The rugby union titans of the Southern Hemisphere return for the second round of the Rugby Championship 2024. South Africa and Argentina will look to continue their winning streaks, while Oceanian neighbors Australia and New Zealand will seek to bounce back from their opening-round setbacks. We have a look at the latest 2024 Rugby Championship odds and determine the best betting tips for this week’s action.
The inaugural round of the 2024 Rugby Championship produced two unforgettable results. Argentina caused a seismic upset by defeating the mighty All Blacks, while South Africa put aside years of frustration down under with an emphatic victory over Australia in Brisbane.
Rugby fans are in for another treat next week as the same teams clash in the second round of the Rugby Championship. Review the key details below before diving into our Rugby Championship 2024 predictions.
| ℹ️ Tournament: | Rugby Championship 2024, Round 2 |
| 🏉 Venues: | Optus Stadium, Perth, Australia (AUS vs SA); Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand (NZ vs ARG) |
| 🗓️ Dates: | Saturday, 17 August, 2024 |
The Rugby Championship is back to its regular 12-game schedule in 2024. The tournament will be held across August and September, with teams participating in a “mini tour” format. After the explosive first round, we’re ready to dive into our Rugby Championship round 2 predictions. But first, let’s quickly recap the tournament format.
Each team will face one opponent twice on the road and another twice at home before locking horns with the remaining one in a two-legged (home + away) showdown. The team with the most points will be crowned a champion, with a bunch of extra statistical elements to be reviewed if two sides finish with the same amount of points.
New Zealand have been incredibly dominant in the competition in recent years. The All Blacks are eyeing their fifth successive Rugby Championship title this season. Their dominance was on full display in 2023, dismantling Australia 38-7 to clinch the crown after comfortably overcoming South Africa and Argentina.
To bring you the most competitive odds for our South Rugby Championship 2024 betting preview, we’ve scoured the web, analyzing top bookmakers with a variety of markets to offer. Here’s how the odds currently stand:
South Africa boasts the shortest 2024 Rugby Championship odds, thanks to their incredible recent form. The Springboks won the World Cup last year, but they were far from content. They have made significant changes to the coaching staff in an attempt to maintain their status as a global rugby powerhouse.
New Zealand are another team that regularly pop up in 2024 Rugby Championship betting tips conversations. Scott Robinson has had some ups and downs in the job as the new All Blacks head coach, but it should not be overlooked that his side has an impeccable record in this tournament.
Argentina will also look to get over their recent underwhelming performances under the guidance of a new coach. The legendary Felipe Contepomi has recently replaced Michael Cheika in the Los Pumas hotseat. Despite the daunting prospect of an opening series in New Zealand, they made a strong start with a thrilling 38-30 victory in Wellington last weekend. Betting companies that accept PayPal are backing Argentina to go all the way at 8.00 (7/1).
Joe Schmidt is in charge of the Wallabies’ project rebuild after their humiliating World Cup and Rugby Championship campaigns last year. While Schmidt has led Australia to some positive results against Wales and Georgia lately, the Aussie online bookmakers are not overly optimistic about their team’s title credentials.
We have analyzed the latest betting odds for rugby union and finalized our 2nd round tips for 2024 Rugby Championship. As Australia and New Zealand aim to make their home turf advantage count this week, here are our top betting picks:
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Scott Robertson’s tenure as All Blacks head coach has been a rollercoaster. Despite facing questions about team selection and on-field performances, the rookie coach remained undefeated in his first three pre-Rugby Championship tests.
New Zealand narrowly overcame a formidable England side before experimenting with the team to secure an impressive victory over Fiji.
His unbeaten run came to an end, however, as Argentina handed his side a narrow defeat in their Rugby Championship 2024 opener. Nonetheless, New Zealand fans have no reason to give up their title hopes just yet.
Despite a sloppy performance marred by errors, the defending champions still managed to assert their dominance in phases during the Wellington match. If they can rectify these mistakes, New Zealand will be the team to beat as the tournament progresses and could well take out South Africa twice to clinch the title.
Betting odds for rugby union favoring a New Zealand victory are set at an enticing 4.33 (10/3) at this moment. With a decade of dominance in the expanded tournament format, it’s an opportunity too good to pass up for this team.
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Joe Schmidt’s men were hopeful of pulling off an upset, but their unbeaten run in the Schmidt era came to an unceremonious end. South Africa braved Brisbane, a venue that had been quite unlucky for them in the past, and demolished the hosts 33-7 to kickstart their campaign.
Siya Kolisi, Thomas du Toit, and Kurt-Lee Arendse spearheaded South Africa’s charge as the Boks sprinted to a 21-0 lead. Australia never managed to recover and left the field with a heavy defeat.
Australia have not faced a team of South Africa’s caliber before under Schmidt, and the disparity in quality was evident. We anticipate another dominant performance from the Springboks, easily covering the 13.5-point spread.
We are backing New Zealand to add to their Rugby Championship title haul, but our standout pick for this week is South Africa covering a (-13.5) handicap against Australia. They were firing on all cylinders at a ground that haunted them for over a decade, so Rassie Erasmus’ men will be licking their lips ahead of facing the Aussies once again.
