There are 3 Rugby World Cup matches taking place on Saturday and we suggest a bet in each of them.
Let’s start with a look at the latest Outright Betting where South Africa are 3/1 favourites ahead of Ireland at 33/10, you can get 7/2 about New Zealand and France and 12/1 and better the balance.
Click here for betting on all of the long-term Rugby World Cup Markets
WALES v GEORGIA – Click here to bet
Wales have qualified for the quarter-finals and with a victory here they will guarantee themselves a top spot on the log. They opened their campaign with a nail-biting 6 point win over Fiji before beating Portugal by 20 points in a low scoring affair. Last time out they turned in the performance of the World Cup so far with a 46 win over Australia, a game where the bookies could not separate the teams.
Georgia have yet to get a victory in this World Cup, but they have earned 3 bonus points and were unlucky not to beat Fiji in their lost match, going down 17-12. Their disappointing game was against Portugal where they started 14 points favourites, but could only draw 18-18. In their opener against Australia they lost by 20 points which was very much where the bookmakers had set the handicap.
Head-to-Head
These sides last met in 2022 when Georgia stunned Wales to win 13-12 in Wales and Wales had won all 3 previous encounters between the sides including beating Georgia 43-14 at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Handicap: Wales -17.5
Wales may have secured top spot but they will be keen to carry their momentum into the quarter-finals and whilst Georgia can be a stubborn opponent we go with Wales to be 8 or more points in front at half time
Suggested Bet: 1st half handicap Wales -7.5 points at 17/20
Get a refund if South Africa lose the RWC Final
Place an outright bet on South Africa to win the Rugby World Cup get your stake back in Free Bets if they get beaten in the final.
*Pre-Match events only. Single bets only. T’s & C’s apply. Refund/Payout limited to R2000.
Valid for bets taken before the start of the Semi Finals of the RWC
Simply email promotions@wsb.co.za with Subject ‘SA Refund’
ENGLAND v SAMOA – Click here to bet
England have qualified for the quarter-finals when they finished top of Pool D. They opened their campaign with an impressive 27-10 win over Argentina despite going down a man early in the game. They then fought off a spirited Japanese play to pull clear and win 34-12 in match 2 and last time out they were far too strong for Chile winning 71-0.
Samoa are 4th on the log with 6 points and barring a mathematical miracle they will be heading home. They beat Chile 43-10 in their first match before going down 19-10 to Argentina in a game they simply failed to fire. Last time out they met Japan in a crunch encounter and it was the Japanese who won 28-22.
Head-to-Head
England have won all 8 of their matches against Samoa and their last meeting was in 2017 when England won 48-14 at home. These sides met in the World Cup in 2007 with England winning 44-22.
Handicap: England -20.5
A tricky call with England looking good so far and Samoa a proud nation that won’t lie down. The total points line of around 52.5 looks well set and we speculate that it will be pretty accurate
Suggested Bet: total points range 49-55 at 33/10
IRELAND v SCOTLAND – Click here to bet
This is without doubt the match of the weekend and Bok fans will be watching closely even though the chances of South Africa somehow coming 3rd in the pool are extremely unlikely.
Ireland are currently 2nd on the log with 14 points, 1 point behind South Africa, but with a game in hand. They beat Romania by 74 points, Tonga by 43 points and then in a nail-biting encounter saw off South Africa 13-8 in their last match. Ireland need 2 points from the game to guarantee them topping the log.
Scotland are currently on 10 points and their best hope of progressing is to beat Ireland without conceding a bonus point. They lost 18-3 to South Africa in their opener before coming out to beat Tonga 45-17 and Romania 84-0.
Head-to-Head
These sides have met each other 140 times with Ireland winning 69 times, Scotland 66 and there have been 5 draws. Their last meeting was in March of this year in Edinburgh where Ireland came out 22-7 victors and they have now won their last 8 matches in a row against Scotland dating back to February 2017
Handicap: Ireland -11.5
The game of the weekend and whilst we expect Ireland to come out on top it should be a cracking contest. We go with Ireland to win a game of 46 or more points in total
Suggested Bet: Result And Totals Ireland and over 45.5 points at 21/20
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
