The Junior Rugby World Championship for 2015 is kicking off on Tuesday and here are my predictions for the first round of games.
First here is a link to my tournament preview.
So are you an expert on U20s rugby?
No not really, I do keep an eye out for the results and last year I came 872nd out of 27,199 players on SuperBru or in the top 4%. Anyway this is for a bit of fun and chat, it’s not intended as predictions for betting or anything serious like that.
Ireland U20 v Argentina U20
Ireland had a poor 6 Nations, after winning their first two games they lost three in a row. So they enter this tournament off the back of some poor form. Argentina are hard to evaluate as their only games have been two losses to South Africa. Still I’m going to a win to Ireland by a couple of scores.
Ireland U20 by 10
France U20 v Wales U20
France won 27 – 5 when these two teams met in the U20 6 Nations earlier this year. But both these teams were travel shy and performed so much better at home. We will have to see how playing in a neutral country effects how these teams perform. Also they both finished on 3 wins and 2 losses in that tournament so I’m going for a close game and France by a score.
France U20 by 5
England U20 v Japan U20
This should be a one-sided affair with the U20 6 Nations champions playing the team that came last in the Oceania U20 Rugby Championship. The only question really is the margin. Japan gave up 75 points against New Zealand but that was their first game and they did improve from there. Hopefully time together will mean this won’t be such a big blowout.
England U20 by 25
Australia U20 v Samoa U20
Another two teams that have already played this year and the result was 33 – 10. That was in Australia and this time there will be no home advantage. However Australia will be wanting to get a big a points difference as possible. This is so that if they come second in the group they might still make the semi-finals.
Australia U20 by 15
South Africa U20 v Italy U20
Italy came last in the 6 Nations with five losses and that included two games where they didn’t even score. South Africa are coming off the back of two good wins n tour to Argentina. So in retrospect I think I should have gone for a bigger margin of victory.
South Africa U20 by 15
New Zealand U20 v Scotland U20
New Zealand cruised the the Oceania U20 Rugby Championship title with three wins. Whilst Scotland did have a good 6 Nations with 3 home wins this is going to be a challenge too far. I’m expecting an easy win for New Zealand with a battling display from Scotland.
New Zealand U20 by 20
Predictions
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