The 2021 Rugby League World Cup will finally take place live in 2022 between 15th October to 19th November 2022. It was delayed from 23rd October to 27th November 2021. Sixteen teams from various nations will compete live across the five weeks to win the Rugby League World Cup trophy. The 2021 Rugby League World Cup is the 16th World Cup. Before the NRL World Cup takes place, many fans will want to know who the nations with the best World Cup odds are so they can place bets on them.
Continue reading our Rugby League World Cup predictions guide to learn the qualifying World Cup nations. Also, read about the bet types, the World Cup odds, and more.
Content Index
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Best Rugby League World Cup Betting Sites
Which Teams Have Qualified for the Rugby League World Cup?
What Types of Bets Are Available for the Rugby League World Cup?
What Do the Different Types of Rugby League Odds Mean?
Previous Winners
What Are Our Final Rugby League World Cup Predictions?
Frequently Asked Questions
Best Rugby League World Cup Betting Sites
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Which Teams Have Qualified for the Rugby League World Cup?
In total, 16 teams qualified for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. These teams will compete in four groups before moving onto the knockout stage, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the grand final. Here are the four groups and the favourite teams to progress to the knockout stage. Read on to help you with your Rugby League World Cup predictions.
Group A
Group A has England, Samoa, France and Greece. England is the host nation for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, so they have a significant home advantage. Additionally, England performed well in recent World Cups. They were the 2017 NRL World Cup runners-up.
Also in the group are Samoa, who automatically qualified. Samoa performed well in the last World Cup by making it to the quarter-finals. France and Greece are also in the group, but they have a lower chance of winning the group stage. Greece is debuting, and France didn’t make it out of the 2017 World Cup group stage. Overall, England and Samoa are the favourites to win Group A.
Group B
Group B has Australia, Fiji, Italy and Scotland. Australia has the highest World Cup odds and is the easy favourite to win the 2021 World Cup. They have won the NRL World Cup 11 times, including the 2013 and 2017 World Cups.
Also in the group is Fiji. Fiji is a competitive team with good odds of getting through the group stage. Fiji got to the semi-final stage in 2008, 2013 and 2017, so they have good odds of getting to that stage again.
Scotland and Italy are unlikely to win the group stage because of their performance history. Italy hasn’t gotten past the group stage. Scotland only managed to win the group stage once (they got to the quarter-final in 2013). Overall, the favourites to win Group B are Australia and Fiji.
Group C
Group C has Lebanon, New Zealand, Jamaica and Ireland. New Zealand has always had a solid track record for the NRL World Cup. They won in 2008 and came second in 2000 and 2013. However, they only got to the Quarter-finals in 2017. So they are looking to get back to the top spot this year. Despite their performance last time, they have good World Cup odds and will likely win the group stage.
The rest of the group is a level down. However, Lebanon has the best chance of getting through the group stage with New Zealand because they got to the quarter-final in 2017.
Jamaica qualified for the NRL World Cup for the first time, and Ireland hasn’t gotten out of the group stage since 2008. Overall, New Zealand and Lebanon have the best World Cup odds of winning the group C stage.
Group D
Group D has Papua New Guinea, Wales, Tonga and the Cook Islands. Group D is the weakest group in the NRL World Cup. But that does mean that these teams have a fantastic opportunity to get to the later stages. Tonga has the best odds because they got to the semi-final in 2017. However, they failed to win the group stage in the previous three NRL World Cups, so 2017 may be an outlier.
Papua New Guinea is also likely to get through the group stage because they got to the quarter-final in 2017. On the other hand, Wales and the Cook Islands are unlikely to get through the group stage. The Cook Islands hasn’t gotten past a group stage, and Wales hasn’t gotten past the group stage since 2000. Overall, Tonga and Papua New Guinea are the favourites to win Group D.
What Types of Bets Are Available for the Rugby League World Cup?
Before you bet on the 2021 NRL World Cup, you need to know the bet types. Thus, our Rugby League World Cup predictions guide will help you with that too. Here are some of the most popular Rugby League World Cup betting types (half-time betting, full-time betting, handicap bets). Also, you can read some of our best betting tips here.
