Wales vs Georgia Betting Tips: Two predictions for Saturday's lunchtime game

Wales are a perfect three from three at the 2023 Rugby World Cup and a win over Georgia will confirm their status as Pool C winners. They rode their luck and had the officials to thank for the opening game win over Fiji but there was no fluke over their thumping of the Australians, while Portugal were brushed aside with minimal fuss. Warren Gatland's side are long odds on to wrap up their pool stage with a perfect record and Billy Grimshaw has two tips for the game in Nantes...

Wales came into the World Cup under a bit of a cloud after a poor Six Nations campaign and some ropey results in World Cup warm ups, but no one can argue with their record. They need just one losing bonus point to qualify as Pool C winners against Georgia in Nantes and this will set up a winnable quarter-final against Argentina or Japan in Marseille on 14 October, depending on how Pool D pans out. In all likelihood the semi-finals is as far as this Welsh team can make it in the World Cup, but they'd have taken that every day of the week before a ball was kicked.

Georgia have acquitted themselves well in this tournament and got some points on the board with a draw against Portugal and a bonus point loss to Fiji last time out. The upset looked on against the flying Fijians as Georgia had ground their way into a 9-0 lead at half time thanks to three penalties, but Fiji came home with a wet sail to claim the win in the end by a score line of 17-12.

Fiji have not exactly been at their free-flowing best this tournament and did rotate against the Georgians but the defensive steel shown by the minnows that day is to be applauded and with Wales knowing they don't need to blow Georgia out of the water, I think backing the underdogs +18 at 10/11 with William Hill is the way to go here. Georgia may not be a try-scoring machine but they have shown they can stick in games and make things difficult for their opponents, while although Wales blitzed the Wallabies last time out in the second half, amazingly I think Georgia have a good bit more backbone than Eddie Jones's ramshackle mob.

Perhaps it was a flash in the pan, or perhaps Fiji were even more off colour than we assume, but the way Georgia started the match last weekend against their more fancied opponents illustrates to me that this is a side that are bound together and ready to do some giant killing. While against Fiji Georgia eventually tired and lost the game, their opening ferocity drew praise from many neutrals and there must be a chance that in here against a Welsh side perhaps with one eye on next week's quarter final, they can catch them on the hop.

Georgian captain Mikheil Nariash reiterated in the aftermath of their gut wrenching defeat to Fiji that the camp remained in buoyant mood and that they would be giving everything to grab their inaugural World Cup win against Wales. While I think eventually, perhaps after a rollocking from Warren Gatland at the break, the Welsh will prove too strong, there is some value in backing Georgia to lead at half time and Wales to ultimately win the game at 13/2.

For those punters who like an even more speculative play I could not put them off the 25/1 being offered by our friends at William Hill and Skybet that the match is a draw at half time and a Welsh win at full time, but for the record I will simply tip up the 13/2 angle. Georgia have shown they have enough to compete and indeed come out on top for forty minutes on numerous occasions, but in the end a confident Wales should get the job done.