RUGBY BETTING PICK - SOUTH AFRICA V AUSTRALIA

Rugby

2010-09-04 - South Africa vs Australia

A Sports Betting Pick by Costanzo

South Africa v Australia
Rugby : International : SANZAR Tri-Nations
Venue : Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
Saturday 4th September 2010 - Kickoff 17:00 SA Time

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This game is a bit of a let-down from the fixture last week because John Smit and Victor Matfield both were involved in milestone matches and their teammates were keen to lift for the encounter.

The Wallabies outplayed the Boks for the first 50 or so minutes getting out to a fairly solid lead before conceding three consecutive tries to go down 44-31 in Pretoria. The Wallabies may look to seize this one as they have made a few serious changes up front which is where they were dominated against the Boks.

South Africa

The forward pack got the Boks across the line last weekend after a solid 80 minute performance led by the likes of Matfield and Smit. The backs were pretty disappointing with wingers JP Pietersen and Bryan Habana not having much of an impact at all. They will need to turn this around in a game where there is not a great deal of motivation for the Boks.

The line up is essentially the same with only one change in the starting line-up for the Boks. Danie Rossouw comes in at lock for Flip van der Merwe after the coach commented that "We feel that Danie will be better suited to the type of game we would like to play as well as to what we expect the Wallabies may bring to the game on Saturday."

Gurthro Steenkamp, John Smit and Jannie du Plessis combine to form the front row combination which hasn't been changed for a while now. The Boks were good in scrum situations last week and would expect to continue in this game.

Matfield and Rossouw will be the giants given responsibility in the line outs which they also handled well last week. Matfield said "The lineouts were better but I was really impressed by how well we did at the breakdowns." The forward pack is finalised with the loose trio led by Schalk Burger, Juan Smith and Pierre Spies who found his way onto the scoreboard last week. Spies is a man to watch if the Boks get on a roll.

At the halves the Boks continue with Morne Steyn at fly half and Francois Hougaard at scrum half. The kicking game will be a feature here because Will Genia and Quade Cooper have been using the ball well in play via foot and it will be up to Hougaard and Steyn to combat this with some clever decisions when it comes to kicking. The goal kicking is a big plus for the Boks with Steyn being extremely consistent and fullback Francois Steyn having the leg to kick goals from 50m plus.

The backs were not too flash against the Wallabies last week yet will remain unchanged. Habana and Pietersen at wing and Jacque Fourie will stand alongside Jean de Villiers in the centres. Frans Steyn resumes his position at fullback even though he was far from impressive last week.

Australia

The Wallabies were gallant in defeat last week after holding a pretty substantial lead. This week they will be able to learn from their mistakes and with a few changes in the forward pack I think they should be a fresher mob, and can at least make a game of it in regards to the +8.5 point line.

The changes made by the Wallabies see Mark Chisholm come in at lock for Dean Mumm, Ben McCalman at number 8 for Richard Brown and Stephen Moore in at hooker for Saia Fainga. These changes should see the Wallabies have some more enthusiasm around the breakdowns with Chisholm and McCalman getting their first major appearances this season.

The front row will comprise of Benn Robinson, Stephen Moore and Salesi Ma'afu with the word being that James Slipper could come off the bench for Ma'afu at some stage to be given a nice portion of match time.

The locks will be Chisholm and Nathan Sharpe. While Chisholm has not started for the Wallabies in the last few couple of months he does bring plenty of experience to the side so there is no doubt he will be looking to make an impact.

The loose forward trio is led by David Pocock at number 7 who was again outstanding at the breakdown last week even after he was targeted by the Boks in the pre-match talk. He is amazing and is by far the best flanker in the world as we speak. Rocky Elsom and McCalman will stand aside him and they will need to be strong against the likes of Spies and Burger.

Genia and Cooper combine once again in the halves and I think their explosiveness could be the difference. They possess the most flair in the world at the halves combo but need to channel it effectively and in a disciplined manner in order to get the most out of the side.

The backs see Drew Mitchell line up for test number 50 at wing along with James O’Connor. The centres remain the same also with Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper but the man to watch is Kurtley Beale.

Beale was very close to best on field last week. He broke the line constantly and had smooth hands when engaging in passing with fellow backs. Watch for him to make an impact again.

The Pick :