2019 Rugby World Cup – Australia vs Wales Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Australia vs Wales taking place? Sunday 29th September, 2019 – 08:45 (UK)
Where is Australia vs Wales taking place? Tokoyo Stadium, Tokoyo
What is the expected weather for Australia vs Wales? 16c in partly cloudy skies
What television channel is Australia vs Wales on in the UK? This match will be televised live on ITV 1
Where can I stream Australia vs Wales? This match can be streamed via ITV Hub
Where can I get tickets for Australia vs Wales? https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/tickets
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Last meeting: Wales 9-6 Australia
THE TEAM NEWS
AUSTRALIA
- Australia had to turn on the style in the second half after they went into half-time trailing Fiji in their opening RWC match but a strong performance in that 40-minute period saw the Wallabies come out on top.
- For this crunch clash with Wales, the Wallabies have made numerous changes to their team with the most notable coming in the halves as the experienced pairing of Will Genia and Bernard Foley are preferred to Nic White and Christian Lealiifano.
- Reece Hodge will miss the next three weeks after the winger was cited and subsequently banned at a disciplinary hearing following his high tackle against Fiji, with Adam Ashley-Cooper taking his place in the side for this game.
WALES
- Wales claimed a comfortable win over Georgia in their first match of the tournament but will want to improve on several areas of their game after a sloppy second half performance saw the Georgians managing to match them during that period.
- The Welsh suffered injuries to Hadleigh Parkes and Ken Owens against Georgia but they have been deemed fit enough to play. However, the news on Cory Hill is not good after he failed to overcome the stress fracture to his leg, with Bradley Davies taking his place in the squad.
- With Parkes and Owens proving their fitness it means that head coach Warren Gatland has named an unchanged starting line-up for the game against Australia but there is a change on the bench with Owen Watkin replacing Leigh Halfpenny.
THE PREDICTION
Neither Australia nor Wales set the world alight in their opening RWC matches but they will need to find their best form quickly as they meet in this important Pool D contest. The winner of this should top the group and in what is likely to be a nervy affair, it could be a low-scoring contest as it was when the sides last met - Wales edging it 9-6. They have opted to take different approaches to this game but Wales’ decision to retain their entire starting XV from their opening game could be the strategy that works best and they can edge this one, too.
