The Rugby League World Cup continues on Saturday with three more matches as the tournament begins to head towards the end of the group stages. After Australia got the weekend underway in style there are some more big sides for us to enjoy on Saturday on what should be a good showcase of the sport.
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New Zealand vs Scotland
The action begins with a revenge mission as New Zealand host Scotland. Scotland ruined New Zealand’s chances in the Four Nations last year when they held them to a draw so they might feel the full force of the Kiwis in this match.
New Zealand looked very impressive last week when they demolished Samoa while Tonga proved far too good for Scotland and while the Kiwis have chosen to rest players for this match and use the rest of their squad I still feel they will be too good for Scotland.
Scotland will be spirited. That is in their DNA but whether they can contain this New Zealand side I’m not sure. On the face of it a 44pt handicap looks big but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is covered. I’m not convinced enough to invest in it though.
Samoa vs Tonga
The aforementioned Samoa is up in the second match of the day when they take on their fellow pacific islanders Tonga in what should be a very physical clash. Both these sides have plenty of beef in their pack so this is likely to be a really battle down the middle.
I think this will be a real typical Test match. The sort of tight and tense affair that international rugby should be. Ultimately I think Tonga will run out on top purely because of the extra quality in the backs but I don’t see them running away with this. This should be a low scoring affair and one which the Tongans can win by two scores or less.
England vs Lebanon
England are back in action in the final match on Saturday looking to put the defeat to Australia last weekend behind them and get their tournament underway. Lebanon’s win over France in their opening match means they can relax and give this a real good go with nothing to lose.
England are forced into a change in their pack for this match with Sam Burgess ruled out for the foreseeable future while George Williams has posted on Instagram that he is going to be involved even though he was originally only named as the 18th man.
Lebanon have made changes of their own in a bid to keep everyone fresh for what they hope will be a quarter final down the line but they have maintained the majority of the spine of the side which got the win over the French. I expect Lebanon to give a decent account of themselves but this England back line is very good and they can cover 30pts.
Tips
Back Tonga to beat Samoa by 1-12pts for a 3/10 stake at 3.00 with Betfred
Back them here:
Back England (-30) to beat Lebanon for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Boylesports
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