We take a look at the first two quarter-final matches of the RWC, Wales vs Argentina and Ireland vs New Zealand taking place on Saturday, and suggest a bet in each game.
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WALES VS ARGENTINA – Click here to bet
Wales topped pool C and have won all 4 of their pool matches. They started with a win of 32-26 against Fiji, followed by 28-8 against Portugal, thumped Australia 40-6 and beat Georgia 43-19 in their most recent match. Good news for Wales as Dan Biggar, Wales 1st choice flyhalf, will be back to play this quarter-final after a pectoral strain took him out for just over 2 weeks.
Argentina sits 2nd in pool D and have won 3 of their 4 pool matches. They started off with a loss of 27-10 to England (who topped pool D), followed by a 19-10 win against Samoa, they then thrashed Chile 59-5 and beat Japan 39-27 in their most recent match to book their spot in the last 8. Lucas Paulos is said to replace the injured Pablo Matera.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
These sides last met in 2022 in Cardiff and Wales took the win of 20-13. In the last 5 head-to-head matches, Wales have won 3 with a draw and 1 Argentina victory.
Handicap: Wales -4.5
Wales have done well considering all the problems they were having on and off the field earlier this year. This won’t be easy if they can repeat the sort of the display that saw them dismantle the Wallabies in the pool stage they ought to come out on top, hopefully by a margin of 1-12 points.
Suggested Bet: Winning margin Wales by under 12.5 points at 27/20
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IRELAND VS NEW ZEALAND – Click here to bet
Ireland topped pool B and have won all 4 of their pool matches. They started off by annihilating Romania 82-8, then thumping Tonga 59-18, beating South Africa 13-8 in a tight game and comfortably beating Scotland 36-14 in their most recent match. Ireland have experienced quite a few injuries this week but have managed to name a site without too many disruptions.
New Zealand sit 2nd in pool A and have won 3 of their 4 pool matches. They started off with a 27-13 loss against France but redeemed themselves by thrashing their next 3 opponents, 71-3 against Namibia, 96-17 against Italy and 73-0 against Uruguay in their most recent match. They will be well rested coming into this and news on the injury front seems positive.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
These sides last met last year at the 2022 Ireland rugby union tour of New Zealand where Ireland beat NZ 32-22 for an historic 2-1 series win. Of the teams five most recent head-to-heads dating back to 2019, Ireland have won 3 of the 5.
Handicap: Ireland -1.5
What a game this should be. Ireland have done nothing wrong whilst the All Blacks look to have put the defeat to France behind them, albeit against some pretty weak opposition. It looks set to be a close call and given Ireland may well rely on the boot of Sexton for points we pin our hopes on them scoring no more than two tries in the match.
Suggested Bet: Ireland total tries, under 2.5 at 8/10
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
