Rugby World Cup Preview – 11:45 am
We’ll take a little look at the opening match of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Hosts Japan will be looking for a blistering start to the tournament. The Brave Blossoms take on Russia in this Group A opener. It’s expected to be easy for the hosts.
Japan v Russia odds*
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/33 | 66/1 | 16/1 |
(Betting Odds were taken from Ladbrokes on September 19, 2019 at 4:17 pm)
Premier League Betting at Ladbrokes
Japan v Russia Preview
Japan are the top Asian rugby nation without a shadow of a doubt. At the last World Cup, they came up with one of the great performances to pull off an upset. In their opening pool stage match, Japan fought back to beat South Africa 34-32 thanks to a last-minute try. The Brave Blossoms just ran and ran and ran, throwing the ball around in a stunning, gutsy performance. Despite that helping them to a W3 L1 record in the group stage they missed out on the top two spots.
They have a chance to set the tournament alight here but are missing key winger Kenki Fukuoka. Japan know they need to grab all they can to get momentum before tougher tests against Samoa, Scotland and Ireland in the Pool. Can Japan make it to the knockouts for the first time ever? Russia aren’t likely to throw a spanner in their works. Just two of their squad play their club outside of Russia. The Bears have lost five of their six previous games against Japan. Russia only qualified for this tournament because Romania and Spain were disqualified because of fielding ineligible players in qualification.
Japan v Russia Prediction
Japan are just full of running and can stroll to an easy win in his opener. It’s all about the margin of victory for a betting perceptive. How big can Japan go? They should at least get to 30 points in this but because of Russia likely tiring in humid conditions, a Japan -39 handicap may be worth pushing the boat out for at even money* betting odds taken from Ladbrokes on September 19th, 2109 at 6:12 pm)
