The first weekend of the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup proves to be the real crunch time for the countries that still remain. Gone are minnows such as Namibia and Canada and the all of the games that are yet to be played should be very competitive to say the least.
Despite hosts England having been knocked out of the tournament, interest remains high within both the northern and southern hemispheres. The southern hemisphere triumvirate of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa seem to be in pole position to go all the way in the tournament. The northern challenge seems best placed in the shape of Joe Schmidt’s Ireland given their comprehensive 24-9 win over France on Sunday. However, if Warren Gatland’s Wales can sneak past South Africa on Saturday then they shouldn’t be discounted.
- Wales v South Africa – South Africa to win (1/3 with Coral)
- New Zealand v France – New Zealand to win by a margin of 11-20 (15/8 with Ladbrokes)
- Argentina v Ireland – Ireland to win by a margin of 1-10 (13/8 with Ladbrokes)
- Australia v Scotland – Australia to win by a margin of 21-30 (15/8 with Ladbrokes)
Wales v South Africa – 17th October 2015
Both sides go into this game having had one defeat in the pool stages with Wales losing last Saturday to Australia, and South Africa having been shocked on the opening weekend of the tournament by Japan. Despite these defeats both now are only two wins away from the final and therefore all is left to play for. Wales’s injury problems seem to get worse and worse by the week with Liam Williams now ruled out for the rest of the World Cup. In his place, the inexperienced Eli Walker comes in and could even be thrust straight into the match day squad due to the injury problems. A selection dilemma may arise as to who should start out of Dan Lydiate and Justin Tipuric. Since the enforced absence of Jean De Villiers from the squad, the pairing of Damian De Allende and Jesse Kriel has seen the outside backs of Bryan Habana flourish and this extra attacking threat is what we believe will lead to the Springboks winning this encounter on Saturday.
Whilst Wales can be seen as being a very live underdog in this one given the amount of experience their side has, South Africa seem to have been awoken by their defeat to Japan, and with a pack including Eben Etzebeth and Schalk Burger they should have the physicality to defeat the Welsh.
- South Africa to win (1/3 with Coral)
New Zealand v France – 17th October 2015
France face the most daunting test in World Rugby as they take on reigning world champions New Zealand on Saturday evening. To compound the difficulty of this test there have been rumours that all is not well in the French camp with Phillipe Saint- Andre believed to have lost the trust of his players. However, they possess the only centre combination in the world that has the ability to rival Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu in terms of power and guile, in Mathieu Bastareud and Wesley Fofana who on their day could pose a real threat to the New Zealand midfield. The bone-crunching hit that Louis Picamoles smashed Irish fly half Jonny Sexton, is testament to the brute ferocity that Picamoles plays with and his battle up front with Kieran Read could be an unbelievable spectacle to watch. The loss of Tony Woodcock is something that the French might seek to exploit as Woodcock was a very important cog in securing the All Blacks ball at scrum time.
France’s loss to Ireland in their final group game meant that they failed to finish top of Pool D and instead of playing Argentina in the quarters they have ended up playing New Zealand and this could prove to be crucial to their tournament aspirations as a whole. Lots depends on whether the mercurial Frederic Michalak can find the performance level that so often eludes him in big games, and due to the more reliable nature of All Black legend Dan Carter’s game, the favourite for this one has to be his side. Expect New Zealand to expand their lead later on in this one and take apart an unravelling French side that lacks harmony.
- New Zealand to win by a margin of 11-20 (15/8 with Ladbrokes)
Argentina v Ireland – 18th October 2015
This is quite possibly the easiest route to the final that Ireland could have hoped for and their victory over France could prove to be crucial in both the long term and the short term. They have however, been severely dented by injuries sustained in the aforementioned game with iconic skipper Paul O’Connell and regular number six Peter O’Mahony being ruled out for the rest of the tournament with this proving to be the end of O’Connell’s Ireland career due to his move to Toulon. Fly-Half Jonny Sexton is another injury doubt due to the groin injury that he suffered last week.
Argentina have a fresh crop of talent that looks to be thriving under the reduced pressure that their lack of experience brings. However, Captain Agustin Creevy is a player who would get near most World XV’s and the front row of him and Marcos Ayerza will pose a serious threat to the Irish front row. This Irish side under Schmidt seems to be really unified and therefore they have to be seen as favourites to win what we believe will be a tighter encounter than most of the pundits believe it will be.
- Ireland to win by a margin of 1-10 (13/8 with Ladbrokes)
Australia v Scotland – 18th October 2015
After their dismal performance in the Six Nations Scotland have probably achieved all that they could have hoped for from this World Cup in getting this far. In the shape of the Gray Brothers, Richie and Jonny, and David Denton they have a core of a forward pack that they will be able to build around in the next few years and by the 2019 World Cup, if Vern Cotter remains in charge, they could be on the cusp of becoming a real genuine force in the northern hemisphere.
Australia have also unearthed some gems most notably in the shape of dynamic loose head Scott Sio who has gone a long way to addressing the problems that they have had for years at the scrum. However, the decision to bring back Kane Douglas from his spell playing for Leinster has proved to be a masterstroke given his unbelievable work rate around the park, as shown by him topping the tackle count in the win over Wales.
Whilst Scotland might test the Australian defence early on, it is likely that for a quarter final of a World Cup this could turn into a relatively one sided game and we feel that if you are looking for some decent value supporting Australia to win by a specific margin seems a sensible option.
- Australia to win by a margin of 21-30 (15/8 with Ladbrokes)