Rugby: England’s Next Game, Latest Odds and Analysis
For the first time since 2016, England find themselves embarking on a summer tour series against southern hemisphere giants Australia and betting sites are waiting for the first tackle.
Although the two nations have clashed on a number of occasions since then (more on that later), those games were standalone affairs.
On this occasion, the Red Roses and the Wallabies will face each other three times in the space of just 14 days.
This Saturday at the Optus Stadium in Perth, these two international heavyweights will renew acquaintances in the eagerly-anticipated first test.
This is followed by a second duel at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on July 9, and finally a concluding encounter at Sydney Cricket Ground on July 16.
Pressure On English And Australian Coaches
Given the 2023 Rugby World Cup is set to get underway in just over 15 months’ time, this summer tour – and the numerous tours taking place across the globe – is set to be treated with the utmost respect by all the concerned parties.
Despite being at very different stages in their roles, there is considerable pressure on the shoulders of England head coach Eddie Jones and his counterpart Dave Rennie.
A native of Australia who coached his country to the 2003 World Cup final, Jones comes into the summer window on the back of two underwhelming Six Nations Championship campaigns.
Just two wins from five in both the 2021 and 2022 editions of this competition has seen the 62-year-old former hooker coming under fire. The recent heavy defeat to Barbarians only served to heighten the scrutiny surrounding Jones.
While he dismissed the notion that the latter result was one to be taken seriously, he knows that the English public won’t tolerate a further slide in form on their trip down under.
Coming into that 2016 series on the back of a tremendous Grand Slam success, England achieved a 3-0 tour win over Australia.
Jones always has his charges fired up for games against his native country and his record in this fixture has been nothing short of impeccable.
Outside of that summer tour six years ago, England have also beaten Australia in the autumn international windows of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2021 as well as securing a 40-16 quarter-final victory against them at the quarter-final stage of the 2019 World Cup.
Michael Cheika was Australian coach for all bar one of these eight tests, but has since vacated the hot seat with Dave Rennie stepping into the fray.
Thus far in the role, the New Zealander has recorded just eight wins from 20 games.
The Covid-19 pandemic certainly had an adverse effect on the Australians with Rennie having to wait almost 11 months for his first test at the helm.
A single win from his opening six games in charge ensured it was a short honeymoon period, but there were green shoots in the form of four consecutive victories in the 2021 Rugby Championship which helped them to secure runners-up spot behind New Zealand.
Bookies Favour Australia For First Test
However, they ended last year’s international calendar with three consecutive reversals at the hands of Scotland, England and Wales. Yet in spite of this, Australia go into this weekend’s game as favourites with the best betting sites for rugby union.
England are certainly not in the same form as they were in 2016, and this could well be an ideal time for Australia to remind the rugby fraternity of their capabilities.
The Aussie’s are at 8/15 with bet365 to come out on top, while the same bookmakers have England as 8/5 outsiders to prevail.
For those who are anticipating a tight game, the odds of 9/2 being offered for Australia to win on a margin of between ‘1 to 5 points’ is worthy of consideration.
There is also every possibility that it could be level for a substantial portion of the game and the value of 13/1 with Betfair on it being a draw at half-time also looks enticing.
New Faces In Both Squads
Due in large part to the absence of 10 players through injury, Jones has brought eight uncapped players to Australia and also recalled a couple of familiar faces who missed out on recent squad selections.
Saracens back-row Billy Vunipola hasn’t featured for England since the 2021 Six Nations, but is in line to pick up a 62nd senior international cap against the country of his birth.
Following a four-year absence from the international game – not including his recent appearance in that aforementioned Barbarians fixture – veteran scrum-half Danny Care has also returned to the fold.
Amongst the newcomers to the England squad are London Irish duo Henry Arundell and Will Joseph, and Guy Porter from English Premiership champions Leicester Tigers.
From the squad he has brought with him to Australia, Jones is hopeful of having all 36 available for Saturday’s game. Winger Jonny May did test positive for Covid-19 last Friday morning, but will be out of isolation in advance of that maiden test.
Like Jones, Australian head coach Rennie hasn’t been afraid to include some novices with six uncapped players named in his 35-strong squad.
No fewer than three second-rows stand a chance of making their international bows over this three-game series – Brumbies duo Nick Frost and Cadeyrn Neville and Waratahs’ Jed Holloway, who enjoyed a short spell in Ireland with Munster in 2019.
The front-row pair of Dave Porecki (hooker) and Pone Fa’amausili (prop) complete the quintet of forwards who are aiming for a first test cap, while winger Suliasi Vunivalu also made the cut on the back of his impressive form for Queensland Reds.
Originally from Fiji (he represented them at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup) Vunivalu qualifies to represent Australia through World Rugby’s residency rules, and was previously part of a Wallabies training camp in November 2020.
Vunivalu and Jordan Petaia are both seen as players who could potentially start in next year’s World Cup in France, but Rennie may well opt for more tried and trusted faces for the first test against England and potentially in the games to follow as well.
Petaia has already picked up 16 senior caps for Australia, but at 22 years old the Queensland man is still quite raw when it comes to international rugby. Though he is capable of playing on the wing or in the centre, Petaia is viewed as a long-term option for the Wallabies at full-back.
Rennie will have to make do without prop Taniela Tupou for the opening test of this tour at least after he recently picked up a calf injury.
Nevertheless, Australia still possesses an abundance of experience and know-how that Rennie hopes will come to the fore in the coming weeks. James Slipper and Michael Hooper are international centurions, while Quade Cooper (75 caps) and James O’Connor (61 caps) ensure they are well-served at fly-half.
Twists and turns can be expected between now and the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but a tour of this magnitude will certainly whet the appetite on betting apps for that global showcase.