Rugby World Cup 2023: Round 4 Predictions

We have reached the halfway stage of the Rugby World Cup, with 24 games completed and 24 remaining, and it’s still all to play for in every Superbru league.

This round looks relatively straightforward to predict, and so it’s mostly all about the margins. It does look the toughest round for picking your fantasy team, however, but the All Blacks team will be out shortly, Argentina should have a strong team and we’ll need to make some educated guesses on some of the others.

Here are my Rugby World Cup predictions for Round 4.

Uruguay v Namibia

Namibia have been poor so far, on the wrong end of two of the tournaments four biggest defeats so far, but they’ll have been targeting this match as their only realistic chance of victory. I think Uruguay will be too strong, however. Uruguay by 23

Japan v Samoa

This is the only tricky pick this round, with Samoa slight favourites having troubled Argentina in their last outing, and there is a potential quarter-final place up for grabs depending on other results. Looking at the stellar Samoan lineup, I’m leaning towards them to get the win here, but it could go either way. Samoa by 4

New Zealand v Italy

An Italy victory here would knock the All Blacks out of the World Cup. The Azzurri have been looking impressive so far, but it would be quite a shock if they were to win this one. New Zealand by 23

Argentina v Chile

The Pumas need a big win here as they face competition from Samoa and Japan to qualify for the knockout stages. I expect they’ll win comfortably as we say goodbye to Chile after their first-ever World Cup appearance. Argentina by 38

Fiji v Georgia

The Fijians know that there’s a quarter-final place with their name on it if they avoid disaster in their final two games with Georgia and Portugal. This is the likelier banana skin, but they look a great team and should have enough to come through the test. Fiji by 13

Scotland v Romania

Can Romania keep their losing margin beneath 70 points? The Scots will be warming up for the last-chance tilt at Ireland next weekend, but they won’t want to risk injury to key players. Scotland by 53

Australia v Portugal

This should be a morale-boosting win for the down-and-out Wallabies after their disappointing drubbing at the hands of Wales on Sunday that will almost certainly seal their exit from the tournament. Australia by 28

South Africa v Tonga

We’re expecting to see Handre Pollard back for the Boks against Tonga, and he might be just what they need later in the tournament if they are to retain the World Cup. This one should be fairly straightforward, albeit with some big collisions. South Africa by 48

How do your predictions compare? Let us know in the comments!