England v New Zealand betting tips, odds, predictions – RWC 2019 semi-final 1

New Zealand RWC'19 betting predictions and tips

Welcome to our free predictions and odds update for match 45 of the Rugby World Cup: the semi-final between England and New Zealand at International Stadium Yokohama on Saturday, October 26.

The winners will advance to the Rugby World Cup final to play the winners of the second semi-final between Wales and South Africa.

Many pundits believe whoever wins the NZ-England clash will go on and lift the William Webb Ellis Cup as winners of the Rugby World Cup, and it’s probably a fair call given the dominance both teams have displayed throughout the tournament.

Bookmakers have made the All Blacks short-priced favourites to beat England. If they were simply going on form in this tournament, the teams would be a lot closer in the betting but recent history shows the Kiwis have been a cut above.

England flyer Jonny May is in doubt for the clash after suffering a hamstring twinge against Australia and his absence would be a blow given his impressive two-try haul against the Wallabies.

England have beaten New Zealand only once in their past 16 meetings, at Twickenham in 2012. Many of these clashes have been tight though, with the All Blacks having a happy knack of getting over the line.

England’s coach, Australian Eddie Jones, has tangled with the All Blacks many times in his various roles, and knows the challenge that lies ahead.

“You have to admire them, but then the challenge is to beat them,” Jones told PA. “The reason I took this [England] job is because I saw a team that could be great. That was the challenge and they are starting to believe it. New Zealand are a great team with a great coach with a great captain, but like any team they are beatable and there are ways to beat them.”

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen is in his final few matches of an incredible coaching career as the All Blacks chase a third successive Rugby World Cup title. He was assistant coach when they won the title in 2011 and the Kiwis have lost just nine of the 106 matches since Hansen took over as head coach.

“England are a very good rugby side,” Hansen said. “They’re desperate and they’re well coached. It’s going to be a mighty clash and we’re looking forward to it.”

Check out our team previews to get the latest form, our tips for leading try-scorer from each team and where we think they will finish in the tournament.

England
New Zealand

Here are our England v New Zealand semi-final predictions and odds for their clash at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

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Rugby World Cup Match 45: semi-final – England v New Zealand

Kick-off: 5pm local time (GMT +9)
Venue: International Stadium Yokohama

England v New Zealand odds

Head to head odds: England $3.20, New Zealand $1.35
Handicap line odds: England (+7.5 points) $1.91, New Zealand (-7.5 points) $1.91

New Zealand v Ireland – past 10 meetings

November 29, 2008: New Zealand 32 d England 6, Twickenham, London
November 21, 2009: New Zealand 19 d England 6, Twickenham, London
November 6, 2010: New Zealand 26 d England 16, Twickenham, London
December 1, 2012: England 38 d New Zealand 21, Twickenham, London
November 16, 2013: New Zealand 30 d England 22, Twickenham, London
June 7, 2014: New Zealand 20 d England 15, Eden Park, Auckland
June 14, 2014: New Zealand 28 d England 27, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
June 21, 2014: New Zealand 36 d England 13, Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
November 8, 2014: New Zealand 24 d England 21, Twickenham, London
November 10, 2018: New Zealand 16 d England 15, Twickenham, London

Previous World Cup 2019 matches:

England:
England 35 (Manu Tuilagi 2, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jamie George tries; Owen Farrell 3 cons, 3 pens) d Tonga 3 (Sonatane Takulua pen). Referee: Paul Williams.
England 45 (Joe Cokanasiga 2, Luke Cowan-Dickie, George Ford, Lewis Ludlam, Ruaridh McConnochie, Billy Vunipola tries; Ford 5 cons) d USA 7 (Bryce Campbell try; AJ MacGinty con). Referee: Nic Berry.
England 39 (Luke Cowan-Dickie, Elliot Daly, George Ford, Jonny May, Jack Nowell, Ben Youngs tries; Owen Farrell 3 cons, pen) d Argentina 10 (Matias Moroni try; Emiliano Boffelli con, Benjamin Urdapilleta pen). Referee: Nigel Owens.
QF: England 40 (Jonny May 2, Kyle Sinckler, Anthony Watson tries; Owen Farrell 4 cons, 4 pens) d Australia 16 (Marika Koroibete try; Christian Leali’ifano con, 3 pens). Referee: Jerome Garces.

New Zealand:
New Zealand 23 (Scott Barrett, George Bridge tries; Richie Mo’unga 2 cons, Mo’unga 2, Beauden Barrett pens) d South Africa 13 (Pieter-Steph du Toit try; Handre Pollard con, pen, drop goal). Referee: Jerome Garces.
New Zealand 63 (1 penalty try, Brad Weber 2, Scott Barrett, Jordie Barrett, Beauden Barrett, Shannon Frizell, Rieko Ioane, Sonny Bill Williams tries; Richie Mo’unga 8 cons) d Canada 0 at Oita Stadium. Referee: Romain Poite.
New Zealand 71 (Anton Lienert-Brown 2, Sevu Reece 2, Ben Smith 2, Jordie Barrett, Joe Moody, TJ Perenara, Angus Ta’avao, Sam Whitelock tries; Jordie Barrett 8 cons) d Namibia 9 (Damian Stevens 3 pens) at Tokyo Olympic Stadium. Referee: Pascal Gauzere.
QF: New Zealand 46 (Aaron Smith 2, Beauden Barrett, Jordie Barrett, George Bridge, Codie Taylor, Matt Todd tries; Richie Mo’unga 4 cons, pen) d Ireland 14 (1 penalty try; Robbie Henshaw try; Joe Carbery con). Referee: Nigel Owens.

England v New Zealand tips RWC2019

New Zealand by 1-12 points at $2.60

England put up the “White wall” against the Wallabies in their emphatic quarter-final win and, while the All Blacks are a different proposition entirely, they will still find it difficult to breach the English line. We expect a brutal battle up front, with the All Blacks finding a way to win narrowly.

Anytime try-scorer Sevu Reece at $2.90

The Fiji-born winger has not yet had a massive influence on this tournament but he is a try-scoring machine. What better time than for the flyer to score a five-pointer to help propel his side into the Rugby World Cup final.

England v New Zealand prediction

Both teams have many ways to hurt the opposition on the scoreboard, with powerhouse forwards and dynamic and elusive backs capable of scoring from anywhere on the field. They also have deadly goal kickers, especially Owen Farrell for England, though his penchant for taking so long over his kicks is grating to say the least. Still the greatest strength for both teams at this tournament has been their discipline and incredible defence. New Zealand and England have conceded just 36 points apiece in their four matches! They have conceded only three tries each, so we expect a low-scoring contest again where a moment of magic can certainly make the difference between winning and losing. We will predict the All Blacks to get over the line in a match for the ages. It just seems to be in their DNA.

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