Betting preview: November Internationals, Week Two

Editor

Ahead of the second weekend of 2018’s November internationals, we take a look at the best bets from three games taking place on Saturday.

It is a stacked weekend of action but we have gone for the matches involving the southern hemisphere big three. England v New Zealand, Wales v Australia and France v South Africa are all interesting encounters so without further ado, here’s our punts.

England v New Zealand

The big game of the weekend sees England and New Zealand go head-to-head for the first time in four years, but the bookmakers think that there will only be one outcome on Saturday.

Eddie Jones’ side have been decimated by injuries while the All Blacks go into the match effectively at full strength, with Joe Moody and Sam Cane the only two absentees from the 23.

Even then, Karl Tu’inukuafe and Ardie Savea are outstanding replacements so it is difficult to see where the Red Rose will get an edge. You get the sense that it is only the Twickenham factor preventing the bookies from offering longer odds than 5/1.

Some even have them as short as 4s, while the tourists are 2/11 with 888sport, which is reasonable for a team that are seen as heavy favourites by most onlookers.

It could be worth backing the Red Rose in the try-scorer markets, however, with Chris Ashton 14/1 to touch down first (Bet365, William Hill and Betfair) and 19/10 anytime (Bet365). Rieko Ioane is favourite, though, and seems a pretty safe bet at 4/6, with him averaging a try a game in his 22 Tests so far.

Wales v Australia

Will Wales finally end their Australia hoodoo or can the Wallabies extend the agony for Warren Gatland’s men? Not since 2008 have the Welsh beaten the two-time World Cup winners, a run which has stretched for 13 games, but perhaps this is their best opportunity.

Michael Cheika’s men are struggling for form having lost seven of their previous 10 encounters, with them only securing two victories in the recent Rugby Championship.

As a result, the hosts are seen as slightly favourites, with Wales at 4/5 with various companies but, as those odds show, it is too close to call. Gatland’s outfit should edge it but will they start thinking about their terrible record against their opponents if the game remains tight when reaching the latter stages?

Should you think that the home side will falter then 6/5 with Betway is a reasonable shout, but it’s perhaps better to look at the margin of victory.

It seems destined to be a tight match and it is 9/2 for Wales to emerge triumphant by 1-5 points, but the Wallabies do have this ability to dominate at the Principality Stadium. In 2016, they were comfortable 32-8 victors and for them to win by over 13 points it is 5/1 at Unibet and Coral, although admittedly that does appear unlikely given the current form of the Australians.

France v South Africa

The final match on Saturday takes place at the Stade de France as South Africa attempt to bounce back from their disappointing defeat to England.

It was a frustrating result for Rassie Erasmus’ charges having dominated the opening period, but they are boosted by the return of some key players and, as a result, are seen as 8/13 favourites to defeat Les Bleus.

France did improve under Jacques Brunel in the Six Nations, however, and were very competitive in every game, defeating England along the way.

Brunel’s side unsurprisingly struggled in New Zealand but they have rarely performed well in the June series and often up their game in November. Although the team selection isn’t exactly inspiring, despite the talent coming through in the Top 14, they should be tough to beat in Paris and 7/5 with BetStars is worth a punt.

This is their first game of the series, though, and the Springboks are battle-hardened so expect them to start quickly with Aphiwe Dyantyi a tempting 12/1 (Unibet) to touch down first.