World Cup 2011 Betting Tips: England are Fourth Place Favourites

The groups for Rugby Union World Cup 2011 have been released and, as always, a new set of odds have emerged from a number of top UK bookmakers. Despite their relatively kind draw, avoiding all the other tri-nations teams, England are not exactly being backed as tournament favourites. In fact, Betfair is currently listing England at 11.0 to take the coveted World Cup trophy. The outright favourites are, unsurprisingly, the All Blacks. New Zealand, fresh from their weekend demolition of England at Twickenham, currently sit at 2.1 favourites.Australia are also listed ahead of England with odds sitting at an even 6.0. The Springboks of South Africa are just slightly behind Australia at 6.2, but I expect these numbers to fluctuate considerably. I mean, we've got two or three years for these numbers to move around. So, as of now, England are 4th place favourites to win the World Cup of Rugby in 2011, but pay attention to the way that the groups are lined up. England will face Scotland, which will be an intense and emotional clash and they are also drawn with Argentina. While England have avoided the considerably difficult teams, England are still going to be playing against passionate opponents with a lot of pride on the line. An English scalp would be a tournament high-point for both opposing teams should they fail to go far into the tournament, England will know this and they must take it into consideration as the tournament draws nearer. I think that the current problems the English squad is experiencing will be solved by the time the tournament actually rolls around. At least they'd better friggin' be solved by then. You can never rule England out at the highest level, but we'll all be watching anxiously as England starts taking those little steps towards the big stage.