rwclogoCouch Critic previews Sunday's Rugby World Cup matches between New Zealand and Namibia and France v Tonga with best bets from @Olimp_SA

 

 

 

 

Sunday sees both New Zealand and France return to the fields after only a short break, yet both will be well fancied to put plenty past their opponents. Here is what I’m expected from the punting side of things.

 

New Zealand vs Namibia, Sunday 06 October @ 06:45 (Tokyo)

 

What you need to know

 

Namibia recall a stronger team for this clash against the defending Champions, but they will not only need the best 23 players in Namibia, but also a good dose of luck to limit the damage against the All Blacks in Tokyo on Sunday. The Africans might be happy to see that neither Beauden Barrett nor Richie Mo’unga will be involved in the game but unfortunately for them the Kiwis are still packed with power players.

Steve Hansen talked about Jordie Barrett as his potential flyhalf cover prior to the World Cup and he gives his alternative Barrett option a run on this occasion. Whilst Jordie is a speculative the back three of Ben Smith, Sevu Reece and George Bridge oozes pace, skill and class. Ardie Savea gets a run at eight which will give Jean Deysel and his side plenty of trouble as they need to find ways of stopping the dynamic ball carrier. Oh, and there is the small matter of Brodie Retallick making his return to the field.

 

How I see it panning out

 

New Zealand looked to be cruising to a huge score against Canada before the handbrake was surprisingly pulled in the last quarter. The only question here is whether the men in black will keep their foot all the way down for eighty minutes on this occasion or if we will see them ease home in steamy conditions again. With such a high handicap I will prefer to just have some shots at the exotics.

We have seen plenty of rolling maul tries and on a number of occasions those have come as the opening score of the game. At a decent price it’s worth investing something in Codie Taylor to continue the trend. I have already mentioned that I expect a particularly busy day from Ardie at the back of the scrum whilst the energetic impact of Brad Webber is worth backing

 

Special Play 1: First Tryscorer – Codie Taylor @ 14.50

Special Play 2: To score 2 or more tries – Ardie Savea @ 5.20

Special Play 3: Last Tryscorer – Brad Webber @ 19.00

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France vs Tonga, Sunday 06 October @ 09:45 (Kumamoto City)

 

What you need to know

 

Many were expecting France to potentially struggle against the USA and with 15 minutes to play the Tier 1 nation was only 10 points clear of the men from the States. In the end a five try to zero display was probably not a bad effort and a few players, like Alivereti Raka impressed to such a degree that they have been retained for the Tonga game.

Tonga put in a competitive effort against Argentina with the South Pacific islanders actually winning the second half 7-0. Cooper Vuna and big Ben Tameifuna are missing from the Argentinian game but for the most part this is a strong Tongan line-up.

 

How I see it panning out

 

Again, this is a game where I find the handicap thought to call. I’ll have a little nibble on the half time cap but my main interest will again be int the exotics market. Camille Chat has been upgraded from understudy to main attraction so I’m backing him for the first try. Penaud sat out against USA and should be keen to showcase his considerable talents whilst Dupont will provide bang form the bench.

 

Special Play 1: First Tryscorer – Camille Chat @ 12.50

Special Play 2: To score 2 or more tries – Damian Penaud @ 3.70

Special Play 3: Last Tryscorer – Antoine Dupont @ 12.50

 

Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change

 

Couch Critic