Ireland vs Tonga Betting Tips: Two predictions as World Number One take on Tonga

Ireland began their Rugby World Cup campaign with a facile victory over minnows Romania last weekend and Andy Farrell's men are favourites to make it two in a row against Tonga on Saturday night in Nantes.

Billy Grimshaw is looking to get some profit secured after a first weekend to forget tipping at the RWC2023 and has a couple of plays worth consideration for this game which could see some bone crunching hits...

There is no hint of rotation from Andy Farrell for Ireland as they have named a full strength fifteen for what will be a belter of a match against Tonga on Saturday night. There were mumblings about Jonny Sexton, Ireland's 114 cap veteran, captain and inspirational fly half, having a rest to preserve him for later in the tournament but due to his lack of playing time at club level Farrell clearly thinks the more minutes he can get into Sexton the better.

The Tongans missed out in week one but now begin their World Cup campaign and taking on the number one ranked nation in the world will certainly be a baptism of fire. These two sides have not met since 2003 but on all known form Ireland should be too strong, although this Tongan team have plenty of allegiance switchers in their ranks which boosts their chances. The worry would be Tonga have not hit the heights their team on paper warrants. Coming into a World Cup in bad form is never a good thing (regardless of what England say) and if they are sloppy against Ireland they will be punished.

I've not had much joy with the handicap bets so far this tournament but I do think Ireland could put on a bit of a clinic here and the line looks very workable for the best test side in the world. 

Tonga as previously mentioned do not head to France in the best of form and although this is one of the strongest Tongan squads ever assembled, they certainly are not playing to their potential. The forward pack is huge and will be a match for Ireland in terms of pure physicality but in every other facet of the game of rugby Ireland have a clear upper hand. Coached expertly by Farrell and with an experienced squad that know their jobs to a man, the Irish structure could simply overwhelm Tonga and I can see this one becoming one sided fast.

Beginning their World Cup campaign with twelve tries in an 82-8 demolition of Romania certainly did Irish spirits no harm, yet on the back of that win bookies were seemingly unimpressed as the Irish drifted slightly in the outright odds for glory. Perhaps that was more due to what France and South Africa produced, but it is still puzzling as Ireland could hardly have done more. The clash of the centres will be intriguing in this game but I do think Ireland's pairing is stronger than that of the Tongans and over the course of 80 minutes the class gulf will start to show.

Backing Ireland -36 looks the smart play to my eye as Ireland will be keen to make another statement here, and particularly with such a strong side named. Sexton was in stunning form against Romania and although this opposition is another step up, Tonga are still levels below Ireland and the fact they could come in here rusty after missing out last week is a further reason to back the Irish.

None of the try scorer prices particularly catch the eye in this game so I will go with a safer play and back the first half to be the highest scoring. The logic behind this pick is that I can see this game going a couple of ways, and both would lead to more points in the first 40. Firstly, if Ireland are sent out fired up by Farrell with the task of winning the game early so he can rotate the stars in the second half, they will fly out of the traps and against a potentially undercooked Tonga they could put the game to bed in a matter of minutes with some quickfire tries.

On the other hand, Tonga's aforementioned big forward pack and beefed up squad of switch-a-roos could fly out of the blocks themselves and try to really blitz through Ireland at the start of the game in the hope of rocking the favourites off their game. There are attacking threats aplenty for Tonga and although the challenge of breaking down Ireland's formidable defence is huge, they may think their best bet is to throw all their energy into an early stage assault.

I think it is pretty likely, despite what I've just said, that Ireland are simply too good for Tonga here and the game could be all but done by half time. If this is how things play out then I'd expect a muted second half with Irish eyes switching to the huge matches to come in their pool of death against Scotland and the Springboks.