The third week of the Rugby World Cup is upon us and the quarterfinal picture is starting to take shape. In the last week, we have seen England lose to Wales, South Africa show the perfect blueprint to beat Samoa, and Australia, Ireland and New Zealand still remain in cruise control. Looking ahead to the key matches this weekend, we see Scotland face South Africa to decide the Pool B winner, England and Australia clash in a hugely important match at Twickenham and Ireland face Italy.
Front a betting standpoint, things are back on track and as teams begin to select their best teams searching for momentum, I expect the profits to start coming in. The Rugby World Cup is once again living up to all expectations and although some of the teams have been somewhat rusty so far, expect teams to start hitting fourth and fifth gear from now on in. Follow me on twitter (@S15_TheProfits) for game coverage, expert insight or just for a chat and fingers are crossed for another fascinating tournament in England.
Best Bet 1: Wales -7.0 (vs Fiji) Second Half Handicap @ $1.91 – Sportsbet
Best Bet 2: New Zealand -63.5 (vs Georgia) @ $1.90 Luxbet (early twitter play)
Part 2 of the preview will be released on Friday night or Saturday morning
Wales ($1.14) vs Fiji ($7.00)
Kick-off: Friday – 01:45am (AEDT)
Wales and Fiji will kick-off the third week of Rugby World Cup action overnight at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. An injury-ravaged Wales outfit have won both of their matches so far against Uruguay (54 – 9) and most recently England (28 – 25), whereas Fiji have lost both of their first two matches against England (11 – 35) and Australia (13 – 28). Looking at this history between these two proud rugby nations, Fiji have only managed one victory from 10 matches, however, the most recent match in 2014, only saw Wales triumph 17 – 13 in Cardiff.
Wales Team:
Gethin Jenkins, Scott Baldwin, Tom Francis, Bradley Davies, Alun Wyn-Jones, Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton (captain), Toby Faletau, Gareth Davis, Dan Biggar, Jamie Roberts, Tyler Morgan, George North, Liam Williams
Reserves: Ken Owens, Aaron Jarvis, Samson Lee, Luke Charteris, Justin Tipuric, Lloyd Williams, Rhys Priestland, James Hook
Fiji Team:
Campese Ma’afu, Sunia Koto, Manasa Saulo, Tevita Cavubati, Leone Nakarawa, Dominiko Waqaniburotu, Akapusi Qera (Captain), Netani Talei, Nemia Kenatale, Ben Volavola, Aseli Tikoirotuma, Lepani Botia, Vereniki Goneva, Timoci Nagusa, Metuisela Talebula
Reserves: Viliame Veikoso, Peni Ravai, Leeroy Atalifo, Nemia Soqeta, Malakai Ravulo, Henry Senilolo, Josh Matavesi, Kini Murimurivalu
Prediction:
This is going to be a fascinating match because it is a danger game for Wales and Fiji will be looking for their first win of the tournament. Wales have been solid in their matches to date, but further injuries picked up in the last match have their backline well and truly depleted. The pack that faired so well against England is back in action, however, an injury to outside Scott Williams sees Tyler Morgan make his debut in this match. Dan Biggar was sensational against England and his stocks as a flyhalf continue to rise. Winger George North, the youngest player to ever get to 50 caps has had a slow start to the tournament, but expect him to use his size and strength against the physical Fijians. Warren Gatland’s bench remains strong featuring players with a wealth of experience for their national side, however, any more injuries would be fatal to their campaign.
Looking at John Mckee’s Fijian outfit, the pack is strong and will no doubt look to target Wales upfront, similarly to what they did against England. There are a lot of big, hard nosed forwards in the pack, but they will certainly have their work cut out for them. The backline is missing halfback Nico Matawalu (injury) and their powerhouse winger Nemani Nadolo (suspension), two players that have a lot of ‘X-Factor’. As a result, their job has been made tougher on Thursday night and if Wales get the ascendency at the lineout and at scrum time, it will be hard for the flying Fijians to attack off the back foot. Although the Fijians might keep it close early on, I think there is enough class and experience amongst the Welsh ranks to secure at least a ten-point victory, pulling away in the second half.
Predicted result: Wales to win by around 10 points @ $1.14 – Bet365
Best Bet 1: Wales -7.0 (vs Fiji) Second Half Handicap @ $1.91 – Sportsbet
France ($1.01) vs Canada ($41.00)
Kick-off: Friday – 05:00 (AEDT)
France will be looking to keep their unbeaten Rugby World Cup campaign alive when they face Canada at Stadium mk in Milton Keynes on Thursday night (local time). France has started with two wins over Italy (32 – 10) and Romania (38 – 11) and are flying under the radar somewhat, as they usually do. On the other hand, Canada were thumped by Ireland (7 – 50) and narrowly lost to Italy (18 – 23) last weekend. The last time these two teams clashed was in New Zealand at the 2011 Rugby World Cup when France won convincingly 46 – 19.
