Japan vs Australia
The Japanese team enters a new era with South African born Pieter Labuschagne appointed as captain. Former captain Michael Leitch can only find a place on the bench. The Brave Blossoms will want to give their home fans something to cheer as they take on the on form Wallabies. Australia is on a four game winning run and two of those victories were over the World Champion Springboks. They seem to be revitalized after Quade Cooper was reintroduced into the team. This match should be an exciting affair as both these team fancy thе ball in hand approach. Japan will be playing their first home test match since the WC 2019. They will want once again be playing the high tempo game and will avoid having too many set pieces in the match. The Aussies have looked strong in the forwards and they will test the Japan pack.
TIP: Japan has selected a couple of Australian born players in Ben Gunter and Jack Cornelsen and I’m sure they will be given a rough welcome by the Aussies. The Wallabies will have the advantage at scrum time with the powerful Taniela Tupou at prop so the Japanese need to avoid too many scrums. The area where Japan is strong is the loose trio. They have Kazuki Himeno, Pieter Labuschagne and Ben Gunter who are all excellent ball carriers and very good at the breakdown. Their battle with Aussie skipper Michael Hooper is already looking as one of the highlights of the match. The bookies have the Wallabies as heavy favourites and im tipping them for the win. The best odds on this bet are as follows: Worldsportsbetting 1.16, Playabets 1.15 and Sunbet 1.19
HEAD TO HEAD STATS
Japan vs Australia
- There have only been three previous meetings with these teams and Australia has won all three.
- The only previous clash on Japanese soil was won by Australia 30-63.
Latest results for both teams
Japan lost their last match to Ireland 39-31 while Australia beat Argentina 32-17 in their last match.
PREDICTION
The Wallabies were superb on attack in their last few matches but will miss the services of their two most prominent attackers Samu Kerevi and Marika Koroibete. They will no doubt try to attack the Japanese forward pack as this is a perceived weakness of the home team. The Japanese will look to their new flyhalf Rikiya Matsuda to ignite their exciting backline. They have fantastic runners in Siosaia Fifita and Lomano Lemeki and both these wingers love to keep the ball in hand. The Aussies will need to keep an eye on these two before they start weaving their magic. The Aussies have Cooper pulling the strings at 10 but the man to watch is Andrew Kellaway who is in red hot try scoring form. The bookies are predicting a big win for the Aussies but I think it will be a much closer contest with the Aussies winning by less than 10 points.
- Probable Starting XVs
Japan
15 Semisi Masirewa, 14 Lomano Lemeki, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Siosaia Fifita, 10 Rikiya Matsuda, 9 Yutaka Nagare, 8 Kazuki Himeno, 7 Pieter Labuschagne (c), 6 Ben Gunter, 5 James Moore, 4 Jack Cornelsen, 3 Koo Ji-won, 2 Atsushi Sakate, 1 Keita Inagaki
Australia
15 Reece Hodge, 14 Tom Wright, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Andrew Kellaway, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nic White, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Rob Leota, 5 Matt Philip, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 James Slipper
Odds for this bet
The best odds on the Australia victory are as follows:
Worldsportsbetting 1.16
Playabets 1.15
Sunbet 1.19
Odds comparison on the Japan handicap :
The complete odds on the Japan handicap:
Worldsportsbetting (+13.5) 1.90
Sunbet (+13.5) 1.86
Playabets (+13.5) 1.91
Predictions and Odds in details
The best chance of Japan causing an upset rests with their backline getting a platform to attack from. This means that the Japan pack will need to at least gain parity against the Aussies forwards otherwise the visitors could run away with the victory. The inspiration behind so many Aussies win is their skipper Hooper and Japan must find a way to keep him out the game especially at the breakdown where he is superb at winning turnovers. The Aussies used their rolling maul very effectively in their wins over the Springboks and the Japanese maul defence needs to be top class. There are poor returns for punters betting on the Australia outright win therefore I suggest the home team on the handicap. The best odds on this bet are as follows: Worldsportsbetting (+13.5) 1.90, Sunbet (+13.5) 1.86 and Playabets (+13.5) 1.91
Sports crazy fan that follows all major sport but the game with the oval ball is my real passion. Was an age level rugby coach and a huge supporter of the Springboks and diehard Liverpool man. I’m an experienced punter and sports writer whose predictions/tips are sure to stir up the emotions. I love the occasional wager on the underdog.
