France vs New Zealand Betting Tips: Best Bets and Predictions for Rugby World Cup 2023 Opener

The 2023 Rugby World Cup promises to be one of the best in history with a host of nations all at the peak of their powers vying for glory and a cast of potential outsiders ready to be thrust into the limelight. With the scarcely believable one-sidedness of the pool draw, the sides in A & B will be cursing their luck and those in C & D will feel cock-a-hoop.

The tournament kicks off with what could well be the best contest of the whole championship, when host nation France take on the side synonymous with the word ‘aura’ in world rugby, the All Blacks of New Zealand. A Pool A clash for the ages awaits and Billy Grimshaw is itching to get stuck into the match previews and has a couple of tips for the action…

A peculiar tournament awaits in France purely down to the draw, throwing the top five ranked sides in World Rugby into the first two of four groups. This will mean that one of the five best sides, by official rankings anyway, will be eliminated before the knock-outs begin. Both host nation France and perennial favourites New Zealand are long odds-on to progress as positions 1-2 in Pool A and the winner of the group will probably be decided here.

Bookmaker BoyleSports can hardly split the sides and the game is almost a pick’em, but with the partisan French crowd on opening night roaring on their heroes as they begin their quest for a first ever World Cup, I think there is a bit of juice in backing Les Bleus to start the tournament in the perfect fashion.

Check out the Rugby World Cup outright odds here on BettingOdds.Com and it is evident how open most experts think this tournament will be. There is at least agreement that both France and New Zealand will be there or thereabouts, with squads packed with stars and brilliant coaching teams guiding their nation.

Both teams can be backed at 3/1 for outright glory at BoyleSports and are co-favourites for the World Cup, but on opening night I’m convinced everything is set up for the result the vast majority inside the sold out Stade de France want to see.

It is a boring prediction but I do think this tournament will be remembered as the World Cup of Antoine Dupont, currently widely regarded as the world’s best player and the favourite for the World Cup’s Player Of The Tournament award. The French poster boy, the talisman and captain, Dupont can do it all and is elite with the boot and with ball in hand. Expect him to dominate this game and see plenty of the ball, while France’s power packed set of forwards will look to blitz away from the All Blacks and whip the crowd into a frenzy. 

Incredibly the All Blacks have never lost a pool match at a World Cup, but that run has to end sooner or later and I think we will see history made on Friday night in Paris. No one is predicting a blow out for either side here and I too think a tight game is on the cards, so France’s better goal kicking percentage could be crucial.

The game of rugby is forever evolving and when analysing anytime try scorer prices it pays to zone in on the names of the wingers first. However, in recent years the shift to forward dominant games and in particular the try scoring prowess of props and hookers improving has meant there is plenty of value to be had.

This game will undoubtedly start off at a ferocious pace after the Haka and its response riles up the French fans, so expect both forward packs not to give an inch. Of course in rugby the front row is rotated heavily with the interchange bench and judging by the odds on offer it is clear bookmakers think France’s substitute hooker PEATO MAUKAVA is more likely to cross the whitewash than the starter Julien Marchand.

I’m in agreement and think the 21/10 on offer from BoyleSports is worth taking. I am hoping Les Bleus fly out of the traps and if they can win the initial territory battle with their opponents, the maul could be crucial. Marchand is a fantastic hooker but is not known for his try-scoring escapades, unlike the impact substitute Maukava.