England vs Tonga Betting Tips: Predictions for second rugby league test

After a pulsating first test at St Helens, England and Tonga renew rugby league hostilities on Saturday afternoon in Huddersfield. Although both head coaches have been forced into changes after a bruising encounter last weekend, the bulk of the sides remains the same and we should see a game at least as intense, which will be a real treat for league fans. 

Billy Grimshaw successfully tipped up Mikey Lewis to score a try anytime in the first test to kick the series off in style and has a batch of tips that catch the eye for this all important second test, which Tonga must win to keep their Series victory hopes alive...

This is a pretty speculative play to kick things off, indeed my next tips are actually all shorter prices, however for the main play in this game I'm going to recommend backing in the Half Time / Full Time market for the results to be Tie / England. This bet would've copped last weekend and with the teams now having had a game to feel each other out, I'm of the opinion this test match will be even tighter.

The rain looks set to stay away from Huddersfield on Saturday afternoon which could lead to some free-flowing rugby, but with the turf likely to be wet and the ball slippery, as well as two coaches not renowned for their love of risky game management, we could easily see a low scoring tight affair particularly in the first half.

The Tongan coaching staff were at pains to point out that a lot of their team were rusty last weekend and, to use a racing term, would come on for the run. This may well be the case and I was tempted to back the tourists, who are in the last chance saloon in terms of their Series winning chances, with a four point start. There is a nagging suspicion however that regardless of the Tongan's freshness or lack thereof, there are mistakes aplenty in this side.

England will undoubtedly miss Tommy Makinson's back field yardage, although his replacement on the right wing Matty Ashton is not a bad deputy, but as much as Tonga should improve I'd imagine plenty of England's youngsters will have taken confidence from last week.

Mikey Lewis of course grabbed the headlines, but captain Jack Welsby threw a pass worthy of winning any game for Tom Johnstone to score and is still somehow only 22 years of age. The NRL surely beckons for the Saint someday, as it may for England's new scrum half Harry Smith.

Across the park these teams are incredibly well matched and nothing splitting them at the half time hooter would come as no surprise, and then hopefully England on home soil will have enough to roar home against a tiring Tongan outfit who will undoubtedly frontload their efforts once again.

Last weekend we saw both teams take the opportunity to keep the scoreboard ticking over with penalty goals, and the prices on offer from bet365 are too big to ignore for the first scoring play to be a penalty goal for either team. England to open the scoring with a penalty is 13/2 while the Tongans to do the same is 17/2, and at 15/2 when dutched the odds are simply out of line with probability.

In recent years rugby league has edged closer to its fifteen a side sister code in terms of the premium on points in massive games, such as test matches and finals. Shaun Wane (England boss) when in charge of Wigan was never afraid to send the kicking tee out in a tight game for his trusted lieutenant and Kristian Woolf (Tonga head coach) was the same in his time in charge of St Helens. If both sides put up meaner defensive efforts in the early stages than they managed on Merseyside last week, both coaches will realise that every point could count.

Harry Smith was derided by plenty of Wigan fans throughout the season for his shocking record from the tee, as the eventual Grand Final winners were lumbered with the worst goal kicker in the competition. In the latter parts of the season, however, Smith's kicking transformed and he now looks calm and assured whenever lining a two pointer up.

If England receive a penalty within range he will be confident that he can slot it, as will Tonga's young star Isaiya Katoa, who is a dab hand off the tee and slotted a penalty himself last weekend. The odds underestimate the chances of either team playing things safe here in wet conditions after a cagey start and this Any Other looks an excellent value play.

Wrapping things up, the bookmakers have once again priced big Tom Burgess up at a huge price to get over the whitewash. Granted, in the NRL he is hardly prolific for South Sydney, however the last remaining member of the Burgess clan to be plying his trade professionally is used very differently for his national side.

Burgess is one of England's pack leaders and towers above almost everyone on the field whenever he takes to the stage, but with England he is utilised as a wrecking ball close to the opposition line.

He bagged a brace of tries in the Rugby League World Cup against minnows Greece last year when the hapless part timers could do nothing to stop the giant lumbering towards them, and while Tonga's defence will be a good deal sterner he was inches away from adding to his international tally last week. Daryl Clark and Danny Walker have been sharing dummy half duties at Warrington for a number of years and are doing the same on the international stage in this series.

Both hookers are keen to look for quick play the balls close to the opposition line and love throwing a flat pass for a huge forward to come crashing onto, while Burgess could end up on the field at the same time in prop rotation as Chris Hill, the scrumcap wearing veteran with a soft pair of hands who could lay on a walkover for his propping pal.

There are plenty of routes to a try for Burgess and while some more ambitious punters may consider backing him at north of 50/1 to be the first to cross the whitewash, I'm happy enough to leave the tip at a juicy 8/1 for him to score anytime.