Can England make it through the warm ups unbeaten?
Can England make it through the warm ups unbeaten?
You are here: Betting Guide » Rugby » Can England make it through the warm ups unbeaten? With the World Cup looming large on the horizon, England could be forgiven for taking one eye off the ball and disregarding their series of warm up games against their major European rivals. That is something that head coach Martin Johnson was unlikely to let happen as he runs the rule over his squad of 40 as he looks to narrow that figure down to 30 by the August 22nd deadline. Although Johnson only fielded four of the players that started against Wales in the 6 Nations earlier this year, there is no doubt that that he will be desperate to gain momentum going into the major tournament next month. One of either Australia, South Africa, or most likely new Zealand have been handed a golden opportunity disguised as a hindrance; what better way is there to prepare for the biggest prize in world rugby than by getting more than one over on your main rivals in the Tri Nations that got underway last month? So while the All Blacks are firing on all cylinders in the Tri Nations, inflicting psychological damage on their rivals and stamping their authority on the game, England will surely be keen to do something similar in the northern hemisphere. They already have one scrappy win under their belts at Twickenham; while they started brightly with Jonny Wilkinson at the helm England faded badly and almost let Wales back into the game. With a return leg still to play and a game against Ireland in Dublin later this month, what chance to England have of remaining unbeaten ahead of their first World Cup game against Argentina on 10th September? England’s emphatic victory at the Millennium Stadium in the 6 Nations earlier this year will stand them in good stead for their visit this weekend, and they have a good record in Cardiff: winning four and losing three since 2001. However this is certainly a Welsh team on the rise after almost hitting rock bottom. Their run of form that saw Warren Gatland’s pick up just two wins in ten games, including a demoralising draw with Fiji, was bought to an end with a win against Ireland, who would go on to halt England’s Grand Slam ambitions, and while they tasted defeat at the hands of the Barbarians in their last international outing before the England game, there should be plenty more to come from Wales thus autumn. Some of Gatland’s players alluded to the fact that England were hanging on by the end and questioned their fitness levels, a theory that will be tested on Saturday. After the Wales challenge comes Ireland, off the back of a 10-6 defeat at the hands of Scotland. There will be plenty of scar tissue after the green of Ireland doused England’s hopes of winning their first Grand Slam since 2003, and perhaps there is a shot at redemption for Johnson’s men before the serious action gets underway. Beat the team that dashed their dreams before heading off to the World Cup buoyant and motivated for success. If only it was as simple as that. By Pete South – a contributor to rugbyfancast.com – the best site for rugby videos, news and blogs. Related Articles:Byrne focused for warm-up games Bet on England Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland Football tonight England v Estonia Free £25 bet for England v Russia England v Papua New Guinea Betting Andorra v England Betting Written by Bet123 · Filed Under Rugby Comments