Sunday 1st October
Pool C: Australia v Portugal, 16:45 KO, Saint-Etinne
All eyes will be on Eddie Jones for this one, as the rumours surrounding the future of the Australia Head Coach continue to swell. Jones has been linked with a move to Japan, after it came to light that he reportedly had been interviewed by the JRFU just two days before the Wallabies started their Rugby World Cup campaign. It is safe to say that Jones is not the most liked individual from an Australia rugby fans’ perspective, as he has been receiving resounding ‘boos’ whenever he appears on the stadium screens.
Australia’s recent run of form has certainly not helped matters, with last weekend’s defeat to Fiji sending Wallabies fans, pundits and former players to breaking point. Jones and the Wallabies will want to secure a sizeable win against Portugal this Sunday, to keep their albeit slim chances of quarter-final progression alive. Australia must secure a five-point bonus point win, if they want to stay in the hunt for a spot in the knock-out stages.
However, the aforementioned successes of Fiji puts the Wallabies at a disadvantage, and a shock defeat to Portugal would hammer the final nail in the coffin. Portugal achieved their first points of the tournament last weekend, as they drew 18-18 against a hard-hitting Georgian outfit. Portugal would like nothing more to upset the Australians, with every ‘neutral’ fan in attendence set to back ‘the Wolves’.
Portugal do possess the element of surprise in this match, as the Wallabies have never faced the Western Europeans. Australia do not have the best rate against European opponents, having lost eight of their last 10 matches against Six Nations participants. Could an unbelievable upset be on the cards in Saint-Etinne?
Prediction: Australia 46 – 10 Portugal
Pool B: South Africa vs Tonga, 20:00 KO, Marseille
The Springboks close out this weekend’s action, as they look to bounce back from the 13-8 defeat against Ireland. That match was the first defeat for South Africa in six matches, having previously taken a loss at the hands of the All Blacks in the 2023 Rugby Championship last Summer. In what is a ‘must win’ game for the Springboks, Handre Pollard returns at fly half, to take over the reigns from Manie Libbok.
Pollard was originally left out of the 33-man Springboks squad due to injury, but was later re-called by Rassie Erasamus following the injury to hooker Malcolm Marx. The Leicester Tigers man has missed the last 16 Springboks test matches, and will look to bring his shooting boots to make up for Libbok’s heavily criticised form from the tee. South Africa hooker Dan Fourie is set to make his first ever test-match start, a year after he became the oldest-capped Springbok debutant at 36-years-old.
This match will be just the third test meeting between South Africa and Tonga, and the first since the 2007 Rugby World Cup pool stages. The Springboks recorded a 30-25 win that time around, but will want a more decisive victory this weekend. South Africa have never lost two Rugby World Cup pool stage matches at the same competition, and also hold the accolade of being the only side to have won the Web Ellis trophy after a pool stage defeat (vs New Zealand – 2019).
Prediction: South Africa 36 – 19 Tonga