Handicap World Cup Betting
A handicap bet is when the betting site places a virtual handicap on the team with the best odds of winning. For example, if two nations are competing and one team is the easy favourite, you can place a handicap of -10 on them (meaning that they virtually begin with -10 points). If they still win with the handicap in place, you win the bet.
You can also place live handicap bets. One of our best tips is to read match previews to find out the match favourites. Match previews will provide betting tips and odds on the nations.
Head to Head World Cup Betting
Head-to-head betting is the simplest type of a World Cup bet. A head-to-head bet involves betting a team to win a match at full time (including extra time).
One of our best tips is to read match previews to find out the match’s favourite to inform your head-to-head bet. Match previews will provide betting tips and odds on the nations.
Live World Cup Betting
Live betting is when you place a bet during a Rugby match. Some examples of live bets include live match bets, live first-try bets and live half-time bets.
One of our best tips is to read match previews to find out the match’s favourite so you can place informed live bets. Match previews will provide live betting tips to place live bets.
Half-Time and Full-Time Double World Cup Betting
Instead of only choosing a team to win the match, you can also pick the team you think will be winning at half-time and the team that will win at full-time. This will allow you to split your bet.
One of our best tips is to read match previews to find out the match favourite to indicate who will win at half-time and who will win at full-time. Match previews will provide betting tips and odds on the nations.
First Try Scorer World Cup Betting
A first-try scorer bet is self-explanatory; you bet on the first player to score a try. This can be a player from either of the nations.
One of our best World Cup betting tips is to read match previews to find out who the top try scorers are in the match. Match previews will provide betting tips and odds of the top try scorers.
What Do the Different Types of Rugby League Odds Mean?
Odds on World Cup betting sites can be challenging to interpret. This section of our Rugby League World Cup predictions guide will help you understand the World Cup odds. Here is what you need to know about the World Cup odds.
When you find a match between two nations on a World Cup betting site, you will see either a + or – symbol next to them, accompanied by a number. The + odds symbol indicates the underdog. For example, if the World Cup odds on a team are +200, you have to bet NZ$200 to win NZ$100.
The – odds symbol indicates the favourite. For example, if the World Cup odds on a team are -200, you will win NZ$200 if you bet NZ$100. If you need more help deciphering odds, you should read match previews. They will break down the World Cup odds of specific matches.
Previous Winners
Australia is the only qualifying team in the 2021 NRL World Cup to win more than once previously. So they are the betting favourite for the 2021 NRL World Cup. They won the NRL World Cup 11 times, including the 2013 and 2017 World Cups. None of the other nations come close to their winning record, so they are an easy choice for a bet.
There are only two teams apart from Australia that won the NRL World Cup, Great Britain and New Zealand. Great Britain won the World Cup three times but hasn’t won since 1972. New Zealand won the World Cup in 2008. But they lost to Australia in the next World Cup and didn’t make it past the quarter-finals in 2017.
What Are Our Final Rugby League World Cup Predictions?
You can come to the obvious conclusion by reading our Rugby League World Cup predictions guide: Australia is the clear favourite. They won convincingly in the last two World Cups and are on track to do so again. However, other teams with a solid chance are England, Samoa and New Zealand.
One of our best World Cup betting tips is to read match previews to find out the match favourites so you can place the most sensible bets. Match previews will provide betting tips and odds on the teams.
Frequently Asked Questions
We answer some questions about the Rugby League World Cup predictions.
Australia won convincingly in the last two World Cups and is on track to do so again. They have the best odds so far.
The 2021 Rugby League World Cup will finally take place in 2022 between 15th October to 19th November 2022. The World Cup is unlikely to be postponed again because the teams are in their groups, and they confirmed the venues.
The next NRL World Cup after the 2021 event will be in 2025. The host country is France, so France is currently the only confirmed team. Other details are currently unknown, other than the World Cup being between October and November in 2025.
