Rugby
2011-10-08 - England vs France
A Sports Betting Pick by Paddy
Rugby : Rugby World Cup 2011 : Quarter Finals
Saturday, 8th October 2011 - Kickoff 20:30(local)
Neither side have hit form yet, so take your pick.....
It’s not been plain sailing for either England or France at this year’s World Cup. England have been beset by repeated criticisms of their off-field behaviour whilst France are threatening to implode after unrest in the camp following their unlikely defeat to Tonga.
England need to concentrate on the rugby
A nightclub incident involving Mike Tindall and three players reprimanded for comments made to a Dunedin hotel worker have thrown England into the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the last couple of weeks.
The behaviour off the field has overshadowed England’s performances on it which have been efficient rather than expansive. Martin Johnson’s desire to play ‘cup rugby’ may bring results although it’s not universally popular with a watching audience. England squeezed past Scotland in Auckland to win pool B and while they may have four wins out of four, Wales scored more points in their last two matches than England have in the entire tournament.
England will be without winger Delon Armitage for their quarter final after he was banned for a dangerous high tackle on Scotland’s Chris Paterson. Mark Cueto – surprisingly left out of the side recently – is likely to come in while Jonny Wilkinson’s fitness will be assessed after he injured his arm in the win against Scotland.
Coach Martin Johnson told the BBC: “It’s a shame to lose Delon as he has played well but these things happen and we have some quality wings in Mark Cueto and Matt Banahan to chose from. “Both [Tindall and Wilkinson] are responding to treatment so we will just have to see where they are up to when we get back into weights and light training.”
France in disarray after Tonga defeat
After going down 19-14 to Tonga in one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, all is not well in the France camp. French forward Imanol Harinordoquy has expressed his displeasure at coach Marc Lievremont for criticising the players in public after the defeat by Tonga.
Harinordoquy, said: “I am not happy. There are things that have to stay in the room when you speak between the coach and players.”
However, Lievremont denied there were problems within his squad. He said: “We did not win the right to be happy. I do not think there are internal problems, just a frustration on my part but also the players. And also of shame after the match last Saturday. All this will, hopefully, generate a reaction.”
France make just two changes from the side that lost their final pool match with Nicolas Mas replacing Luc Ducalcon at tighthead prop, while number eight Imanol Harinordoquy starts ahead of Raphael Lakafia.
Verdict:
France have rather limped into the quarter finals this time around; indeed had Tonga won their match against Canada it would be they and not the 2007 semi-finalists in the knockout stages. However, the worry for England will be that France generally pull out one sensational performance at a World Cup tournament – remember they beat the All Blacks in 1999 and 2007 – and, on their day are arguably the most dangerous Northern Hemisphere side.
Saying that, England have a good recent record against France having beaten them in the 2007 World Cup semi final and won this fixture 17-9 at this year’s Six Nations. It might not be pretty, but England can grind out another win in Auckland on Saturday and keep up their excellent recent record in knockout rugby.
England to continue excellent recent World Cup run.
The Pick :
Back England to beat the four point hcap
