The Argentinian men’s professional Rugby team, who are also known as Los Pumas, recently stunned the world by beating the Wallabies (the Australian national rugby team) 48-17, which put them at the top of the Rugby Championship table. Although Los Pumas initially lost to Australia in the first round 41-26, winning in the second round saw them leapfrog above South Africa and New Zealand.
As it stood after the second game, New Zealand were bottom of the table with four points (and -4 Points Difference). South Africa also had four points, but a slightly better points difference (+4), which is why they were in third, and Australia were second with 5 points and -16 PD. Is Argentina’s latest performance just a blip, or are they a good bet to win the Rugby Championship?
What are the bookies saying?
To get a clearer understanding of who might win the Rugby Championship, the best thing to do would be to look to the major sports betting sites, such as ComeOn Sports, to find out what they’re saying. At the time of writing, the Comeon Canada for Argentina to win the Rugby Championship outright are -335 in American/Moneyline odds, which equates to 3/10 in UK fractional odds, and to 1.30 in European decimal odds.
In comparison, South Africa are second favourites to win with +350 odds (7/2 or 4.50). Australia are third favourites to win with +1100 odds (11.1 or 12.00), and Argentina are the LEAST favourite to win the championship with +2,800 odds (28/1 or 29.00). In other words, they could very well be worth a flutter. However, these odds are likely to change somewhat from now until the end of the tournament, so if Argentina are to keep on winning, say, their next three or four games, the +2,800 odds (28/1 or 29.00) are likely to come down a great deal, so don’t leave it too late if you do want to have a flutter on Los Pumas.
More about the Rugby Championship
The Rugby Championship (formerly the Tri Nations) began in 1996, and it now consists of four teams since Argentina joined in 2012. The 2020 event took place, but South Africa were not present due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and so for this one-off championship, it reverted to being called the Tri Nations. This famous Rugby Union event sees the teams play each other twice in a round-robin-style tourney, and the team with the most points when all fixtures have been played are crowned the winner.
The most successful Rugby Championship team is New Zealand, having won on 18 separate occasions. The top points scorer in the tournament’s history is New Zealand’s Dan Carter with 554 points, and the top try scorer in its history with 21 tries is South Africa’s Bryan Habana.
Can Argentina really win?
If you go by what the bookies are saying, then, seriously, no, Argentina can’t win. However, with that said, and although it’s still early days, the team is looking better by the day, and they have a great coach going into their remaining fixtures. You never know; Argentina could make history and be the next Rugby Championship winners.
As recently as August 27th, Argentina played their third match of the tournament and recorded another epic win, beating the All Blacks 25-17. Argentina have made history once again, as New Zealand slumped to one of their worst ever defeats. In charge of the game this time was Georgian rugby union and World Rugby elite referee Nika Amashukeli.
He also happened to referee the game that saw Ireland beat Italy in the Six Nations. In light of their recent performance, certain major bookies have adjusted their odds slightly in favour of Argentina. If you were to place a bet on Argentina to win before the tournament began, you would probably be rubbing your hands together in anticipation of them winning with those great odds. They are looking stronger with each game, and their latest victories will also no doubt boost each player’s confidence going into their final games.
A closer look at some of the highlights in Argentina’s latest historic win over the All Blacks
Los Pumas opened the scoring with a fine penalty strike from Emiliano Boffelli within the first ten minutes of action, taking them 3-0 up. New Zealand went 5-3 up thanks to hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho before Bofelli capitalised again to put Argentina in the lead to 6-5. New Zealand climbed back into the lead after around the 30-minute mark, and the score was now 8-6 to New Zealand. Just a couple of minutes later, they extended their lead to 15-6.
Argentina then clawed back again to take the score to 9-15 before making it 12-15. When the second half got underway, New Zealand took the lead through a Mo’unga penalty, which changed the scoreline to 18-12, but then Gonzaleze’s try just a few minutes later put Los Pumas to 19-18 in front. Argentina then went 22-18 up and then went 25-18 up, which is how the game ended.
Upcoming fixtures
On Saturday, September 3rd, Argentina will face New Zealand one more time before going on to play their first of two games against South Africa (the Springboks). The final games of the Rugby Championship will definitely be ones to watch, and Los Pumas’ last game is scheduled to take place on September 24th. If they can keep on playing the way they have been in their most recent games, there’s a good chance they can go all the way.
You can watch their upcoming games on a variety of major sports streaming websites, plus certain local television channels are also broadcasting the action. Don’t forget that you can watch the games across multiple devices. If you’re looking for more rugby betting, some of the other upcoming events you can also place a wager on are the Six Nation Championship, the United Rugby Championship, the women’s World Cup, and the World Rugby Sevens Series, to name just a few top events. When gambling for real money, remember to gamble responsibly by setting deposit limits. Never gamble more than you can afford, and never chase your losses.