The Southern Hemisphere heavyweight clash of South Africa v Australia betting, on October 9th in Wellington, promises to be an almighty affair. South Africa still have a lot of World Cup winners in their side, while the new, younger Australia under Robbie Deans have no World Cup winners to call on for experience. The two nations know each other well of course, and it is Australia who are on a solid run of form against the Springboks. But this is the quarter final of a World Cup, a situation in which experience counts for everything. This is going to be something of a treat for a World Cup quarter final and the winner of it will, more likely than not, meet host nation New Zealand in the semi finals. Will the younger legs of Australia prevail over the eighty minutes, or will the experienced, collective power of South Africa come out on tops. At this stage, especially if the weather is going to be bad, the ball is likely to be kept up front and that will play into the hands of the Springboks. South Africa v Australia betting is likely to be one of the most closely contested of the 2011 Rugby World Cup quarter finals. The way South Africa are playing, they do not look ready to give up their title without a major fight.
South Africa v Australia Rugby World Cup Betting Odds
Australia to win: Evens at Stan James
Draw: 25/1 at Totesport
South Africa to win: 6/5 at Victor Chandler
South Africa Form: WWWW
The defending champions came to the world cup with an experienced side. Many people translated experienced as old, and at times, in their opening Pool D match against Wales, you could see that the bodies weren’t doing what the minds were thinking for the Springboks. However, that is a negative about them, but there is a lot of positives to take. South Africa, in that win over Wales and in subsequent matches, have shown that they are still a force to be reckoned with. There is that old rumbling machine, that powerful pack and that expertise control and drive from set plays. They are still prepared to throw every muscle into the last line of defence, and it may take them a bit longer to get up, but they have a remarkable fortitude. There is good competition in the Springboks starting 15, with star half back Fourie de Preez going along steadily, but under pressure from Francois Hougaard for a spot. De Preez is a star of the game, but he hasn’t been at his best since a long term injury which saw him missing from action during 2010. De Preez still has the sharp eye for the game, but what he doesn’t have is the speed that Hougaard is able to deliver. Against the Wallabies, speed could be of the essence. But Du Preez is still a huge influence on the Springboks as he controls the pace of the attacks. While most teams will usually try and stop Australia from running, the Sprinboks will probably encourage it a little bit, because South Africa should really be able to get stuck into the Wallabies at the break downs, and force mistakes from their opponents with some heavy tackling going in. The set plays though will be the biggest key for South Africa. They will have seen weakness in the Australian pack, especially against Ireland, and they will use all of their formidable power to try and drive straight through the Wallabies front row. If South Africa break the Australian pack, then the defending World Cup champions will have scored a huge foothold in the match. Right now, South Africa are playing cup rugby the right way. They are efficient, they are powerful and just as importantly, they are very smart with what they are doing. Don’t be surprised if the old heads of South Africa outwit Australia on the day, they are looking powerful.
Australia Form: LWWW
The Tri Nations champions are in this predicament because they failed to beat Ireland. In their opening Pool match, Ireland absolutely destroyed the Wallabies pack in an awesome show of power. After beating South Africa twice in the Tri Nations in the build up to the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the Wallabies should be confident. However, their loss against Ireland showed just a little bit of vulnerability in their ranks. The positives are, Australia are a very good team. They are so full of running and powerful running at that, they still have that remarkable ability to create something from deep. Australia are a good young side, who are improving all the time, but are still a work in progress. You do wonder if that game against Ireland was their one bad tournament match which they have gotten out of the way. Will that defeat have steeled them? Australia of course have to find some extra strength up front, as they don’t want to take on South Africa there. That will be too draining for their pack, and likely cost them the game. They are not as good as South Africa up front, so their best attack is to run at the Springboks defence and tire out their three quarters. If Australia get the ball out wide often enough, they will create chances, and the key to all of this will of course be Quade Cooper. The number nine is the key to all of these, especially as the weather is not projected to be very good on Saturday. Cooper is quite the maverick and makes the unexpected happen. Therefore if the handling conditions are bad, Quade Cooper could be the difference between the two sides. Australia really have to play to their strengths and not beat South Africa at their own game, trying to match power with power. Agility and craft will be the winning combination for Australia here, and their running lines will be the first big test of the South African defensive set up.
South Africa v Australia Head to Head
The Aussies have won four of the last five matches between the two nations. In total, there have been 73 meetings between the two sides, and it is South Africa who have the upper hand. South Africa have won 41, Australia 31 with just one drawn match between them. When the two sides meet, South Africa average 1.15 points more per match than Australia. The last time they played each other was only back in August in the Tri Nations when the Aussies won 14-9. That came after a 39-20 win earlier in the tournament. The last South Africa win came in August of 2010, with a 44-31 win.
South Africa v Australia Rugby Handicap betting
Australia -1 For Evens at Bet365
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