Couch Critic previews Saturday's Rugby World Cup matches including Australia v Uruguay, England v Argentina and Japan v Samoa with best bets from @Olimp_SA
Local heroes Japan return to the field on Saturday whilst Australia look set to demolish another heroic outfit in the form of the Uruguayans. And of course, there is also the small matter of a crucial pool clash between the Poms and the Argentines. Plenty to get excited about and here is where my money is going for Saturday’s clashes…
Australia vs Uruguay, Saturday 05 October @ 07:15 (Oita)
What you need to know
Uruguay delivered one of the shocks of the tournament when they sprung the upset over Fiji just over a week ago. They fell from grace a tad when they were well beaten by Georgia and they have been given little respite in terms of the scheduling. Less than half of the starting team form their historic victory have been retained whilst there are four players that have been asked to front up for starting duty for the third consecutive match within ten days.
Michael Cheika gives his entire squad a run with his selections for this encounter, but this is hardly a weak looking Wallaby side. A number of these players could potentially convince the coach that they should be doing first team duty and the fact that there is such a strong Brumbies flavour to the team means they should be relatively familiar with each other.
How I see it panning out
Big handicaps in favour of the strong favourites have proven tough to cover by these big tier one nations. The humid, slippery conditions have certainly played its part here. Uruguay will find themselves under immense pressure from this Australian pack who scrum and maul extremely efficiently.
The Brumbies were clinical in getting Folau Fainga’a over the line from the driving maul move so one has to be on the hooker to get amongst the action big time against Uruguay. Michael Hooper is also always a lively tryscoring option and I’ll be backing the skipper to get over the whitewash.
Special Play 1: Anytime Tryscorer – Michael Hooper @ 1.85
Special Play 2: Folau Fainga’a to score 3 or more tries @ 7.50
England vs Argentina, Saturday 05 October @ 10:00 (Tokyo)
What you need to know
England might not have captured the imagination of most with their two efforts thus far but they have taken care of business and now move on the stage of the competition where they will be looking to start shining.
Argentina for their part have been a national team struggling for form. They weren’t able to overcome France in a nail-biter in their opening fixture and are almost certain to exit the tournament at the group stage if they can’t turn over the English in Tokyo on Saturday. Coach Ladesma has given Nicolas Sanchez the boot and one has to think all is not entirely rosy in that camp at present.
How I see it panning out
I see this English team coming out and professional dissecting the Argentines from the opening whistle. They might not pull away and win by plenty as they know that a win is all they need here but I do see them setting their stall early on. Jonny May came into the tournament as one of the favourites to rack up plenty of tries and I think he will notch up a score in this one to get himself up and running.
Betolimp Best Bet 1st half handicap, England -7.5 points at 1.82
Special Play 1: Anytime Tryscorer – Jonny May @ 1.95
Special Play 2: England to lead by 9 or more points at HT and England to win by 1-12 points @ 11.50
Japan vs Samoa, Saturday 05 October @ 12:30 (Toyota City)
What you need to know
The Brave Blossoms are well and truly flowering in the tournament after knocking over Ireland and the locals in Toyota City will be packing out the stadium as they look to get behind their new super heroes. Samoa were able to ease past Russia earlier but more recently put in a stinker against Scotland as they failed to get on the board in that match.
How I see it panning out
Samoa will be hurting after their poor effort against the Scots whilst Japan will have one eye on their deciding match against Scotland. I don’t see the Japanese losing this one but the islanders should push them a touch closer than some might expect. The flyer, Matshushima just can’t stop scoring at the moment and one has to include him in your staking plan.
Betolimp Best Bet: Samoa to stay within the handicap of +19.5 @ 1.87
Special Play 1: Anytime Tryscorer – Lappies Labuschagne @ 3.60
Special Play 2: First Tryscorer – Matshushima @ 8.50
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change
Couch Critic
