Rugby World Cup?
OLBG's knowledgeable rugby tipsters provide Rugby World Cup predictions with analysis on the tournament winner market and the matches throughout, so be sure to check their 2027 Rugby World Cup tips before deciding on your Rugby World Cup bets.
You can also head over to the Best Rugby Tipsters page, not only for this tournament but throughout the year too. This page only shows tips from profitable rugby tipsters.
What is the Rugby World Cup Format?
The 2027 tournament will be expanded to twenty-four teams, which is made up of twelve teams based on their performance at the previous tournament (Top 3 for each of the four pools).
The other twelve teams are made up of four from Europe, three from the Pacific and one from each Africa, Asia and South America.
The other two will be the hosts, Australia, and the final spot will go to the winners of a four-team repechage tournament.
Where will the 2027 Rugby World Cup final be played?
The 2027 Rugby World Cup Final will take place in Sydney at Stadium Australia.
- Stadium Australia, Olympic Park, New South Wales (82,000)
- Newcastle International Sports Centre, New South Wales (30,500)
- TBA - Melbourne, Victoria
- Adelaide Oval, South Australia (52,500)
- Perth Stadium, Western Australia (65,000)
- Lang Park, Brisbane, Queensland (52,500)
- North Queensland Stadium, Townsville (25,000)
Rugby World Cup Broadcast & Scheduling Info
The 2027 Rugby Union World Cup TV schedule is to be confirmed.
Rugby Betting: Beginner Strategies & Advice
Rugby World Cup Tipster Competition
If you are a successful rugby bettor and would like to compete alongside the OLBG Rugby tipsters and add your Rugby Union World Cup tips, then come and have a go and look out for competition details nearer to the World Cup kick-off.
The Rugby Union World Cup Tipster competition is totally FREE to enter as are all the OLBG tipster competitions including the monthly Rugby Union Tipster competition and offers a total cash prize pot of £200 with 13 prizes in total and a £50 top prize to the tipster finishing the competition with the highest level stakes profit (LSP).
If you would like to play regularly in our rugby tipster competitions we have a separate monthly Rugby Union Competition and Rugby League Competition, there is a total of £235 available in cash prizes to be won for Rugby tips plus we have our annual Six Nations Tipster Competition which carries a £200 total cash prize fund and a £50 top prize.
Rugby World Cup Past Winners
When was the first Rugby World Cup?
The first Rugby World Cup featured just sixteen teams and was in 1987 when hosts New Zealand defeated France 29-9 in the final.
How many teams have won the Rugby World Cup?
Reigning champions South Africa have won the most Rugby World Cups, the total currently standing at four. New Zealand, the beaten 2023 finalists, have won three, Australia have won twice, and England once.
Previous Rugby World Cup Winners:
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner Up | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | South Africa | 12 - 11 | New Zealand | Stade de France, France |
| 2019 | South Africa | 32 - 12 | England | Nissan Stadium, Japan |
| 2015 | New Zealand | 34 - 17 | Australia | Twickenham, England |
| 2011 | New Zealand | 8 - 7 | France | Eden Park, New Zealand |
| 2007 | South Africa | 15 - 6 | England | Stade de France, France |
| 2003 | England | 20 - 17 | Australia | Telstra Stadium, Australia |
| 1999 | Australia | 35 - 12 | France | Millennium Stadium, Wales |
| 1995 | South Africa | 15 - 12 | New Zealand | Ellis Park, South Africa |
| 1991 | Australia | 12 - 6 | England | Twickenham, England |
| 1987 | New Zealand | 29 - 9 | France | Eden Park, New Zealand |
Rugby World Cup Favourite Statistics
The favourites have been fairly consistent over the past four tournaments, the first two were identical with 41 from 48 favourites winning (85%), and that rose to 89% in 2019. The 2023 tournament was slightly down on the previous three, with it dropping to 81%.
In terms of countries, there is one which has a 100% record when favourites and that is Argentina, from eleven games they have won all eleven! Two other countries boost win rates of 90% or better, too.
Those are New Zealand, who have won twenty-three of their twenty-five games as favourites (92%) and South Africa, with eighteen wins from twenty games (90%).
| Year | Favourites | Winners | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 48 | 41 | 85.42% |
| 2015 | 48 | 41 | 85.42% |
| 2019 | 45 | 40 | 88.89% |
| 2023 | 54 | 44 | 81.48% |
| Total | 195 | 166 | 85.13% |
Tournament Betting Comparison
Here is a comparison between some of the top rugby union tournaments (Knockouts) for winning favourites.
