Nations Championship Rugby Week 2 Tips, Predictions & Best Bets

It was mission achieved for Dave Rennie and the All Blacks last week. They weren’t convincing when beating France by two points, but the All Blacks always come out rusty in the first test of the season. Rennie has made changes to the team to face Italy, and it should be an easy victory. Italy suffered an embarrassing loss to Japan last week, and that form won’t be good enough to cover the +32.5 spread against the ABs. We expect a one-sided game to start the week, so include the All Blacks -32.5 in Nations Championship multi bets this week.

It’s tough to bet against our Aussie neighbours, but after losing a heartbreaker to Ireland last week, they could have a hangover. It was a tough loss for the Wallabies to stomach, and they arguably deserved to win the game. Two missed kicks in the final five minutes were enough to lose, and there are now injury concerns. France played well against the ABs, so they’ll only get stronger with time throughout this tournament. A close game is expected for 60 minutes, but France should pull away late to secure the win and cover the -7.5 start.

Japan got its flowers last week with a surprise win over Italy, but they could come back down to earth against Ireland, who were strong winners over Australia. With this game being played in Newcastle, it massively helps Ireland, who barely had to travel from Sydney for the contest. It’s not the case for Japan, who could be fatigued following an emotional victory, and that’s why we have Ireland covering the -19.5 spread. They will pile on the pressure throughout the game, and their dominant forward pack should be too much for Japan to handle. The -19.5 line is much lower than expected, so it could pay to jump on Ireland before late money comes for the Europeans.

We would love nothing more than Fiji being competitive against England. Pacific rugby is on the rise, and although Fiji lost to Wales last week, they should improve with that outing under their belt. It was always going to take Fiji a game to play its best rugby, and a lack of playing time together isn’t ideal. England has much more experience, but they haven’t been impressive this year. Their Six Nations campaign didn’t inspire much, and they could struggle with the physical nature of Fijian rugby. A close game would be great for world rugby, so take Fiji with the +20.5 start.

The Springboks are on a different level, as much as it pains us to say so. They are the world leaders in rugby, and a dominant win over Scotland is highly likely. Playing in Pretoria helps their chances, and European teams often struggle with the elevation. Punters should expect South Africa to adopt the bomb squad tactic, and it won’t stop throughout the game. Scotland played well last week, but this is a completely different matchup, and they’ll likely struggle to compete. Our Nations Championship predictions have South Africa winning by 25–30 points, so covering the spread should come easily.

The week ends with an intriguing game between Argentina and Wales, where Argentina looks to bounce back after losing to Scotland. It was a shock loss for Argentina at home, and they are being given plenty of respect against Wales. We liked what Wales produced to beat Fiji, and although Argentina plays a high-tempo game, Wales’ defence is good enough to keep them from scoring tries. It should be a close game throughout the 80 minutes, and the +17.5 line for Wales is overly generous.