The Rugby Championship returns once again in its familiar format, as fans prepare for two months of top-tier rugby action in the southern hemisphere. Join us for the best Rugby Championship 2025 predictions and analysis.
The Rugby Championship is an annual competition right now, but it will be reformatted as a biannual event from 2026, meaning this is the last edition as we know it. Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa will all be eager to win the final chapter. Check out the key details of the tournament before moving on to our Rugby Championship betting tips.
| ℹ️ Event: | Rugby Championship 2025 |
| 🏉 Venues: | Stadiums across Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa |
| 🗓️ Dates: | Saturday, August 16 to Saturday, October 4, 2025 |
The Rugby Championship is the southern hemisphere’s equivalent of the Six Nations. Under its current format, the top four teams in the southern hemisphere fight for Rugby Championship glory each year. Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa are the teams that participate in this competition.
The tournament is an extended format of the Tri Nations Series. New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia were the Tri-Nations teams. After Argentina joined the trio, the competition became the Rugby Championship.
New Zealand has won nine of the 12 Rugby Championships held so far. South Africa won its second Rugby Championship title last year, while Australia won the tournament in 2015 and has been looking for its second title ever since. Argentina, on the other hand, is still waiting for its maiden Rugby Championship glory. Is this going to be their year? Read on to see who we’re backing as the potential 2025 Rugby Championship champion in our predictions.
Bookies have rolled out their outright odds for the 2025 Rugby Championships. Here are the current 2025 Rugby Championship odds across top sportsbooks:
The All Blacks won all three matches in their July series against an understrength France and are keen to reclaim a title they are quite used to winning. Since New Zealand has the shortest odds for winning the tournament, they will be a popular pick for Rugby Championship betting tips.
South Africa, the world champions and defending Rugby Championship titleholders, look set to be the side to beat again. That said, they do have a challenging two-Test series in New Zealand, including a visit to Eden Park, where they have not won in close to a century.
Australia closed out their British & Irish Lions series with a gritty victory in wet conditions at Sydney, as Joe Schmidt leads the rebuild until Les Kiss takes charge in mid-2026. Still, they enter the fray as underdogs with long odds of 13.00 (12/1).
On their day, Argentina can challenge any opponent, but their inconsistency sees them start again as underdogs. However, we believe these odds are vastly undervaluing the Latin American side.
Following an in-depth look at the odds from top betting companies for rugby, we’ve locked in our Rugby Championship 2025 predictions:
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The Springboks have long been one of the most dominant forces in global rugby. After capturing the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Rugby Championship, they begin the 2025 season ranked No. 1 in the world. So, South Africa come into this tournament cruising with confidence.
Ever since Rassie Erasmus became the South Africa head coach, the team has gone through an era of success. Erasmus led the Springboks to their first-ever Rugby Championship title and oversaw their second title-winning campaign last year.
The team also benefits from the leadership of two-time World Cup winner Siya Kolisi, who has seen it all in the top level of professional rugby. The 34-year-old will earn his 94th Test cap for his country when he walks out of the tunnel at Ellis Park Stadium this weekend against Australia.
South Africa have the form and the quality to win the back-to-back Rugby Championship titles for the first time in history. The Springboks have the luxury to bench the likes of Faf de Klerk, Handre Pollard, and Willie le Roux for their Rugby Championship opener against the Wallabies. These three players combine for a whopping 242 caps.
As we have mentioned above, South Africa are the side to beat in the Rugby Championship this season, even though sportsbooks value them as second favorites to New Zealand.
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Grant Williams will look to boost the Springboks’ attack alongside Manie Libbok as South Africa takes on the Wallabies at Ellis Park this Saturday. Rewarded for his lively cameos in green and gold, the Sharks scrumhalf will start at No. 9 for the first of two consecutive Rugby Championship Tests facing Australia. He should be in a good position to score a try in the game.
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It’s impossible to ignore the upward trajectory Argentina has been on in recent years. Yes, they did lose to a second-string England side in July, but the British and Irish Lions game proved their capability to beat the best in the business. Last year, they beat all three sides in this competition for the first time, and we expect them to upset the All Blacks once again.
South Africa looks set to enjoy another solid campaign this year, and Grant Williams should be able to add another try to his name in the tournament opener against Australia.
