The All Blacks are playing 1.80 to cover the -27.5 handicap on Easybet. They have done so in all five of their most recent fixtures against Italy (14.00), suggesting they can do so again at Juventus FC’s Allianz Stadium.
All Blacks’ tentative steps back to their test
New Zealand suffered the humiliation of back-to-back defeats to fierce rivals the Springboks during The Rugby Championship.
The All Blacks subsequently won five matches in a row, suggesting that the most consistently successful team in rugby history were back on track.
New Zealand lost 30-29 to France at the Stade de France. However, they are still in good enough form to sweep Italy aside.
Italy’s inconsistent form
Italy have had a mixed year in 2024. They had a heroic run in February and March, drawing to France and beating Wales and Scotland.
However, in their last two games, the Azzurri lost 50-18 to Argentina and scraped past Georgia 20-17. This is hardly form worth betting on a win over the All Blacks with, although Italy are capable of pulling off a surprise on their day.
Head-to-head record
The teams last met in Lyon at last year’s Rugby World Cup. New Zealand won that game with a whopping margin of 96-17.
In fact, discounting the cancelled pool stage match at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, New Zealand have beaten Italy by at least 32 points in each of their last five encounters.
Furthermore, the All Blacks have won all 16 past clashes between the sides.
If anything, the defeat to France may serve only to fire them up more as they look to finish 2024 off on a high and remind their rivals that nobody will keep them off the top of the rugby pecking order without a fight.
