England v New Zealand Betting Tips [26 October 2019]

New Zealand play England in the rugby world cup semi-final. New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen has sprung a surprise in his selection for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup semi-final against England by bringing in Scott Barrett ahead of Sam Cane on the flank. The England flankers Sam Underhill and Tom Curry play in the same tearaway mould as Cane, but the towering Barrett is more a second row than a flanker and will give the All Blacks added punch at lineout time. Barrett is also swift in the loose for such a big man, but Hansen was honest in analysing his choice. England have also taken a punt in their starting XV with head coach Eddie Jones deciding that George Ford is too good to have on the bench. The Leicester fly-half - who started the group games but missed out in the quarter-final against Australia - returns to the fold at No.10 with England captain Owen Farrell moving to inside centre alongside Manu Tuilagi. Henry Slade drops to the bench. It had been claimed, that as well as bringing back Ford, Jones would recall George Kruis in place of Courtney Lawes in the second-row. That hasn’t happened. Lawes keeps his place, which means England will have more presence in the loose and in defence. Lawes is a cross between a lock and flanker whereas Kruis is an out-and-out bulky second row. Given New Zealand’s earlier team announcement it may be that Jones made a late decision to stick to Lawes so that England will have more dynamism around the field than the All Blacks.

England sent out a message with their superb display against Australia before New Zealand arguably bettered their performance which lays a brilliant platform for this semi-final. When the latest world rankings are released following the quarter-finals, these are deemed to be the best two teams in the world, with New Zealand leading the way. England are good enough upset the odds and beat the All Blacks but have little margin for error which may be too much pressure for them to handle. In what should be a pulsating contest, every point will count and it is the reigning champions that can progress to the final.