The IRB Women’s World Cup got underway this past week and it’s one of those tournaments that your standard rugby punter tends to forget about.
The Women’s World Cup got underway in Ireland this past week with Dublin and Belfast playing host to some fantastic rugby action.
The English ladies laid down a big marker as they ran out 56-5 victors over the Spanish. The French also shined in the opening round smashing Japan 72-14 while tournament favourites New Zealand hammered Wales 44-12.
We’ll take a look at the first set of results and the teams to watch below:
Round 1 Results
|
Game
|
Team A
|
Score
|
Team B
|
|
1
|
England
|
56 – 5
|
Spain
|
|
2
|
New
Zealand |
44 – 12
|
Wales
|
|
3
|
USA
|
24 – 12
|
Italy
|
|
4
|
Canada
|
98 – 0
|
Hong
Kong |
|
5
|
Ireland
|
19 – 17
|
Australia
|
|
6
|
France
|
72 – 14
|
Japan
|
Teams to Watch and Betting Angles
Hong Kong
The Canadian Women were sublime against Hong Kong running out 98-0 victors. We are not going to focus on the winners but rather the losers of that match, however. The Hong Kong ladies are in for a really hard tournament. They have a very small talent pool to choose from and they have been hammered in most of the Asian tournaments they’ve participated in over the past 12 months.
Betting Angle
If you’re offered a decent minus on one of the big sides (EG: New Zealand, England or Ireland) against Hong Kong jump on it with confidence as this Hong Kong ladies side is likely to ship a lot more points before the tournament closes out.
England
The English ladies really look like the real deal. They got their campaign off to a solid start beating a much-improved Spanish outfit by a more than a half century. They come into this World Cup as defending Champions and should be able to clear most handicaps with ease.
Betting Angle
The English ladies take on the Italians next up and if the handicap is anything under 30 I suggest having a large strike on it. They play the USA after that but a big win in their second game may see the bookies go a bit too big with the ‘cap. Make sure you check out our preview for that particular game as there could be some great value on backing the plus as the USA are a competent outfit who should provide a sterner test for the English.
New Zealand
The most successful team in the tournament’s history got their 2017 campaign off to a solid start beating the Welsh by 32 points. On paper, they are by far and away the best squad with the likes of Selicia Winitia, who bagged three tries against the Welsh, likely to cause opponents all sorts of problems.
Betting Angle
Like the English, New Zealand are likely to clear most handicaps thrown their way. They play Hong Kong in the next round and I can honestly see them putting 120 points past their opponents.
Written by Darry Worthington for @Hollywoodbets.net
