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Ireland’s rugby team made history in July by taking the summer series in New Zealand. Irish won two consecutive games against the All Blacks, which no one has done since 1998.
Heading into the summer series test, Ireland had won 12 of the last 13 matches and had great success against New Zealand recently. However, two wins in New Zealand were not expected for Andy Farrell’s men.
Two out of three matches for the top of the rankings
After New Zealand dominated the first match in Auckland, Ireland stunned the host in the second game in Dunedin. On a historic night, guests won 32-12, the first ever Ireland win in New Zealand. Andrew Porter had two crucial tries that created a surprise.
The last test of the series was in Wellington. Despite New Zealand players’ proclamations before the match, Ireland utterly dominated the first half, winning 23-3 with tries from van der Flier, Keenan and Henshaw. All Blacks responded in the second half, but a match-winning try came in the 64th minute by Rob Herring.
Not only did Ireland win the first ever match in New Zealand, it had done it twice a week, sending All Blacks to new lows ahead of Rugby World Cup next year in France.
Meanwhile, Ireland is now at the top of the world rankings with unbelievable wins. They partially avenged the quarter-final loss from the last World Cup when New Zealand crushed them.
Waiting for Autumn series with iGaming
Irish fans can savour the huge summer win and look at their team at the top of the rankings. How will these wins affect your bet in the autumn? It’s hard to run away from the prohibitive favourite status in games to come. You can already place a bet for the three matches in Autumn Nations Series. However, perhaps it’s better to wait until November for those bets and try some casino games in the meanwhile. You can find these replacements in the definite guide to new live dealer casinos. Let your autumn matches pick mature a little.
Australia, Fiji and South Africa
The autumn campaign starts against current world champions, South Africa. However, the last match between the two sides could be deceiving. In 2017 Ireland crushed the Boks 38-3. However, South Africans won their third World Cup in 2019 and won a series against England and Northern Ireland.
Ireland is also not the same team from the World Cup in 2019. However, the recent matches and rankings show they are at the top of the global ranking, and it will be a clash of two highly competitive sides on November 5th at Aviva stadium. To make things more interesting, South Africa will be in the same group as Ireland at the upcoming World Cup next year.
The second opponent coming to Ireland in autumn is Fiji. Two sides also played the last game in 2017, when the Irish won 23-20. Finally, the Nation series will end with a clash against Australia on November 18th in Dublin. The last time these two played, Ireland won the series in Australia 2-1 in 2018.
Still no World Cup favourites
Ireland still doesn’t have a World Cup trophy, and three autumn games are a great test before the following year. While you can be optimistic for the autumn series after the incredible win at New Zealand, sportsbooks still don’t have Ireland among the favourites to win the World Cup.
Although Ireland leads world rankings, bookmakers see hosts France as a clear-cut favourite to win the most prestigious competition in rugby. Despite turmoil inside of a team culminating in substituting team captain Sam Cane at 65 minutes against Ireland, New Zealand is still the second favourite to win the World Cup, according to bookmakers. All Blacks have all sorts of issues, including coaching woes.
Meanwhile, summer series winners in Ireland and England have 5-1 odds to win the World Cup and are tied on the sportsbooks list. Ireland had a Grand Slam in Six Nations six years ago and has had one Triple Crown since. However, under the new coach Andy Farrell, Ireland won historical series in New Zealand, continuing the recent win total. England also won the summer series but was not in such a flashy fashion.
Ireland will now focus on the autumn matches, and you should try not to get too high after a sensational night in Wellington. Irish rugby is in a good spot, and if there is any chance of winning a World Cup, this is the best chance so far. So many talented generations of Irish rugby players missed out on the biggest stage, and after the historic win against the All Blacks in New Zealand, maybe the tide will turn for the World Cup.