The Rugby League World Cup has reached the semi-final stage with the opening match coming on Friday night when the defending champions Australia take on the number one ranked side in the world in New Zealand in Leeds.
A place in the showpiece final at Old Trafford next week is the reward for the winner so there is no shortage of incentive for both teams in what should be a superb occasion as two top sides meet at Elland Road.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the BBC Two channel with the build-up to the semi-final beginning at 7pm and kick off at Elland Road coming at 7.45pm.
Australia
As you would imagine for the overwhelming favourites to win the tournament, it has been a relatively smooth passage into the semi-final for Australia. They were seeded to dominate their group which they duly did and then always looked like they would have too much for Lebanon in the quarter final. They were never really in any danger in that game although there were periods in the contest which were more competitive than maybe it was expected to be.
I would imagine that Australia will be delighted that they have cruised through to this stage but they might have wanted a bit more of a challenge just to know that they can repel any attacking efforts which come their way. The flip side of that is they should be nicely fresh for this semi-final, particularly as they have had the chance to rotate their stock and work out their best combinations for what they hope will be two extremely efficient performances.
New Zealand
New Zealand went into the tournament as the number one ranked side in the world, and as such would be expected to go very close to winning the title. I think those rankings were largely taken with a pinch of salt because there hasn’t been too many international matches in the last few years but it is a tag they have carried throughout the early stages of the event. I think it is fair to say they have been challenged more than Australia but have still lived to tell the tale.
Unlike their semi-final opponent, New Zealand have handled a strong challenge and come out the other side and they can take a lot of confidence from that into this match. This looks like it is going to be the toughest test they have faced but the fact they played from behind and won against Fiji last week will give them some confidence. I think it is also fair to say that we haven’t seen the best of them in this tournament and we’ll need to see that if they are going to win here.
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Team News
Australia are expected to go into battle with a similar side to the one which beat Lebanon in the quarter final last week which means that Nathan Cleary and Cameron Munster will be in the halves with Daly Cherry-Evans on the bench.
New Zealand saw their plans for this semi-final upstaged when Jared Waerea-Hargreaves picked up a hamstring injury in training. The positive for them is Penrith prop Moses Leota is going to be fit to feature in the game.
Betting
I think we are in for a cracking opening semi-final between two teams who are absolutely loaded with star quality from back to front. I suspect Australia will be too good for New Zealand in this match but I’m in no rush to take on a side who can suddenly explode into life from anywhere on the pitch, although I have to admit that a 12 point handicap which the Australians are giving up doesn’t look anything like enough based on what we’ve seen so far.
Given the quality that is on the pitch though I fancy over 41.5 points will land. We don’t really know how the Australia defence is going to go in this match because it hasn’t been remotely tested at any stage in the competition. We do know that the New Zealand one can be exposed though because Jamaica, Lebanon and Fiji have all had success against it. I refuse to believe that the likes of Jahrome Hughes and Joseph Manu can’t break Australia down so I like the over here.
Tips
Back Over 41.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Boylesports
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