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| Adam Ashley-Cooper |
Darry Worthington takes look at the five Rugby World Cup games kicking off on Saturday the 5th of October and Sunday the 6th of October.
The Rugby World Cup Pool stage has reached the crucial midway point.
The most pivotal of this weekend’s games sees England take on Argentina with Eddie Jones’ side set to assure themselves top spot in the pool with a win.
Australia v Uruguay
Saturday 5 October
Oita Bank Dome
07:15
To Win (80 Mins)
Australia N/A
Draw 30/1
Uruguay 20/1
Handicap
Australia (-52.5) 9/10
Uruguay (+52.5) 9/10
A new-look Australian side will be looking to claim the full five-point haul over a plucky Uruguayan outfit.
The South Americans were brought back crashing down to earth last weekend as they were unable to follow up their famous victory over Fijian going down 22-7 to Georgia.
Australia also had a weekend to forget as they were beaten 29-25 by a clinical Welsh side. Once again, the Wallabies were hard done by the officials. And while I do love having a laugh at their pundits whinging, Michael Cheika’s side really are not having the rub of the green when it comes to officiating.
Verdict: Australia (-52.5) 9/10
The Australians have thrown a whole bunch of hungry fringe layers out for this one and they’ll be looking to impress. With the humidity levels expected to drop in Japan this weekend, I will be having a moderate crack on the Australian minus line.
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England v Argentina
Saturday 5 October
Ajinomoto Stadium
10:00
To Win (80 Mins)
England 1/8
Draw 30/1
Argentina 9/2
Handicap
England (-14.5) 9/10
Argentina (+14.5) 9/10
A desperate Argentine outfit will be looking to keep their quarter-final dreams alive when they take on an England who are gunning for top spot in the pool.
Mario Ledesma’s men bounced back from their narrow victory at the hands of France by securing a 28-12 bonus-point victory over Tonga.
England have had a far better time of it since the World Cup got underway and head into this one off the back of solid victories over minnow sides the United States and Tonga.
Verdict: Argentina (+14.5) 9/10
This could actually be a rather tight game if the Pumas can get a level hold at scrum time. Even if they do struggle at the set piece they should still finish within what is a rather large handicap.
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Japan v Samoa
Saturday 5 October
Toyota Stadium
12:30
To Win (80 Mins)
Japan 1/16
Draw 30/1
Samoa 7/1
Handicap
Japan (-20.5) 9/10
Samoa (+20.5) 9/10
Japan will be looking to back up their jaw-dropping victory over Ireland when they take on a Samoan side with a massive discipline problem.
The Japanese head into this one with a great chance of retaining top spot on the table. They can ill-afford a slip up here as they still have to play Scotland and Ireland are breathing down their necks.
Verdict: Japan (-20.5) 9/10
I fear for the Samoan’s here. Japan are a very disciplined side and if you go down to 14 or 13 men they will take full advantage. I can see this occurring on Saturday.
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New Zealand v Namibia
Sunday 6 October
Ajinomoto Stadium
06:45
To Win (80 Mins)
New Zealand N/A
Draw 30/1
Namibia 20/1
Handicap
New Zealand (-70.5) 9/10
Namibia (+70.5) 9/10
New Zealand will be looking for a far slicker performance than the one they produced against Canada when they take on Namibia.
The reigning World Champions managed to register a 63-0 win over the Canadians this past Wednesday but the performance was somewhat soured by a number o handling errors. With the temperature in Japan set to drop this weekend, we’re unlikely to see as many errors from Steve Hansen’s men.
Namibia have endured a rather tough opening two rounds going down 47-22 to Italy and then 57-3 to South Africa. They will be hoping to not receive another hiding here but that is unlikely.
Verdict: New Zealand (-70.5) 9/10
I can see the All Blacks really cutting lose here. They will not be pleased with the number of tries they spurned this past Wednesday and this is likely to spur them on.
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France v Tonga
Sunday 6 October
Umakana Yokana Stadium
To Win (80 Mins)
France 1/100
Draw 30/1
Tonga 14/1
Handicap
France (-26.5) 9/10
Tonga (+26.5) 9/10
France will be looking to avoid any potential banana peels when they take on a Tonga side that has played some decent defensive rugby in their opening two games.
The French followed up their two-point victory over Argentina by stuttering their way to a 33-9 win over the United States. Le Bleu only kicked into gear late in the second half and were on the ropes for the opening ten minutes of that stanza.
As touched upon earlier, the Tongans have given a decent account of themselves thus far going down 32 points to England and 16 to Argentina.
Verdict: Tonga (+26.5) 9/10
The Tongans have proved to be a handy side to follow on the plus and I think I’ll be having a decent crack on them to stay within the margin again.
Written by Darry Worthington for Hollywoodbets
