England V Australia Rugby Union Betting Tips & Odds

Australia go into their rugby union international with England at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon (Sunday 2 a.m. AEST) as major underdogs as they look to close off a disappointing 2018 on a positive note. The Wallabies were fairly unconvincing in a 26-7 win over Italy in Padua last weekend in what was only the 4th win in 12 tests for coach Michael Cheika.

England will start heavy favourites in Saturday’s rugby union international between the two fierce sporting rivals, with bet365 offering 1.30 for England to win and 3.50 for the Wallabies to win. The English have won just 5 of their 11 tests this calendar year – only a marginally better record than the Wallabies – but they have won 2 from 3 in November. They defeated South Africa 12-11 and Japan 35-15 and their only loss was to the all-conquering All Blacks by a solitary point – 15-16.

The Wallabies scored 4 tries to 1 against an Italian side ranked just 14th in the world. Despite the scoreline, Australia were far from convincing and could easily have given up 2 early tries had Michael Hooper not denied Italian number 8 Abraham Steyn near the tryline and had the referee not ruled Italy’s Tito Tebaldi offside when he crossed the tryline after a lineout.

FT l We have defeated @Federugby 26-7 here at Stadio Euganeo.

READ: https://t.co/qGR0qAJBoH#SpringTour18 #ITAvAUS #GoldBlooded pic.twitter.com/OkxxEVgw8B

— Qantas Wallabies (@qantaswallabies) November 17, 2018

Wallabies Could Be Undermanned Against Rival

England coach Eddie Jones knows the Wallabies better than anyone, given he coached his native Australia from 2001-05. Jones and his rival coach Cheika were teammates at Sydney rugby union club Randwick many years ago. At a joint press conference ahead of Saturday’s match, Jones called Cheika a “street fighter” and said “he’s always at his best when they (Australia) are under pressure.”

The Wallabies lead England 25-23 all-time in rugby union tests, although England were convincing 30-5 winners when the teams met at Twickenham last year.

If Cheika is going to pull of an improbable victory, he might need to do it without star number 8 David Pocock, who came off in the second half against Italy with a neck injury. Cheika called the injury a “stinger” and there are reports Pocock is recovering better than expected and that he’s not suffering any concussion symptoms.

Whether or not Pocock plays, Cheika will have plenty of tough decisions to make for the all-important Wallabies-England match. Against Italy, Matt Toomua made his first appearance at fly-half in an international for more than 5 years and veteran Adam Ashley-Cooper played his first game for the Wallabies in more than 2 years. Toomua and Ashley-Cooper were both among the Wallabies’ best, and there is speculation over whether they will retain their places or whether Bernard Foley (who started at inside centre against Italy) or Kurtley Beale (who started on the bench) will get recalls.

Australia Underdogs in Rugby Betting

The bookies will post plenty of online betting odds ahead of this game, and punters can already place head-to-head bets or line bets. Neds is one of the top online bookmakers offering line betting for this rugby union international, with Australia at +7.5 and England at -7.5.