RWC PREVIEW: Expect one way traffic, at least until Sunday night

After an array of box office games to start the tournament, it is a bit of a hiatus week before a massive third round the following weekend that will be headlined by the Pool B clash between the top two teams on the current World Rugby Rankings, namely Ireland (No1) and South Africa (No2).

Neither of those teams will be troubled in their second games, with the Springboks probably feeling they have been given a week off after the tension and nerves of having to play the No5 team, Scotland, in their opener. They play Romania in the early game on Sunday and will be looking to win by a similar score to what Ireland managed when they hit the 80 mark in their opening match.

TREND OF HIGH SCORES ANTICIPATED

Uruguay make their debut in this tournament when they tackle hosts France in the first game of the round on Thursday night and it should hit a trend of high-scoring matches, with New Zealand looking to bounce back from their opening defeat to the hosts with a confident performance against Namibia. South Africa’s neighbours might well reap the whirlwind following three difficult weeks for Kiwi rugby that started with the Bok win over the All Blacks in the Twickenham warmup game.

There’s not much jeopardy potential in Saturday’s games either, although Ireland should be wary of the physical impact that their game against Tonga, who are also playing their first game of the tournament, could have.

WALLABIES VERSUS FIJI COULD BE ONE OF GAMES OF THIS RWC

With South African eyes of course firmly locked on the Romania clash midway through Sunday afternoon, the weekend does appear to have a good incremental buildup of interest to it, with Australia’s game against Fiji in the early evening having the potential to be one of the games of the tournament.

Then comes England versus Japan, and while England appeared to erase a lot of the negativity around their chances when they thumped Argentina last week, they will nonetheless be wary of a team that South Africans know well for their giant-killer potential. One thing you can always be certain of when Japan plays is a spectacle, so it should be a good way to round off Week 2 of France 2023.

WEEKEND RUGBY WORLD CUP SECOND ROUND POOL MATCHES

FRANCE V URUGUAY (THURSDAY, 9PM)

Uruguay are playing their first game of the tournament after starting with a bye but the extra week they’ve had to prepare shouldn’t help them much against a host nation that appears determined to take no prisoners in their quest to make up for the disappointment of 2007, when they bombed at the last tournament played in France.

Prediction: France to win by at least 45

NEW ZEALAND V NAMIBIA (FRIDAY, 9PM)

Namibia have played the All Blacks a few times in Rugby World Cups and they have been periodically competitive before falling away. This game should be no different, with the All Blacks poised to win by a wide margin.

Prediction: New Zealand to win by at least 30

SAMOA V CHILE (SATURDAY, 3PM)

Chile were spirited in their World Cup debut match against Japan last week and did show some promise before going down by 30 points. Samoa are arguably of similar strength to Japan and we should see a similar result.

Prediction: Samoa to win by 25

WALES V PORTUGAL (SATURDAY, 5.45PM)

It is always hard to predict exactly what margin will separate teams when one of them is a side you’ve either never seen play, or you can’t remember seeing play. What we do know though is that Wales won a game against Fiji last week that many pundits expected them to be troubled by so another one-sided fixture should be anticipated as the World Cup goes through a kind of silly period of mismatches between top-tier nations and nations that in a rugby sense are at best developing.

Prediction: Wales to win by 35

IRELAND V TONGA (SATURDAY, 9PM)

Ireland’s draw has been easier than their main rivals in Pool B, the Springboks, but there is an incremental toughening when it comes to the quality of opposition they face before the big game against South Africa on 23 September. Tonga have had an infusion of New Zealand talent in recent years, some of those players boasting experience of playing for the All Blacks, so they can’t be completely written off. Ireland will know that after just scraping through against another South Pacific team, Samoa, in a warmup game a few weeks ago.

SOUTH AFRICA V ROMANIA (SUNDAY, 3PM)

The Springboks got it right in the second half against Scotland last Sunday and they will continue that momentum against the eastern Europeans. If there is something the Boks should be focussing on in this game it is their conversion rate of chances created. The following week when they play Ireland they will need to be more clinical than they were against Scotland.

Prediction: South Africa to win by at least 60

AUSTRALIA V FIJI (SUNDAY, 5.45PM)

The two teams that came good off a low expectation base on the opening weekend, Australia and England, share the focus in Sunday night’s doubleheader. Fiji were tipped by many to beat Wales and that did not happen so there will be extra pressure on the islanders to get it together against Eddie Jones’ Wallabies. This is the first game of the weekend that has any feeling of potential jeopardy to it at all, and the Fiji chances are probably helped by their participation in Super Rugby, where they get a lot of exposure to Australian opposition. They are a threat, but like last week when they played Wales, I am tipping the opposition to win it.

Prediction: Wallabies to win by 8

ENGLAND V JAPAN (SUNDAY, 9PM)

England may feel they need to lose a player to a card early because that has been when they’ve produced their best rugby in recent times. Japan don’t look like the force they were at their own World Cup four years ago and if England play anything like they did against Fiji, and are anywhere as boring, for that is probably what they need against these opponents, they will win by at least a double-digit margin.

Prediction: England to win by between 17 and 25