Rugby
2011-09-24 - England vs Romania
A Sports Betting Pick by Mike
Rugby : Rugby World Cup 2011 : Pool B
Saturday, 24th September 2011 - Kickoff 18:00 (local)
IRB Ranking: England 4th, Romania 18th
England have started with two wins - but have failed to impress me in their previous two Rugby World Cup outings against Argentina and Georgia. The English will be looking to demonstrate some form to match their hype before they take on Scotland in their final pool game.
My favourite quote of the week: "Nobody can accuse England of peaking too soon at this World Cup"
England
Coach Martin Johnson has named arguably his strongest available lineup. The English mean business and will pushing for a seriously lopsided scoreline in this game.
Johnson has made seven changes from the team which scored six tries against Georgia, a 41-10 win which was a lot closer than the score suggests. It will be good to see Jonny Wilkinson back as first five-eighth in place of Toby Flood, especially if Jonny can find his boot.
Team and Tactics
1. Alex Corbisiero, 2. Steve Thompson, 3. Dan Cole, 4. Louis Deacon, 5. Tom Palmer, 6. Tom Croft, 7. Lewis Moody (c), 8. James Haskell,
9. Ben Youngs, 10. Jonny Wilkinson, 11. Mark Cueto, 12. Mike Tindall, 13. Manu Tuilagi, 14. Chris Ashton, 15. Ben Foden
Replacements: 16. Lee Mears, 17. David Wilson, 18. Simon Shaw, 19. Tom Wood, 20. Richard Wigglesworth, 21. Toby Flood, 22. Delon Armitage
Romania
I think Romania are more likely to be focused on a convincing win against Georgia next Wednesday in Palmerston North than saving face against England on Saturday - and so will select a weaker than usual side.
Team and Tactics
Romania have named a young team to take on England, with 11 changes from the team which lost 43-8 to Argentina on Saturday.
Coach Romeo Stefan Gontineac's starting lineup: 1 Nicolae Nere, 2 Bogdan Zebega Suman, 3 Silviu Florea, 4 Valentin Poparlan, 5 Cristian Constantin Petre, 6 Sandu Stelian Burcea, 7 Cosmin Aurel Ratiu, 8 Ovidiu Tonita, 9 Lucian Mihai Sirbu, 10 Marin Danut Dumbrava, 11 Adrian Marian Apostol, 12 Iulian Dumitras, 13 Ionel Cazan, 14 Stefan Eugen Ciuntu, 15 Florin Adrian Vlaicu
Other Variables
The Referee : Romain Poite (FRA)
The Venue : Otago Stadium, Dunedin
The Weather : Fully covered stadium, no rain, no wind, so no excuses for passing errors.
The Verdict
A resounding win for England.
The Pick :
England to cover the -51.5 handicap
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
No money to be made, the bookies all have England as favourite at about 1.00.
