Scotland vs Tonga tips: Betting preview with Rugby World Cup odds & predictions
Scotland vs Tonga betting tips:
- Scotland to win by 16-20 points – 5/1 with Spreadex
- Tonga to score the first try – 11/4 with William Hill
After the disappointment of a defeat to champions South Africa in their opening game of the tournament, Scotland are odds-on favourites with betting sites to bounce back against Tonga in Pool B of the Rugby World Cup on Sunday.
Stade de Nice is the venue this weekend (kick-off 4.45pm UK time) and with their opponents having suffered a heavy loss of their own in recent days, the Scots will have to believe it is within their grasp to come away with a vital win.
Although Gregor Townsend’s side trailed by just three points to the South Africans at the midway stage of their clash in Marseille on 10 September, the Springboks subsequently turned on the afterburners.
In the space of four second-half minutes, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kurt-Lee Arendse bagged tries to ultimately propel the Webb Ellis title holders towards an 18-3 triumph.
This was always going to be a tough start to the RWC for the Scots and the same was true for a Tongan side that faced Ireland in Nantes last Saturday.
Scotland vs Tonga betting: Scots odds-on favourites
While Tonga managed to hold out Andy Farrell’s men in the opening quarter of the action – William Havili cancelling out a penalty by Jonathan Sexton – the Irish had already secured a try bonus by half time.
Vaea Fifita claimed a five-pointer just before the interval to offer Tonga some solace but Toutai Kefu’s men eventually slumped to a 59-16 defeat.
It was felt that this display wasn’t an accurate reflection on the type of team that Tonga are as – in addition to it being their first game of the tournament – they had limited time together as a squad in the lead-up to the World Cup.
That said, Scotland’s form in the Six Nations Championship and warm-up games was quite solid and the latest Rugby World Cup odds suggest they will deliver a strong response to their reversal at the hands of South Africa.
At the time of writing, the longest price to be found on a Tonga win in Nice is 20/1 with Spreadex with most UK bookmakers going 1/50 on Scotland to deliver.
Tonga capable of running Scots close
They might be expected to come away with the spoils on the day, but the expectation is that Tonga will make it tough for Scotland.
Even though Townsend’s outfit will be well rested after enjoying a fallow week in the wake of their Springboks encounter, the Tongans should be all the better for having gotten their World Cup campaign up and running last weekend.
Outside of their shock victory against France at the 2011 finals in New Zealand, the Oceania nation have regularly ran Tier One countries close in previous editions of this tournament.
Scotland will more than likely have enough in their locker to register a much-needed win, but we like the odds of 5/1 with Spreadex on them claiming a victory that falls between 16 and 20 points.
Tip: Scotland to win by 16-20 points – 5/1 with Spreadex
Scotland vs Tonga odds: First try betting
So far at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, there have been six occasions whereby a team has opened the scoring only to ultimately come out on the wrong side of the final scoreline.
Whilst it is easy to predict that an underdog might break the deadlock with a shot at the posts, it is more difficult to imagine them crossing the whitewash.
Yet if Tonga are to have any chance of winning this game, then they will need to go for the jugular at every available opportunity.
For that reason, we’re expecting them to have a go at Scotland early on which leads us to William Hill’s odds of 11/4 on the Tongans being the first team to score a try in Sunday’s contest.