Positional playoffs of the U20 Rugby World Championship takes place on Sunday and we have a look at all 6 games from a betting angle.
Let’s start with a look at the Outright Betting where France are trading as 8/13, Ireland 9/4, England 17/2 and South Africa are the outsiders of the quartet at 12/1.
Click here for U20 Rugby World Cup Outright Betting
PLAYOFFS 9-12
Italy v Fiji – Click here to bet
Italy have had a strange Tournament having been well beaten by Argentina in their opener where they could point to an early red card as an excuse. They then came out and stunned South Africa 34-26. The bookies priced them as favourites for their final match against Georgia, but they were never in the hunt and lost by 13 points.
Fiji were in a seriously tough group, but pushed Australia hard in their opening match before getting hammered by England. Their final match was against Ireland where they started 37 point underdogs, but were in contention deep into the match before fading to lose by 20 points.
I think that Italy have the pack to take control of this encounter and can win comfortably and I suspect this will be a high scoring game.
Suggested Bet: Handicap, Italy -12.5 at 10/11
Argentina v Japan – Click here to bet
At half-time of their final match against South Africa it looked like Argentina would be playing in the semi-finals, but the Baby Boks came back to beat them 24-16. They had opened their campaign with a comfortable win over Italy and then started favourites against Georgia, but lost without scoring a point.
Japan was given a 63 point hammering in their opening game against France before going down by 22 points to Wales. They started 38 point underdogs against New Zealand and despite a strong start went down 62-19.
I think this game is well handicapped and will hold fire for now while I wait for the points lines to come out. Conditions should be good and I am looking to take Japan overs if the line isn’t too high.
Suggested Bet: Japan overs on points when lines are up
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PLAYOFFS 5-8
New Zealand v Australia – Click here to bet
New Zealand may have beaten Japan 62-19, but in my eyes they still failed to impress and they failed to make the last 4 for the second Tournament in a row. They had opened their campaign with a 1 point victory over Wales before getting beaten 35-14 by France.
Australia opened their campaign with a victory over Japan, but they then went down by 20 points to Ireland before drawing against England. Australia beat New Zealand in a warm up game before this Tournament started.
I have not been impressed with New Zealand and I think Australia just paid the price of being in a tough group. I would have made Australia slight favourites in this one and I am going to back them to win the game.
Suggested Bet: Australia win at 27/10
Georgia v Wales – Click here to bet
Georgia lost their opening game to the Baby Boks by 10 points which was comfortably in the handicap of 17.5. They were then underdogs against Argentina, but beat them 20-0 in wet conditions before once again starting as underdogs in a 30-17 victory over Italy. Had Argentina beaten South Africa and failed to get a bonus point, Georgia would have been into the last 4, but the fact that they go into this match as favourites over a Six Nations team means this Tournament is really a success.
Wales also had a tough group and almost caused an upset against New Zealand in the opener losing by 1 point. They then beat Japan 41-19 before finding France far too strong and losing 43-19 in their final match.
I have been quite impressed with this Welsh side and I think they have what it takes to get the win here.
Suggested Bet: Wales win at 22/10
SEMI-FINALS (1-4)
Ireland v South Africa – Click here to bet
Ireland have had a tough Tournament off the field with the squad having to deal with some devastating losses.
A number of their top players were rested in their game against Fiji where they won 47-27 having opened their account with a draw against England before a hard fight against Australia saw them draw clear to win 30-10.
South Africa beat Georgia by 10 points in their opener before been stunned losing to Italy by 8 points, a game where they started 17 point favourites. They went into the Argentina game knowing they needed to win and they put in a big second-half to come back and secure a 24-16 victory.
The Baby Boks showed courage in that defeat of Argentina, but I think they are going to find the skills and structure of Ireland too much.
Suggested Bet: Handicap, Ireland -7.5 at 19/20
France v England – Click here to bet
France made short work of Wales in their final match winning 43-19 despite playing the last portion of the match with 14 men. The big game for them came in their second match where they beat New Zealand 35-14. In their opener they absolutely hammered Japan 75-12.
England have played out two draws in the Tournament, a 34-34 result against Ireland in the opener and a 22-22 score line against Australia in their final match. That was enough to see them into the last 4 on points difference for which they can thank their 53-7 over Fiji in their second match.
France gave England a hiding in the U20 Six Nations and I can’t see England dealing with this French pack.
Suggested Bet: Handicap, France -10.5 at 19/20
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
