England v Australia Betting Tips [19 October 2019]

Traditional rivals England and Australia will kick-off the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup in the first knockout match of the edition.

England have been in great form this tournament, winning each of their first three Pool ‘C’ matches with bonus points. Their group decider with France was then called off because of Typhoon Hagibis, but that has not stopped Eddie Jones’ side to top the standings. England will have one eye on what has happened to them in the 2015 World Cup. Hosting the tournament and with high hopes of going the distance, England lost a must-win pool stage match against the Aussies. Revenge will be on their mind, as England look to make the most of the time-off they got because of the abandoned match. They now have a full squad to choose from and should continue the momentum that they have been building.

Australia, on the other hand, had to settle for second place in Pool ‘D’ after losing a crunch game against Wales. Indeed, the Wallabies have been slow in each of their matches. They were lucky to have won their match against Fiji, a side that has stretched them in the pool fixture. The positive for Wallabies for this fixture is the availability of Reece Hodge, who is now available for selection after serving his three-match ban. Although their form this calendar year has improved, Australia are still a pale shadow of their old selves and shouldn’t be much of a concern for England.

Australia took great pleasure in knocking their traditional rivals out of the World Cup last time around, on England’s home soil. Although England have the recent edge over Australia, this match could go either way. Having said that, England have the most powerful runners and a vastly improved defence. Like they have shown through the tournament, England have been tactically superior which should help them cross the line in this fixture against Australia.