Fiji vs Georgia Betting Tips: Two predictions for Pool C clash at Rugby World Cup
Fiji will look to take a huge step to qualifying for the knockout stages of the 2023 Rugby World Cup by beating Georgia on Saturday and having defeated the less so mighty Australia in their last clash in France the Fijians will be still riding the crest of a wave as they look to pull further clear of the aforementioned Wallabies in Pool C.
Georgia picked up their first points of the tournament last weekend as they drew 18-18 with Portugal in a real battle of the minnows and they could be in for a tough clash with Fiji, who know wins in their final two games against Georgia and Portugal will send Australia packing and see them qualify with Wales.
Our man Steve Chambers previews Fiji v Georgia, which takes place at Bordeaux, and he has two tips for contest...
Fiji v Georgia Tips
Fiji suffered a narrow defeat to Wales in their opening Rugby World Cup clash, but bounced back with aplomb with a stunning 22-15 win over Australia and they are red-hot 1/14 favourites to make it two wins from three matches this weekend when they face a Georgia side that have drawn one and lost one at this World Cup. Georgia are around a 7/1 chance to grab a shock win in this event and record their first victory at the tournament, while for them to play out another draw that is available at 50/1 with BoyleSports.
History suggests it could be a little closer than the bookmakers suggest as the last time the two nations did battle on the rugby union pitch was a friendly international back in 2021 and it saw them play out a 15-15 draw, so perhaps parity after 80 minutes at 50/1 could appeal to some punters.
However, Fiji are well and truly firing on all cylinders in France at the moment and will know a victory here all-but puts them through to the knockout stages with Portugal to face, but Georgia will be disappointed having been unable to brush aside the Portuguese last weekend, so will be eager to bounce back here.
With no value available in the win market then why not snap up the Georgia +17.5 points in the handicap market and that is offering odds of 5/6 with BetUK, as these two teams have often played out relatively close matches with five of the last six matches seeing Georgia get within 17 points of Fiji. So, while Fiji should have too much firepower for their opponents on Saturday they may struggle to score a hatful and Georgia can cover the handicap comfortably.
Whilst a bonus point victory for Fiji would be a huge confidence booster ahead of the last-eight, they know that simple victories in their final two pool matches would be enough to see them safely progress to the knockout stages, so they won't be going all out for tries in the second half, but will look to consolidate their advantage with field position.
With that in mind, there could be some value in the winning margin markets and the one that stands out is William Hill's 15/2 for Fiji to win by 6-10 points. Fiji have only scored 48 points in the World Cup so far, so they are far from free-flowing and while they have played against the two big guns of the pool they could still rest some key players when they take the lead, so they may struggle to pull clear of Georgia, who still have an outside chance of qualifying, but will need to cause an upset here and also beat Wales in the final round of matches.
We are getting to the business end of the tournament over the coming weeks and Fiji could be a really fascinating component of it and one of the surprise packages and a win here will see them enhance their already growing reputation.
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