Wales v England Rugby betting for Saturday, August 13th at the Millennium Stadium, will see the two old rivals go back into action against one another for the second weekend running. England ran out 23-19 winners at Twickenham in their first encounter, which was a bit of rusty affair after players were getting back into action. England had to survive a good second half comeback from Wales in the second half, and while some questions for the coaches will have been answered ahead of Saturday’s rematch, there are still plenty awaiting conclusion. Wales v England rugby betting is another step along the path to the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and that is what this is all about. While the Southern Hemisphere teams scrap it out in the Tri Nations, the home nations square off against each for vital fine tuning ahead of the tournament. England go into the match having made 13 changes from last Saturday’s line up at Twickenham. Centre Mike Tindall will take over the captains armband again as regular captain Lewis Moody remains under cautionary watch. It should be an England side closer to what we may see at the World Cup. The likes of Toby Flood, Dan Cole and Courtney Lawes will be on display in a strong side. After the match against Wales, coach Marin Johnson will trim the current 40 man squad down to just 30.
England were surprisingly cautious and not really willing to play with too much width. Delon Armitage did try and get things moving, and the steady old hand of Jonny Wilkinson was attempting to move the ball, but the width was not there. Certainly not the kind of invention we had seen in the Six Nations from the English. Still, Martin Johnson used the match very wisely in only fielding four players from the 2011 Six Nations in the starting line up. Johnson wanted a good look at players on the fringe of the starting fifteen, so that players could have their chance to impress and make a World Cup starting place their own, or even book their place in the squad travelling to New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup which starts on September 9th in new Zealand. While England were the better team in the close quarters, and Jonny Wilkinson gave a very controlled and efficient performance in taking over from Toby Flood at fly half, the expansion wasn’t there. That is not to say that is it is not coming, that it is not going to be there at the World Cup, but this was more of a match for Johnson to see what further work needed to be done on the training ground. One area is certainly in discipline as the English defence gave away a lot of penalties when they came under pressure from the Welsh toward the back end of the match. They won’t be able to afford to do that against better teams on the day. There was a lot of solidity about the pack, and England do look to have pretty good coverage in depth in that area, just what is needed for a tough World Cup campaign. One of the bright sparks for England, was Manu Tuilagi, who ran in a fantastic try off a Jonny Wilkinson pass. His pace and power in the midfield is something England will certainly benefit from at the World Cup. He gives England big options there to split a game open. England will know that they can still rely on Wilkinson himself, who was precise and controlled all afternoon, and while he may not get the starting call in New Zealand, he is still pressing hard for a starting place. England said that they needed realistic pressure to really see where they were, and because the whole test match was a bit lack lustre (just compare it to the relentless blood and thunder of the New Zealand v Australia Tri Nations match earlier in the day), both sides will probably feel satisfied to shake the rust off and look ahead.
Wales, for their part, although they lacked a bit of quality at times, put up a better show than many were expecting. After losing Stephen Jones in the warm up and then Morgan Stoddart to a broken leg in the match, there was a degree of disruption going on for Wales. Still, they tried to approach the game with as positive a mind set as possible and they will be relatively happy with what they delivered as a whole. They kept their penalty count down to a minimum and they threw the ball out wide. They also made England work very hard at the break down, because the Welsh were very, very keen in aggressive defence. Granted, Wales do need a bit more defensive organisation, and their pack looks as if it needs someone to hold it together and give it a bit more cohesion. On the first outlook of the match at Twickenham, Wales may get easily bullied by opposition packs. Young captain Sam Warburton was something of a revelation for them, and is a definite huge prospect for the future, while Rhys Priestland stood up very well in goal kicking duties. There will be worries about the strength of depth that Wales will be able to carry down to New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but there does look to be something taking shape there, so there are positives to take and build upon. Coach Warren Gatland does need quite a bit more time on the training ground with his squad, and they looked as if they were playing off the cuff as to having any concrete game plan in how to approach the game. We could see a much stronger, more experienced Welsh side, with the likes of Lee Byrne, James Hook, Matthew Rees, Gethin Jenkins coming back in to the fold. Hook will come in at Full Back on Saturday, while Gavin Henson also makes his way back into the starting fifteen in the centre. Wales want to send a message to their rivals and their fans that they can compete.
With the home crowd, Wales will be keen to overturn the damage done to them at the Millennium Stadium by England in the Six Nations earlier in the year. Then England seemed to be in control and had to weather a come back from Wales. These test matches are never going to be played at full intensity, it is just not going to happen. Both coaches will continue to work the kinks out of their squads, and take a look at players, so there could be several different personnel in action on Saturday. Still, England are the more accomplished, stronger team all round. They are able to knuckle down and win the big battles up front, and if they do expand, then they look ready to pick the Welsh off. But the Welsh will probably be the more open of the two teams again, and that may be a good thing for England’s defence as they test their mettle. England did look a bit naïve in defence, and while it wasn’t anywhere near the starting fifteen that we will see at the World Cup, Martin Johnson will want to know that he can rely on players coming in. This is massive game for some of the players involved, especially in the competitive England squad. There are places to be grabbed on the plane to the Southern Hemisphere to face the best in the world, and the preparations really need to start going up a gear.
Wales v England Rugby Betting
Wales to win: 9/5 at SportingBet
Draw: 22/1 at Paddy Power
England to win: 4/7 at Totesport
Wales v England Rugby Betting Tip:
Has the makings of being close again, with the two teams feeling their way to their strongest squads, yet players wary of not getting injured. Wales will be fired up on home turf, but England may just have that bit of extra control in the end to get the job done. England should still have a greater advantage in scrimmaging power and technique.
