Scotland v Russia Betting Tips [9 October 2019]

As the action heats up in Pool ‘A’ of the Rugby World Cup, Scotland (third, five points) will play Russia (fifth, zero points) in their lookout for a bonus-point win.

A bonus point is important for Scotland, considering they are six points behind second-placed Ireland, having played one game lesser. Moreover, their last game is against the table-topping Japan, who are showing no signs of slowing down. Scotland started the tournament with a disappointing 27-3 loss to Ireland, which was poor on many counts. However, they quickly regrouped and thumped Samoa 34-0 to make sure they are back in the hunt. The Scots will have one eye on the upcoming fixture against Japan, which is four days apart. Expectedly, Scotland have rotated heavily with 14 changes made to the side.

As for Russia, they already had picked up three back-to-back thrashings without earning a single point. Their tournament started with a 30-10 loss to Japan, although it was a much-better performance than what the score suggests. They were then brushed aside 34-9 by Samoa, but the biggest loss came against the Irish. Russia lost 35-0 to Ireland, extending their winless record in the Rugby World Cups. Not that they had high hopes of making the quarter-finals, but Russia would have hoped for closer matches in the tournament. They can certainly finish on a high by stretching the Scots, although on paper that looks a tough ask.

The only positive for Scotland is their record of picking up bonus points against from teams outside Tier 1 in the World Cups. In ten previous such instances (excluding this tournament), Scotland have managed to win seven with bonus points including two in the previous edition. This should be another such game for Scotland, considering Russia haven’t been performing at any level that demands attention.