France v Uruguay Prediction, Preview & Odds – Rugby World Cup

We have a France v Uruguay prediction along with the betting odds for you ahead of the second weekend of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

France v Uruguay Match Info

When? 8pm, Thursday, September 14^th

Where? Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille

TV Channel? ITV 4/ Virgin Media Two

France v Uruguay Betting Odds

France are an incredible 1/1000 to win this Pool A game which makes them as close to a certainty as you’ll see according to our odds makers.

Uruguay on the other hand are priced at 100/1 while the draw is 200/1.

Handicap Betting

France are -52 point favourites in the handicap betting for this game at odds of 10/11. In other words you can back the French to win this game by 53 points or more at 10/11 odds.

Uruguay on the other hand are +52 points underdogs so a ‘good evening’ for the South Americans would be keeping the difference between the sides to less than 52 points.

France v Uruguay Preview

France’s Form

2023 Rugby World Cup hosts are the second favourites to win this tournament after their opening round victory over New Zealand. The game was tight for the opening 60 minutes but France proved to have too much for the Kiwis in the closing stages as they pulled away to secure a 27-13 victory in the tournament’s curtain raiser.

If the French can find success on home soil it would be their first-ever Rugby World Cup win, surpassing their previous best runners-up finishes in 1987, 1999 and 2011. They will also be looking to go much further than their Quarter-Final exit in 2019 to Wales.

French Head Coach Fabien Galthié is the man tasked to bring France their first ever World Cup title. Since being appointed in 2019 Galthie has guided France to a 2022 Grand Slam victory and comes into this tournament with a win rate of 80% which is by far the best in the country’s history with his 32 wins from 40 matches. This includes seven wins from nine games this year with the first of those coming against Ireland in March.

In their warm-up for the tournament, France played four matches, losing their first 25-21 to Scotland but they avenged that defeat in the return game 30-27.  In the following two games, normal service resumed with a 34-17 win against Fiji and a 41-17 victory against Australia.

As mentioned earlier France opened their Rugby World Cup campaign with a 27-13 victory against New Zealand. It was tries from Penaud, Jaminet that did the damage along with Ramos hitting 1/1 conversions and 5/7 penalties.

France have made themselves firm favourites for Pool A after that victory so should they take care of business in their final pool games they will play the runner-up of Pool B.

Welcome To The BoyleSports Blog & News Site

Let’s reward you with some Free Bets!

Sign up to BoyleSports in Ireland & GET €40 FREE BETS WHEN YOU BET €10! T&Cs apply

Sign up to BoyleSports in the UK & GET £20 FREE BETS WHEN YOU BET £10! T&Cs apply

Uruguay’s Form

World Number 17-ranked Uruguay will be making their fifth World Cup appearance this coming Thursday and will be doing so against a French team brimming with confidence thanks to home soil and that opening night victory over New Zealand.

Uruguay were the only country in Pool A not to start their World Cup journey last weekend due to the uneven Pool numbers. The country have never gotten out of the Pool Stage at a Rugby World Cup and they look very unlikely to do so this time with New Zealand, France, Italy and Namibia all in their pool.

Esteban Meneses has been in charge of Uruguay since 2015 and has guided them to two successive tournaments after a 1-1 series draw with the United States. The Uruguayans lost the first game 19-16 to the US but won the second game 34-15 which saw them qualify for this World Cup on aggregate points (50-34).

During their tournament warm-up games, they won two from two. The first of those victories coming 26-25 against Chile and the next being 26-18 over Namibia.

France v Uruguay Lineups

France Starting Lineup

1. Gros

2. Bougarit

3. Aldegheri

4. Woki

5. Taoififenua

6. Boudehent

7. Macalou

8. Jelonch (c)

9. Lucu

10. Hastoy

11. Villiere

12. Moefana

13. Vincent

14. Bielle-Biarrey

15. Jaminet

Uruguay Starting Lineup

1. Sanguinetti

2. Pujadas

3. Peculo

4. Aliaga

5. Leindekar

6. Ardao

7. Civetta

8. Diana

9. Arata

10. Etcheverry

11. Freitas

12. Vilaseca (c)

13. Inciarte

14. Basso

15. Amaya

Key Players To Watch

Antoine Hastoy

France have made a number of team changes from their opening round win against New Zealand. A name to look out for in this new look French team is Antoine Hastoy who steps in at fly-half to replace Antoine Dupont.

Hastoy plays his club rugby in the Top 14 at La Rochelle where he has already racked up 304 points in just 26 appearances. France (who are -52 points favourites) will be expected to rack up the points against Uruguay so it should be a busy day for Hastoy from the kicking tee.

The 26-year-old is 5/1 to be crowned Man of the Match and if he does the business from the kicking tee then his points tally could be enough to see him win that award.

Santiago Arata

Uruguay scrum-half Santiago Arata will be a key player for the South Americans in their opening game of this World Cup against hosts France.

The number 9 was crucial in the 2019 edition of this tournament when the Uruguayans secured a massive victory over Fiji. Arata scored a try that day which ended up being the difference between the two sides with a 30-27 final score.

Uruguay are massive underdogs going into this game and will need a big performance from Arata to keep this scoreline respectable.

France v Uruguay Head-To-Head Results

France and Uruguay have played on two occasions. France have won both of those games.

Uruguay 6-34 France | 1985

Uruguay 0-61 France | 1985

France v Uruguay Prediction & Best Bet

Prediction: France 70-3 Uruguay

France look the real deal following their victory over New Zealand.

This will be a much easier test and they have the potential to run riot on Thursday Night.

Best Bet: France -54 @ 21/20

Click Below For All Our France v Uruguay Odds

*Prices subject to fluctuation

Remember, always gamble responsibly. Here’s our Safer Gambling Guide.