As you can see, the World Cup comes out at the top of the list with 85% of favourites being successful!
| League | Games | Winning Favs | Overall Fav % |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Cup | 195 | 166 | 85.13% |
| Womens World Cup | 85 | 72 | 84.71% |
| European Challenge Cup | 569 | 461 | 81.02% |
| Premiership Cup | 229 | 179 | 78.17% |
| European Champions Cup | 618 | 471 | 76.21% |
Rugby World Cup Teams
Africa
- South Africa
- 8 Apps, Champions in 1995, 2007, 2019 & 2023
- TBC
Asia
- TBC
Europe
- England
- 10 Apps, Champions in 2003
- France
- 10 Apps, Runners-up in 1987, 1999 & 2011
- Ireland
- 10 Apps, Quarter-finalists eight times
- Italy
- 10 Apps, Never made it out of the Pool stage
- Scotland
- 10 Apps, Fourth place in 1991
- Wales
- 10 Apps, Third place in 1987
- Georgia
- 6 Apps, Never made it out of the Pool stage
- Spain
- 1 Apps, Never made it out of the Pool stage
- Romania
- 9 Apps, Never made it out of the Pool stage
- Portugal
- 2 Apps, Never made it out of the Pool stage
Pacific
- Australia
- 10 Apps, Champions in 1991 & 1999
- Fiji
- 9 Apps, Quarter-finalists in 1987, 2007 & 2023
- Japan
- 10 Apps, Quarter-finalists in 2019
- New Zealand
- 10 Apps, Champions in 1987, 2011 & 2015
- TBC
- TBC
- TBC
South America
- Argentina
- 10 Apps, Third place in 2007
- TBC
South America/Pacific Play-off
- TBC
Final Qualification Tournament
- TBC
Rugby World Cup Records
Most Career Matches in the Rugby World Cup
New Zealander Sam Whitelock holds the record for the most appearances in the Rugby World Cup, having competed in a total of 26 matches.
That is four matches more than Agustín Creevy, Jason Leonard & Richie McCaw, who each competed in 22 matches.
Most Rugby World Cup Career Points
There are only two players who have scored over 200 points at the Rugby World Cup, and it is Jonny Wilkinson who leads the way.
Over four tournaments, he notched up a total of 277 points with only 1 try, the rest came with his foot, 28 conversions, 58 penalties and 14 drop-kicks.
He is some fifty points clear of the next player, Gavin Hastings, who has 227 points.
Most Rugby World Cup Career Tries
It is a tie at the top for most tries at the Rugby World Cup, with both Jonah Lomu and Bryan Habana having notched up 15 tries.
Jonah Lomu's came between 1995 & 1999, whilst Bryan Habana's came between 2007-15.
Interestingly, 4 of the top 5 players in terms of number of tries come from either Australia or New Zealand.
2025 Women's Rugby World Cup
2025 Women's Rugby World Cup Preview
The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup will be hosted in England. The tournament will start on the 22nd of August and conclude on the 27th of September 2025.
Sixteen teams will compete with matches taking place at eight football or rugby stadiums, with the final being hosted at Twickenham Stadium.
- Twickenham Stadium (London)
- Stadium of Light (Sunderland)
- Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium (Brighton)
- Ashton Gate (Bristol)
- Sandy Park (Exeter)
- Franklin's Gardens (Northampton)
- Salford Community Stadium (Manchester)
- York Community Stadium (York)
The last five Women's Rugby World Cup Champions
| Year/Host | Champions | Score | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 New Zealand | New Zealand | 34–31 | England |
| 2017 Ireland | New Zealand | 41–32 | England |
| 2014 France | England | 21–9 | Canada |
| 2010 England | New Zealand | 13–10 | England |
| 2006 Canada | New Zealand | 25–17 | England |
New Zealand have somewhat dominated the Women's Rugby World Cup; their win in 2022 was their sixth championship, and remember, there have only been nine previous tournaments, so they have won 66.6% of the tournaments!
They have now won six of the last seven; the only time they were stopped was in 2014 when England won the World Cup in France.
Five of those six tournaments that New Zealand have won, they have beaten England in the final; England were also beaten finalists in 1991 and also won in 1994.
All of this means that England have made 8 of the 9 finals and finished third in the other tournament.
2025 Women's World Cup Pool Stage
Here is how the pool stages are been drawn for the 2025 Women's World Cup: the top two teams from each pool advance to the knockout stages.
Pool A
- England (2x Champions)
- Australia (1x Third placed)
- United States
- Samoa
Pool B
- Canada (1x Runners-Up)
- Scotland
- Wales
- Fiji
Pool C
- New Zealand (6x Champions)
- Ireland (1x Fourth placed)
- Japan
- Spain
Pool D
- France (7x Third placed)
- Italy
- South Africa
- Brazil (Debut)
Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. The data in this Rugby World Cup Preview & Betting Guide is managed by Andy Powell, who looks after the Rugby Tipsters and results in the Rugby Tips Section. Our Commercial Content Manager, Luke Bradshaw-Lee, is a keen Rugby fan; he fact-checks the article for accuracy and publication. Together, they produce our Rugby Union Previews and Rugby League Previews.
Andy Powell
Content Editor
Luke Bradshaw Lee
Senior Sports Betting Editor
Other Rugby Content
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- European Champions Cup - Coming Soon
- European Challenge Cup - Coming Soon
- Top 14 (Inc. Pro D2) - Coming Soon
- Premiership (Inc. Premiership Cup) - Coming Soon
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- Super Rugby Pacific - Coming Soon
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