France Team:
Eddy Ben Arous, Guilhem Guirado, Rabah Slimani, Pascal Pape, Yoann Maestri, Thierry Dusautoir (captain), Bernard le Roux, Damien Chouly, Sebastian Tillous-Borde, Frederic Michalak, Brice Dulin, Wesley Fofana, Mathieu Bastareaud, Remy Grosso, Scott Spedding
Reserves: Benjamin Kayser, Vincent Debaty, Nicolas Mas, Yannick Nyanga, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Morgan Parra, Remi Tales, Alexandre Dumoulin
Canada Team:
Hubert Buydens, Aaron Carpenter, Doug Wooldridge, Brett Beukeboom, Jamie Cudmore, Kyle Gilmour, Richard Thorpe, Tyler Ardron (captain), Phil Mack, Nathan Hirayama, DTH van der Merwe, Nick Blevins, Ciaran Hearn, Phil Mackenzie, Matt Evans
Reserves: Ray Barkwill, Djustice Sears-Duru, Andrew Tiedemann, Evan Olmstead, Nanyak Dala, Gordon McRorie, Harry Jones, Conor Trainor
Prediction:
French captain Thierry Dusautoir will make a timely return to the Les Bleus outfit to face Canada on Thursday night. French coach Philippe Saint-Andre has selected a tight five that is going to cause the Canadians a lot of problems, especially in the scrums. The back row is also dangerous and Canadian players like Gilmour, Thorpe and captain Tyler Ardron will have their hands full all evening. Freddie Michalak has once again been given the reins and their coach will be looking for a little more creative flair out of him against one of the weaker teams in the group. Wesley Fofana and Mathieu Bastereaud complement each other well in the centres and will no doubt create opportunities for Brice Dulin, debutant Remy Grosso and Scott Spedding out wide.
Canada will be buoyed by their narrow defeat to Italy last weekend, but let’s be honest, Italy don’t look very threatening at the moment either. It was a much improved performance compared to that of their match against Ireland in week one, but they’ll certainly need to raise their game a few levels this weekend if they are to give France any sort of grief. The French are the most unpredictable team in world rugby, but if they get it right, they could put a number of tries on a battling Canadian side.
Predicted result: France to win @ $1.01 – Bet365
New Zealand ($1.00) vs Georgia ($101.00)
Kick-off: Saturday – 05:00 (AEDT)
Tournament favourites New Zealand will play their third match on Friday night when they face the brave Georgians at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The All Blacks have beaten Argentina (26 – 16) and Namibia (58 – 14) to date, whereas the Georgians started off the tournament well with a 17 – 10 win over Tonga, before losing 9 – 54 to Argentina. New Zealand have never played Georgia, so it will be a great experience for all involved on Friday night.
New Zealand Team:
Wyatt Crockett, Dane Coles, Charlie Faumauina, Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw (captain), Kieran Read, Aaron Smith, Dan Carter, Julian Savea, Sonny Bill Williams, Conrad Smith, Waisake Naholo, Ben Smith
Reserves: Kevin Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Owen Franks, Victor Vito, Sam Cane, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, TJ Perenara, Malakai Fekitoa
Georgia Team:
K Asieshvili, S Mamukashvili, L Chilachava, L Datunashvili, D Chikhaidze, S Sutiashvili, M Gorgodze (captain), L Lomidze, G Begadze, L Malaguradze, A Todua, T Mchedlidze, D Kacharava, G Aptsiauri, B Tsiklauri
Reserves: S Maisuradze, M Nariashvili, A Peikkrisvilli, K Mikautadze, V Kolelishvilli, V Lobzhanidze, M Sharikadze, Giorgadze
Prediction:
New Zealand have started the tournament slowly, but coach Steve Hansen has selected close to his strongest 15 for this match, signalling that he needs his team to start playing well and building momentum. You’ve heard it all before, the pack is strong, the locks are towering, the back row is balanced, the halves are threatening, the centres are dangerous and the outside backs are lethal. Georgian coach Milton Haig has rested a number of his key players with only one player remaining in the pack from their last outing, even though it is the ‘Godzilla’ Mamuka Gorgodze. There are also a number of other changes in the backline, with a few players playing outside of their preferred positions. It is still their most experienced line-up, but we saw how the Springboks played with their most experienced line-up against Japan as well. The coach clearly is focusing on the Georgian’s next match against Namibia, but to do that against the world’s best team is simply suicide, so expect the biggest blow out of the tournament in Cardiff.
Predicted result: New Zealand to win by 75 @ $1.00 – Bet365
Best Bet 2: New Zealand -63.5 (vs Georgia) @ $1.90 Luxbet (early twitter play)
