Italy vs Uruguay Predictions: Rugby World Cup Betting Tips, News, Lineups
Italy will be looking to put themselves into a great position to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time ever at a Rugby World Cup by defeating Uruguay.
The Italians opened with a comfortable victory over Namibia, putting 50 points on the Africans, whilst Uruguay put up a brave display in defeat against a rotated French XV.
Italy vs Uruguay Betting Tips
- Uruguay +27 Handicap @ 10/11 with Sky Bet
- Paolo Garbisi to score a try at anytime @ 9/4 with BoyleSports
- Highest scoring half: Second half @ 5/6 with Coral
Uruguay to keep it tight for majority of the match
Italy have actually been free-scoring of late, notching over 50 points in two of their last three test matches, including the World Cup opener against Namibia. They won that match by 44 points, but Namibia are widely believed to be the poorest side in the competition.
Indeed, Uruguay beat Namibia in their second World Cup warm up match by 8 points.
Tip: Uruguay +27 Handicap @ 10/11 with Sky Bet
Garbisi to attack from the centre
There is a gameplan under way from Kieran Crowley and his coaching staff. With Tommaso Allen poised to become Italy’s highest point-scorer at a World Cup from fly-half, Garbisi is having to slot in at inside-centre.
This is a tactic that we have often seen England use with George Ford and Owen Farrell, both natural #10s, but often Farrell is shuffled infield to accommodate both players.
Garbisi scored from the #10 position against Namibia but should have more try-scoring options from the centre. His price is a big stand-out with BoyleSports.
Tip: Paolo Garbisi to score a try at anytime @ 9/4 with BoyleSports
History dictates that the second half is where these teams loosen up
Both teams’ recent history suggests that the second half is the one to back in terms of the total points market.
Italy have seen more points in the second half of their matches in four of the last five internationals. That’s a stat mirrored by Uruguay, with four of their five most recent matches also producing more points in the second period.
It feels like one of those matches in which forwards will dominate for the first half of the match before tiredness and replacements come in and allow things to open up a little bit after the break.
Tip: Highest scoring half: Second half @ 5/6 with Coral
Italy vs Uruguay team news
A couple of surprises in the Italian line-up for this match as Paolo Garbisi comes into the inside-centre role. Garbisi has always been used at fly-half for Italy, but Kieran Crowley obviously wants an extra playmaker in the side and potentially an extra boot to use as well.
There is also a change at full-back as Ange Capuozzo comes in there from the wing. There are two sets of brothers in the Italian line-up as well, a very rare occurrence.
Italy: 15 Ange Capuozzo;14 Lorenzo Pani, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Paolo Garbisi, 11 Monty Ioane; 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Alessandro Garbisi; 8 Lorenzo Cannone; 7 Michele Lamaro (captain), 6 Sebastian Negri; 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone; 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Dino Lamb, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Giovanni Pettinelli, 22 Alessandro Fusco, 23 Paolo Odogwu
Unsurprisingly, there are few changes for Uruguay after their excellent performance against France. German Kessler comes in at hooker and Gaston Mieres is on the wing for this clash.
Uruguay: 15. Baltazar Amaya, 14. Gaston Mieres, 13. Tomas Inciarte, 12. Andres Vilaseca (c), 11. Nicolas Freitas, 10. Felipe Etcheverry, 9. Santiago Arata, 8. Manuel Diana, 7. Santiago Civetta, 6. Manuel Ardao, 5. Manuel Leindekar, 4. Felipe Aliaga, 3. Ignacio Peculo, 2. German Kessler, 1. Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements: 16. Guillermo Pujadas, 17. Facundo Gattas, 18. Diego Arbelo, 19. Ignacio Dotti, 20. Carlos Deus, 21. Agustin Ormaechea, 22. Felipe Berchesi, 23. Bautista Basso
