After opening the 2023 Rugby World Cup with a loss to France, New Zealand have responded with two massive wins against Namibia and Italy. A third is likely in the cards as they wrap up Pool A play tomorrow against Uruguay (3:00 pm ET, Peacock).
The All Blacks blew away Namibia 71-3 to record their first win of the tournament, then torched Italy 96-17 last Thursday to cross the 90-point mark at a Rugby World Cup for the first time since a 108-13 win over Portugal when France last hosted the tournament in 2007.
Winning Pool A is out of their reach unless Les Bleus unexpectedly fall to Italy on Friday, but doing as expected against Uruguay will put New Zealand on top of the pool and put pressure on the tournament hosts to get the job done against their Six Nations foes.
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Will New Zealand Bag a Bucketload of Tries Against Uruguay?
A 68-point win over Namibia, even with a highly rotated squad, wouldn't have moved the needle too much for New Zealand.
But there is something to be said for absolutely demolishing Italy, who have kept the ugly losses at a minimum recently.
After scoring 11 tries against Namibia, New Zealand crossed the try line 14 times against Gli Azzurri, and all but one of their try conversions hit the target.
Results for New Zealand at the 2023 Rugby World Cup
lost 27-13 to France
defeated Namibia 71-3
defeated Italy 96-17
Wing Mark Telea (+800 at MyBookie & Bovada), scrum half Aaron Smith (+1400 at MyBookie and Bovada), fullback Will Jordan (+2500 at BetOnline), won't get to boost their chances of being the tournament's top try scorer, as none will play against Uruguay.
However, Damian McKenzie (+2500), who had one of the tries against Italy, will get to do so. Like Telea and Smith, McKenzie has scored three tries thus far in the tournament, two behind current top scorers Henry Arundell (England) and Darcy Graham (Scotland).
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Tomorrow's result could very well see some changes in the pecking order and odds, as the All Blacks should score double-digit tries for the third straight game.
Uruguay deserve a great deal of plaudits for how they have performed, and that play was rewarded with a 36-26 win over Namibia last week.
It was their highest points total in a Rugby World Cup, topping the 30 they scored in their momentous upset of Fiji in 2019. And with 65 points in three games, they have already topped their previous best for points in a single tournament.
Results for Uruguay at the 2023 Rugby World Cup
lost 27-12 to France
lost 38-17 to Italy
defeated Namibia 36-26
They were down 14-0 inside the first dozen minutes, but they shook off that early deficit, and after trailing 20-12 at halftime, outscored Namibia 24-6 to pick up their first five points of the tournament.
New Zealand vs Uruguay Prediction and Picks
Prediction: New Zealand to win
Picks: New Zealand -66.5 (-117 at MyBookie) & New Zealand over 11.5 tries (-108 at MyBookie)
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Where to Bet on the 2023 Rugby World Cup
While rugby may not be one of the most widely watched or bet on sports in the United States, the Rugby World Cup always draws a lot of attention.
In fact, you can find 2023 Rugby World Cup odds at many of the top sports betting sites available to bettors in the USA.
In addition to Bovada, where most of our Rugby World Cup game odds have come from, here are some of the online sportsbooks that we recommend which offer odds on each game in the tournament, as well as Rugby World Cup winner futures odds:
If you don't have an account at a book on this list, check out our in-depth reviews to help you determine if it is worth your interest and your betting funds. Happy betting, and please bet responsibly.
Eddie Griffin
Eddie Griffin has been writing about and betting on sports for over a decade and has been with Betting News since 2021. For more of his thoughts on sports and sports betting, you can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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