Couch Critic previews Sunday's Rugby World Cup matches between Georgia and Uruguay and Australia v Wales with best bets from @Olimp_SA
It’s an all-Pool C affair on Sunday at the World Cup. Two of the smaller teams lock horns to determine the pecking order lower down the pool table whilst there is also the mouth-watering prospect of what should be a pool-deciding game between the Wallabies and the Welsh. Here is how I see things going down on this match day.
Georgia v Uruguay, Sunday 29 September @ 07:15 (Kumagaya City)
What you need to know
Uruguay are the darlings of the World Cup after causing the biggest upset of the 2019 addition by tripping up Fiji. The now surely heroic team that did the unthinkable against the islanders has been kept mostly intact. The South Americans only making two changes to the side who did duty merely four days prior to this outing.
Georgia were caught cold by Wales on Monday. The Georgians had to face the wrath of their coach having leaked 29 points to the Welsh in the opening forty. To their credit the Georgians played out a 14-all second half. Georgia have had two days of extra rest compared to Uruguay but have still opted for an almost complete overhaul of their starting line-up.
How I see it panning out
As a friend eluded to a few days ago – the Uruguayans must have spent the last few days ordering Champagne (or Saki) by the barrels. A very short opportunity for rest combined with a serious case of victory hangover (and perhaps a few physical ones as well) has me very firmly in the camp of a Georgian team who were impressive in the second half against Wales. I expect the Europeans to dominate the battle upfront.
Betolimp Best Bet: Georgia to beat the handicap of -15.5 @ 1.89
Special Play : Anytime tryscorer – Jaba Bregvadze @ 4.00
Australia vs Wales, Saturday 28 September @ 09:45 (Tokyo)
What you need to know
We’ve seen a few cases of giants against minnows but on Sunday in Tokyo there’s a real battle for pool supremacy as Australia and Wales clash in this vital contest. The two teams have followed different paths in their first outings – Wales blew Tonga off the park in the first half whilst Australia battled early against Fiji before stretching away in the latter part of the match.
Wales have called on their first-choice chargers as one would expect whilst Michael Cheika has made some surprising changes to his team after the Fiji struggles. The Foley-Genia combination has been called on to steer the ship to a winning port over the Dragons whilst the Wallaby coach has also opted for the experience of Adam Ashley-Cooper on the wing.
How I see it panning out
This should be a titanic battle and I don’t see either team running away with things. Over the past 12 to 18 months the Welsh have been the team with all the momentum whilst the Aussies have struggled. I see Wales keeping their winning formula going and doing enough to get the job done here.
Betolimp Best Bet: Half Time/Full Time – Wales/Wales @ 2.12
Special Play : Wales to win by 1-10 points @ 3.00
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change
Couch Critic
