Best Bet 1: Wales +6.0 (vs Ireland) @ $1.91 – William Hill
Best Bet 2: Scotland -10.5 @ $1.87 – Tab.co.nz
Ireland ($1.41) vs Wales ($2.94)
Undoubtedly, the match of the weekend will take place at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday night, when Ireland will face Wales for the second time in less than a month in their final Rugby World Cup warmup matches of the season. A few weeks ago at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Ireland cruised to a comfortable 35 – 21 victory, after racing out to a 25 – 0 lead having played some breathtaking rugby in the first half. To be fair, both teams were playing understrength, which says more about Ireland’s depth compared to that of the Welsh, but after looking at the squads named for this clash, both Joe Schmidt and Warren Gatland have named near full-strength teams.
Ireland team:
Jack McGrath, Richardt Strauss, Nathan White, Iain Henderson, Paul O’Connell (Captain), Peter O’Mahoney, Jordi Murphy, Jamie Heaslip, Conor Murray, Jonathan Sexton, Keith Earls, Robbie Henshaw, Luke Fitzgerald, Dave Kearney, Rob Kearney
Reserves: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilkoyne, Tadhg Furlong, Donnacha Ryan, Sean O’Brien, Eoin Reddan, Paddy Jackson, Felix Jones
Wales Team:
Gethin Jenkins, Ken Owens, Tomas Francis, Bradley Davies, Alun Wyn Jones (Captain), Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric, Toby Faletau, Rhys Webb, Dan Biggar, George North, Jamie Roberts, Scott Williams, Alex Cuthbert, Leigh Halfpenny
Replacements: Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Paul James (Ospreys), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Racing Metro), James King (Ospreys), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Hallam Amos (Newport Gwent Dragons).
Prediction:
Ireland have been on a roll the last couple of seasons and after winning the RBS 6 Nations this season, they have carried that momentum forward with wins over Wales and Scotland in the last few weeks. On the other hand, Wales have threatened to produce strong performances, however, they have battled consistency issues and momentary lapses in concentration that have cost them dearly. This matchup be a great gauge as to whether Ireland’s number two world ranking is justified and also how good Wales currently are, with England and Australia no doubt watching on with keen interest.
The Irish are notoriously hard to beat in Dublin and that will be no different this weekend. Ireland’s spine of Paul O’Connell, Jamie Heaslip and the first choice halves pairing of Conor Murray and Jonathan Sexton have been integral to their success in recent years, but the spotlight will be on guys like Nathan White (prop), Iain Henderson (lock), Jordi Murphy (Openside Flanker) in the forwards. Barring the addition of maybe Samson Lee and Captain Sam Warburton, I expect this to be Wales’ first choice squad for game one of their Rugby World Cup campaign. Tighthead prop Tomas Francis will face a baptism of fire in his first match for his country this weekend, but he has accomplished pack around him led by the towering Alun Wyn-Jones. Halfback Rhys Webb is always a good anytime try scorer option and Dan Bigger has been playing some great rugby over the last twelve months. George North returns from an enforced injury layoff as a result of suffering multiple concussions and he will receive his 50th Test cap at the “ripe old” age of 23. Jamie Roberts, Scott Williams, Alex Cuthbert and the goal-kicking ace Leigh Halfpenny complete a solid backline, with pressure on outside centre Scott Williams to fill the big boots of Jonathan Davies this autumn.
Ireland head into this matchup having won three of the last four matches against Wales, however, two of the last three matches played in Dublin have seen the Welsh victorious, suggesting that the visitors have the belief of winning at the Aviva Stadium. All of the big teams have lost once this year and I have a feeling that might the case again this weekend in Dublin. A loss now for Ireland wouldn’t be anything more than a wake up call and after a couple of slow performances by Wales to start the season, I expect Warren Gatland to fire up his troops a claim a momentum building win in Dublin, but I would take the handicap just to be safe.
Predicted result: Wales to win @ $2.94 – William Hill
Best Bet 1: Wales +6.0 @ $1.91 – William Hill
Scotland ($1.21) vs Italy ($4.45)
The second fixture on Saturday night sees Scotland host Italy in the return fixture at Murrayfield, with the hosts victorious on the road last weekend in Turin, thanks to a last gasp try by replacement scrum half Henry Pyrgos. It put an end to a run of six straight defeats for Scotland, dating back to November 2014. Scotland has a dominant record against the Italians, having won seven of the last ten and five of the last six at Murrayfield, generally by comfortable margins.
Scotland team:
Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford, WP Nel, Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist, Ryan Wilson, John Barclay, David Denton, Greig Laidlaw, Finn Russell, Tim Visser, Peter Horne, Mark Bennett, Sean Lamont, Stuart Hogg
Replacements: Stuart McInally, Gordon Reid, Jon Welsh, Rob Harley, Blair Cowan, Henry Pyrgos, Ruaridh Jackson, Matt Scott
Italy Team:
Matias Aguero, Leonardo Ghiraldini (Captain), Martin Castrogiovanni, Marco Fuser, Joshua Furno, Alessandro Zanni, Francesco Minto, Samuela Vunisa, Guglielmo Palazanni, Tomasso Allan, Leonardo Sarto, Luca Morisi, Michele Campagnaro, Angelo Esposito, Luke McLean
Replacements: Andrea Manici, Michele Rizzo, Dario Chistolini, Quintin Geldenhuys, Mauro Bergamasco, Marcello Violi, Carlo Canna, Andrea Masi
Prediction:
Only two members (Grant Gilchrist and Sean Lamont) of Scotland’s starting 15 from last week’s win in Turin makes the team this weekend with Scotland’s Coach Vern Cotter reverting back to a number of his first choice starters. Players like Ross Ford (hooker), Dave Denton, Greig Laidlaw, Tim Visser and the exciting Stuart Hogg all return for Scotland’s penultimate match before facing France next week followed by kicking off their Rugby World Cup campaign against they kick off their Rugby World Cup with a match against Japan in three weeks time.
It is clear that Jacques Brunel isn’t quite sure what his first choice 15 is after making a further eight changes for this week’s match. Sergio Parisse remains on the sideline with hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini entrusted with the captaincy this week. The front row of Aguero, Ghiraldini and Castrogiovanni will hold their own at scrum time, however, I think Jonny Gray and Grant Gilchrist will get the better of Marco Fuser and Joshua Furno in the second row. There has been a major overhaul in the backline with Palazanni and Allen a raw halves combination, however, keep an eye on Michele Campagnaro who is a good young prospect in the centres both on attack and in defense.
For me, Scotland at home are going to be far too strong for an unsettled Italian outfit. Both teams were ordinary last week, but the home team has the ability to go up a gear and I am just don’t have any confidence in the current Italian setup, both in terms of coaching and personnel.
Predicted result: Scotland to win @ $1.21 – Sportsbet
Best Bet 2: Scotland -10.5 @ $1.87 – Tab.co.nz
