Autumn Internationals - Rugby Union

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Les Bleus v The All Cheats - Sat 11th Nov KO20.00 GMT You really need to hold your nerve when betting on a French rugby team…they could quite easily mince into Lyon, laugh at the Haka, shrug their Gallic shoulders and then play the most breathtaking rugby ever seen – they could also turn up, decide they really can’t be bothered, eat some cheese, surrender and get turned over by 40 points…such are the French. The Kiwis have made a lot of changes from the team that burgled England but as you know the kiwis are capable of putting out about 3 world-class teams. ‘Enry has bolstered the scrum a tad and the centre pairing of Mcallister and Smith does look quite attractive. The French players have been all over La Boulangerie so far this season and do look a little bit fatigued and this is their first get together for quite some time. You also have to add in the fact that the French assault on the World Cup starts here and they should be looking to lay down a few markers against a team they should be meeting in the final come next September. So in summary what do we have? – Buggered if I know but I’m going to go with NZ at –5 @ Bluesquare purely because NZ have the capability to change gears in the last quarter and before you know it they can shoot 2 or 3 scores past you. It’s a real acid test for NZ.

[DAC]

Re: Autum Internationals - Rugby Union Italy v Australia Sat 11th November - KO 16.00 GMT Italy were nobodies fools during last years 6 Nations. They should have and could have beaten the Micks but thanks to some diabolical refereeing by Spreaders they fell short – the pushed Scotland and drew with an admittedly under strength Welsh team in Cardiff. The fact of the matter is that they just don’t get steamrollered anymore and I fancy that the Crims may do a bit of experimenting and I don’t mean that in a Queensland Cowboys sort of way…… I could be proved wrong but this game may not start with the same intensity as last weekend. The Italian scrum is top notch and should really give the Crims a good test, however, the Aussie back line is quality. In all honesty it should be a cracking game and I’m going to take Italy with a healthy start of 24 points @ Mansion