Does it speak volumes of the All Blacks or Italy, that the former’s price in match betting has been suspended? These are supposed to both be Tier 1 rugby nations!
Obviously, it speaks volumes of how much better New Zealand is, and after that first-up loss to France, they’ve been nearly faultless. I’m still very confident they can win the Rugby World Cup, and they can really put everyone else on notice with a big win over Italy.
Take nothing away from the Italians – they’ve been fine. Wins over Namibia and Uruguay have them undefeated heading into this clash, but this is obviously a completely different kettle of fish.
Both Saturday matches look likely to be one-sided, and Argentina can keep the pressure on in Pool D by beating fellow South Americans, Chile.
The first-up loss to England was hard-fought, if not a little disappointing late in the picture, but Los Pumas bounced back with 19-10 win over Samoa. They’ll almost certainly use this match as another training run before their vital clash with Japan.
Understandably, Chile are yet to record a win in three matches at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and they will bow out of the tournament after this game.