Wales vs Australia Betting Tips: Predictions & Best Bets
Wales and Australia will do battle in Lyon in one of the matches of the 2023 Rugby World Cup on Sunday night and a victory for either nation could have a huge bearing on who qualifies from Pool C. Fiji grabbed a shock victory over Australia last weekend and Eddie Jones' side will be desperate to bounce back against a Wales team that have won their opening two matches.
Our man Steve Chambers previews the fascinating clash between the two heavyweight nations and has picked out his two best bets for what should be an enthralling encounter...
Wales v Australia Tips
HT/FT - Wales/Australia
Bookmakers are struggling to split the pair in the betting with Wales and Australia both trading around the 10/11 market with most firms, while the draw isn't a completely unfeasible 22/1 with BetUK and some punters will enjoy snapping up that value. Australia were narrow 39-34 winners the last time the pair did battle at the Millennium Stadium, but prior to that Wales won the previous three matches, which included 29-28 and 29-25 wins. The latter of those two games came in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, so Warren Gatland's men will head into the contest full of confidence and fresh from wins over Fiji and Portugal the Welsh they will be riding the crest of the wave.
On the contrary, Australia were abysmal against a jubilant Fiji side, who were terrific 22-15 winners last week, but Australia will be desperate to get back to winning ways and it could well be a very tight encounter and the match winner result is hard to call and there's value in either of them.
Wales showed during their Fiji success (conceded two tries late on) that they struggle to maintain a high level for 80 minutes, so while they may gain the upper hand during the first half they could well falter in the second half, so why not take a chance on the 15/2 with Betfred for Wales to be winning at half-time and Australia to be winning at full-time. With very little between the two teams then it could be that one try separates the sides and with Australia arguably having a stronger bench then they could well reel in the Welsh in the closing stages.
Louis Rees-Zammit to score first try
The first tryscorer market is a fascinating one with the betting firms going pretty much 10/1 the field for the first player to go over the whitewash, and the one that catches the eye is the actual favourite in the betting Louis Rees-Zammit, who can help propel Wales into the lead. He bagged the first try in last week's victory over Portugal and he's shown already this tournament that he has bags of pace and with Dan Biggar's ability to provide quality crossfield kicks then he could be capable of grabbing the first try.
Still only 22 years old, Rees-Zammit, who plays his rugby at Gloucester, has quickly become one of the shining beacons of the Welsh attack and his ability to beat a man on the outside will mean the Australian defence will have plenty of work to do in what could be a cracking end to a fabulous weekend of rugby. There's some 7/4 available for Rees-Zammit to score anytime during the match, but the wing wizard is much more value to score the first try and get Wales off to the perfect start.
For those punters that want to take a real chance then why not snap up the 50/1 for the first scoring play of the game to be a drop goal for Wales. The same price is available for Australia to score a drop goal as the first scoring play and it could be worth having a nibble in both, but with the game set to be so tight then both teams will be eager to get their heads in front, so why not have a real flyer on a drop goal for the Welsh as the first scoring play at 50s with bet365.
