The last of the Rugby World Cup quarter finals comes from Paris on Sunday night, a huge clash between the host nation France and the defending champions South Africa.
France v South Africa, Sunday 15th October, Paris, KO 21:00 (South African time)
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
Weather Forecast - Paris
France:
France topped Pool A with a 100% record to finish 3 points clear of the All Blacks and Italy came in a distant third ahead of Uruguay and Namibia.
France took on New Zealand in the opening match of the tournament in Paris. It was priced up as near enough “choice” by the bookmakers but Les Bleus delighted the home crowd with a well deserved 27-13 victory.
France made wholesale changes for their second round clash with Uruguay and they were made to work much harder than expected before eventually coming out on top 27-12. Next up they thrashed Namibia 96-0 and then sealed top spot by beating Italy 60-7.
In RWC 2019 in Japan France bowed out at the quarter final stage when they were edged out 20-19 by Wales.
France are now trading at around 3.15/1 to claim the RWC title with BoyleSports and they are priced at 1.22/1 to reach the final. (Note, outright odds may change after Saturday's quarter finals)
South Africa:
The Boks were drawn in the toughest pool alongside Ireland and Scotland and they finished as runners up to Ireland with 3 wins and 1 defeat. Scotland missed out in third and Tonga were fourth whilst Romania were out of their depth.
South Africa's first pool match came against Scotland with the main handicap line settling at around 11.5 points and it was one for the minus backers as they came through with an 18-3 victory.
The Boks went on to thrash Romania 76-0 and they also beat Tonga 49-18 two weeks ago but in between those victories they were edged out 13-8 by Ireland at this venue, an outcome that could have been very different had they not missed a potential 11 points from the kicking tee.
South Africa also came up against the hosts in the RWC 2019 quarter finals where they beat Japan 26-3 on their way to being crowned champions.
As far as the RWC outright betting is concerned, at the time of writing South Africa are trading at around 36/10 to win the tournament and 14/10 to reach the final with BoyleSports.
Recent Head to Head
Nov 22 INT Marseille France 30-26 South Africa
Nov 18 INT Paris France 26-29 South Africa
Nov 17 INT Paris France 17-18 South Africa
Jun 17 INT Johannesburg South Africa 35–12 France
Jun 17 INT Durban South Africa 37–15 France
Jun 17 INT Pretotia South Africa 37-14 France
Team News
France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon (captain), 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Thibaud Flament, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille.
Replacements: 16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Francois Cros, 21 Sekou Macalou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Yoram Moefana
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt–Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Koble, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Willie le Roux
The Betting
France -1.5 points at 9/10
South Africa +1.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
What a clash this is going to be as two heavyweight teams and in particular packs come to blows.
This game is where I handicapped it at France -1.5 and I don’t expect a lot of movement as we approach kick off.
The points lines is 43.5 and that also seems well set.
I have been scratching my head on this one as I think the Boks have the pack that can get on top of France as the game progresses but at the same time home town advantage is certainly a factor.
I will wait for team selections before placing any bets and I will post my selections later in the week.
Update: 14 October 11h25
No change to the betting. A couple of interesting selections in the Bok team and it is going to be interesting to see what game plan they employ.
I must admit that there is perhaps more heart than head in this play but I am going for a Bok win. Pressure on both sides will be huge and I think that the experience of the Boks will carry them through to semi’s.
All eyes will of course be on Manie Libbok and I am backing him to come good and reckon he picks up the MOM award.
Stay close to our forum thread where I will post any additional bets and other punters share their plays
See what the lads on our live betting show thought of this game
BET: 4 units South Africa win at 61/50 at Boylesports*
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BET: 1 units Manie Libbok “Man of the Match” at 10/1 at Pokerbet*
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Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
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