The final weekend of the Group Stages appears to be somewhat of an anti-climax after the gut-wrenching drama of last weekend’s games. However, there is still much to play for with the Wales v Australia game and the Ireland v France game likely to decide the standings for their respective pools, and therefore this will outline the difficulty of their progression through the knockout stages
England becoming the first ever host nation to be dumped out of a World Cup in the pool stages has led to a cloud descending upon English rugby. The bickering has already begun with much of the blame being laid upon England defence coach Andy Farrell who is believed to have undue amounts of influence over crucial selections such as Sam Burgess, both against Wales and in the wider squad in the first place. Where English rugby goes from here is anybody’s guess however it looks as though Stuart Lancaster and his coaching staff’s position may well be untenable.
- Samoa v Scotland – Scotland by a winning margin of 11-20 (9/2 with Ladbrokes)
- Australia v Wales – Wales to win (9/4 with Betfred)
- France v Ireland – France to win (11/8 with Coral)
Samoa v Scotland – 10th October 2015
Scotland are a side who have recently had a tremendous upturn in form given their poor performances in the last few Six Nations. Vern Cotter might quite possibly be the best rugby coach in the world and it would be surprising if the English RFU didn’t come calling after the World Cup. Cotter has managed to do something few other Scottish coaches have done in recent years and this is to get the backline flourishing with players such as Mark Bennett and Stuart Hogg looking likely to be included on the 2017 Lions Tour given their recent performances. Samoa have had an up and down tournament given their loss to Japan last Saturday and their collapse against South Africa. However, any side with players such as Alesana Tuilagi and the Pisi brothers is a real threat to contend with and the South Sea Islanders are renowned for their physical approach which should prove a real threat to the Scottish.
This game is particularly important to Scotland due to the threat of Japan, who could progress ahead of Scotland if they get a bonus point. Scotland tend to perform poorly when it comes to World Cups and they usually fail to progress out of the group stages. Expect this to be a bruising encounter with Scotland’s superior professionalism and greater level of fitness likely to tell in the second half of this encounter and this should see their margin of victory widen even further.
- Scotland by a winning margin of 11-20 (9/2 with Ladbrokes)
Australia v Wales – 10th October 2015
After both sides’ victories over England, their progression out of the “Group of Death” has been ensured and therefore this game matters only in as much as deciding who will top the group. Australia dominated England 33-13 to eliminate the hosts from the tournament and look to have found two great props in the shape of Scott Sio and Sekope Kepu, who have rectified their long held issues at the scrum.
Wales, like Australia, head into this one also undefeated so far in this tournament, however they have enjoyed extra rest time due to their lack of a fixture last weekend and therefore they should be feeling a little fresher than their Australian counterparts heading into this one. Wales seem to have coped well with the injury crisis that hit them hard early on with players such as Gareth Davies emerging as potential superstars of the future.
Those that doubt the importance of the outcome of this game need to take a look at the potential paths to the final of both the runner up and the winner of the pool. The runner up of Pool A will have to beat South Africa in the quarter finals, and then likely face New Zealand in the semi final for a place in the final. The winner of Pool A will get either Scotland or Japan in the quarter finals and then Argentina, France or Ireland in the semi final. Therefore if either of these sides harbor real ambitions of going all the way and winning the tournament, this is simply a must win game for both sides. We feel as though the accurate goal kicking of Welsh fly half Dan Biggar will prove crucial in this one and will be the deciding factor in the outcome. Out of all of the games this weekend, this feels the tightest one to call and therefore simply backing Wales to win outright seems a sensible call and at 9/4 with Betfred this is a terrific price.
- Wales to win (9/4 with Betfred)
France v Ireland – 11th October 2015
Both of these sides seem to have coasted through the pool so far, with Ireland’s game against Italy being the only unconvincing performance so far by either of these two sides. France always seem to turn it on when it comes to the World Cup, as is evidenced by their runner up finish in the last tournament during the tumultuous reign of Marc Lievremont. They have the option of both the guile of Wesley Fofana in the centres but also the brute physicality of one-man wrecking ball Mathieu Bastareud if they decide to go for the route one option to crash over the gain line.
Ireland, after a mixed bag in the warm up games before the tournament, seem to be going under the radar somewhat so far. The return to full fitness of Cian Healy and Sean O’Brien cannot come soon enough as their ball carrying and the powerful physicality that they bring to the field has been somewhat missing in recent weeks.
We feel as though supporting the underdog (France) in this one is another smart call as it is likely to be a very tight encounter. It also seems that, like in 2011, France are gelling together as a unit and Phillipe Saint-Andre, the France Head Coach who is being replaced by Guy Noves after the tournament, has nothing to lose and his side are playing with the freedom that this creates. Therefore backing France to win at 11/8 with Coral is something that we feel represents a smart option.
- France to win (11/8 with Coral)