2023 Rugby World Cup Pool C Preview, Predictions & Odds

We have a 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool C preview, along with all our predictions and betting odds ahead of the big event this September.

Teams In Rugby World Cup Pool C

There are five teams in Pool C of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Those teams are:

Australia

Wales

Fiji

Georgia

Portugal

Qualification From Pool C

The top two teams from Pool C will qualify for the quarter-finals of this tournament.

The Pool C winner will face the Pool D runner-up in the first quarter-final at 4pm on Saturday, October 14th.

The Pool C runner-up will face the Pool D winner in the second quarter-final at 8pm on Saturday, October 14th.

The bottom three teams in Pool C will be eliminated from the tournament.

Rugby World Cup Pool C Preview

Wales

World Number 9 ranked Wales are making their tenth World Cup appearance this September with their best finish being third-place back in 1987. Ironically in 2019, they won their Pool D, which is almost identical to their pool this year as it also included Australia, Fiji and Georgia. Uruguay were the other side in 2019 who are now replaced by fellow rugby minnows Portugal.

Wales won their quarter-final 20-19 against France before a narrow 16-19 defeat in the Semi-Final against eventual winners South Africa sent them to the third-place playoff. The Welsh would then lose that play-off 40-17 to New Zealand to miss out on a bronze medal.

Head Coach Warren Gatland is in his second spell in charge of the nation, the first being 2007-2019; he returned to the role again in December 2022 after Wayne Pivac, who had replaced Gatland, was sacked by the Welsh Rugby Union after a poor period of results. Gatland has a contract until after the World Cup with the potential of another four years based on World Cup performance.

Wales had a terrible 2023 Six Nations where they won only one game against Italy and lost their other four. Expectations are low for this team coming into the World Cup but things can only get better for Welsh Rugby and they will be hoping that begins with a positive World Cup this September.

Australia

The Aussies are the 7th ranked side in the world currently and they will be making their 11th appearance at the Rugby World Cup this September. They have won the competition on two occasions; in 1991 and 1999. Australia’s most recent outing at this tournament came in 2019 where they finished second in their Pool to Wales before being outclassed 40-16 against England at the quarter-final stage.

Eddie Jones, who first managed his country from 2001-2005, is back for his second stint in charge since being re-appointed this year. Jones hasn’t gotten off to a great start since retaking the helm. The Wallabies lost their first and only game so far under him against South Africa in the Rugby Championship as they were demolished on a scoreline of 43-12.

Australia will be under pressure to put an end to their continued under-performance in international rugby, but Eddie Jones is a quality coach who you would expect to get the best out of this group of players.

Fiji

World Number 13 Fiji are making their ninth World Cup appearance in September. The furthest this South Pacific nation have advanced in this competition is to the quarter-final stage which they achieved in 1987 and 2007.

Simon Raiwalui has been Fiji’s Head coach since February when he replaced Vern Cotter, who had stepped down in January of this year. Raiwalui was previously Fiji’s high-performance director.

Georgia

World Number 11 Georgia have appeared at the Rugby World Cup on eight occasions. They will be hoping the ninth time is the charm as they bid to advance out of the pool stage for the very first time.

Head Coach Levan Maisashvili first took up interim charge of this nation in 2020 before being officially appointed in 2021.

Georgia come into this year’s tournament in good form following being crowned winners of the 2023 Rugby Europe Championship. The Georgians won all five of their matches in that tournament including a 38-11 win in the final against pool rivals Portugal.

Portugal

World Number 16 Portugal will be making only their second ever appearance at a Rugby World Cup this September. Coincidentally that appearance came in 2007 which is the only other time that the tournament was hosted in France.

The Portuguese were only able to secure one point, a losing bonus point against Romania, in that World Cup and will be hoping for a better performance in their second tournament outing.

Patrice Lagisquet has been in charge of Portugal since 2019 and most recently guided them to a 2023 Rugby Europe Championship final. They won all four of their matches on the road to the final, but as mentioned earlier, would lose to Georgia 38-11 in the tournament decider.

Rugby World Cup Pool C Betting Odds

Game of the Pool

Wales v Australia – 8pm, September 24^th.

Player to Watch

Australian Captain Michael Hooper is one of the country’s most-capped ever players with 124 appearances for his nation. In those outings he has scored 110 points since his debut in 2012 (correct as of 11/07/23)

Hooper is the heart and soul of this squad and proof of this is that he has captained the Wallabies more than anyone else. If Australia are to return to form in France, they will need a huge Hooper effort.

Rugby World Cup Pool C Prediction

1st – Australia

2nd – Georgia

3rd – Wales

4th – Fiji

5^th – Portugal

This is the most interesting pool of the entire tournament, with the least amount of quality between the five sides. While the top two seeds, Wales and Australia, have been out-of-sorts in recent times.

I think this is the one that we see some sort of shock in. I suspect Eddie Jones to guide Australia to the top of the table.

Expect a bloodbath for their remaining places, and I can see Georgia shocking Wales and Fiji to reach a Quarter-Final for the first time.

Click Below For All Our 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool C Odds

*Prices subject to fluctuation

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