Australia are underdogs heading into their clash with Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday. This is a rare occurrence, but the odds on the visitors offer value.
When Australia (2.39) were in the 2015 Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand, it would have been unthinkable that nine years later, the Wallabies would be underdogs against Scotland (1.59).
That is precisely what is now the case, but the signs are there that a corner has been turned under Joe Schmidt. There is often value in the underdog when it comes to online sports betting, which could be one of those games.
How the Wallabies Fell From the Top
The Wallabies were in a good place in 2015, with fullback Israel Folau the kingpin of their attack and only a then utterly dominant New Zealand (3.50) ahead of them in rugby’s global pecking order.
Gradually, Australian rugby union began to fall apart, with talent pipelines not pumping through a sufficiently strong player pool amid competition from other sports. The demise of Super Rugby did not help, as Australia’s franchises no longer get to learn directly from their rivals in South Africa.
Rugby Australia’s standoff with their controversial former star player, Israel Folau, worsened matters. Folau was eventually sacked in 2019 after repeatedly making contentious posts on social media. The straw that broke the camel’s back was a post claiming that “hell awaits” homosexuals among others.
Australia were lacklustre at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, where they lost 40-16 to England in the quarter-finals.
However, following the COVID-19 lockdown and the collapse of Super Rugby as we knew it, the wheels truly fell off. The chopping and changing of coaches in the build-up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup did nothing to ease the situation and Australia were eliminated at the group stage, finishing behind Wales (34.02) and Fiji (34.02) in their pool.
Why Australia Can Beat Scotland
This year, Australia have slowly but surely been working their way back to its former glory with some young, exciting players finally stepping up.
The Wallabies beat Wales twice and then Georgia in their mid-year tests. They had a tough Rugby Championship, winning only one out of six games. However, they have shown on their end-of-year tour that they are back.
Australia beat England 42-37 at Twickenham and then hammered Wales 52-20 in Cardiff. This showed how far the Wallabies have come since last year and even the mid-year 2024 tests, which were closely fought.
Scotland showed in their 32-15 defeat to South Africa (4.00) that there is still a big gap between them and the best teams in the world.
Joe Schmidt has brought the best out of Tom Wright, Len Ikitau and Noah Lolesio. If this continues, Australia can be one of the best again.
