France vs Uruguay Betting Tips: Predictions for France's second World Cup game in Lille

After getting off to the best possible start at their home Rugby World Cup by smashing the All Blacks, France will be fizzing with confidence as they head into what should be a routine big win against Uruguay. Les Bleus are now into co-favourites for the William Webb Ellis trophy with defending champions South Africa and although whatever happens in this game won’t define their chances, they will want to nail the points difference against the minnows Uruguay.

Billy Grimshaw was with the French last Friday against New Zealand and has a handicap bet he's sweet on for their second game in Pool A…

Winning a game that betting sites could not call before the first whistle by 14 points is no mean feat and France, if anything, were value for more against the All Blacks last Friday in Paris. After New Zealand got off to the fastest possible start, a try in the first two minutes, it was all Les Bleus as they racked up the points against the most formidable rugby side in history.

Damian Penaud kicked off his quest to be World Cup top try scorer in perfect fashion with a five pointer and as Paris sizzled in temperatures above 30 degrees, the crowd heated up with their team. Lille will be the host city for Les Bleus next encounter on Thursday and with the weather expected to be a fair bit cooler, France can really rack up the points.

The Uruguayans of course sat out last week as the rest of the teams in Pool A began their World Cup journey, and so with France's rotation and the Uruguay teams' freshness we are basically seeing two new sides to the tournament taking the field.

Chalked up at a best price of 1/200, there is absolutely no chance of an upset here and France will win against Uruguay. No one likes betting on 1/100 shots, however, so let's dig a little deeper. The Uruguayans are by no means the worst team in this World Cup but they are levels below the standard required to give France anything to worry about. 

Their quest to pull off a massive upset will be aided somewhat by the mass rotation the French coaching staff have employed for this game. The trouble for Uruguay is that this French B Tam would probably give every nation in this World Cup a run for its money!

Regardless of the result this game will be history making as it is the first time these nations have ever clashed in a game of rugby union, but undoubtedly it’ll be a more memorable occasion for the French. Thomas Ramos, the metronomic goal kicker for France, has been dropped to the bench and the world's best player Antoine Dupont isn't even named amongst the replacements, but the Frenchmen stepping in are no mugs and will be itching to impress.

It is of course disappointing to see leading lights such as the aforementioned duo and wing wizard Damian Penaud rested, but it is understandable and World Cups are about getting our team to peak at the right time. I am looking forward to seeing what young winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey can do on his World Cup debut here, and at the age of 20 he could be a breakout star of the game. 

Pierre Bourgarit gets the nod to start at hooker over the unfortunate Peato Mauvaka, but there is no drop off in quality between these two, while Antoine Hastoy at fly half will be itching to impress. I think the rotation could actually prove a positive for the handicap bet of France -58 as unlike with the first team lock ins, these players for Les Bleus will be eager to score points and play good rugby to force their way into the first choice team when the crunch games come along later in the tournament.

France have enviable strength in depth and I expect even this B team to cover 58 handsomely.

Bookmakers are reluctant, some would say understandably, to price up try scorer markets in games like this as there is a case to be made that each and every Frenchman could cross the whitewash if the favourites are really on song. A bet I think looks solid though is combining three of the most likely scorers with one at slightly bigger odds in a bet builder with bet365. At odds of 4/1 I will take both wingers (Bielle-Biarrey, Villiere), the starting hooker (Bourgarit) and the number 8 and captain for the day (Jelonch).

The case for the wingers is clear, both are by no means prolific but I expect France to stretch Uruguay at will and create gaps both on the flanks and in the middle of the field where both wingmen should be in support. Hookers have become a much more potent try scoring threat in rugby in recent times and so siding with Bourgarit to bag a five pointer makes sense in anticipation of France dominating the mauls and simply barging over the line.

Picking Jelonch to score is perhaps more of a sentimental play as he is a veteran of the French side now and his teammates will be itching to get him a World Cup try. Playing at number 8 he could of course score tries in a similar manner to the hooker and I'd expect France to rack up over 8 tries here so this bet builder is worth half a point to add a bit more interest.