Scotland v Tonga Prediction, Preview & Odds – Rugby World Cup

We have a Scotland v Tonga prediction along with all the betting odds for you as we preview this Rugby World Cup Pool B clash.

Scotland v Tonga Match Info

When? 4.45 pm, Sunday, September 24^th

Where? Allianz Riviera, Nice.

TV Channel? RTÉ Player and ITV 1.

Scotland v Tonga Betting Odds

Scotland are the heavy favourites ahead of this game at 1/25 odds. Tonga are the underdogs in the betting market at odds of 12/1. The draw is an even bigger price at 50/1.

Handicap Betting

Scotland: -23 @ 10/11

Tonga: +23 @ 10/11

Handicap Draw: -23 @ 18/1

Scotland are favoured by 23 points in the handicap betting which gives us an idea of the difference in quality between these two teams.

Scotland v Tonga Preview

Scotland’s Form

We’ve only seen this Scotland side once in this Rugby World Cup so far. That appearance was against the reigning champions South Africa in a game that they kept close up to half-time. In the second period however the South Africans proved too good as Scotland fell to an 18-3 defeat.

The Scots had a week off after that opening round loss which should see them raring to go for this game against Tonga.

Scotland are the 5th ranked team in the World Rugby rankings and can consider themselves unlucky that they were drawn in Pool B against South Africa and Ireland.

Generally there is a positive mood around Scottish Rugby at the moment. Head Coach Gregor Townsend has brought this team to new heights since he took charge in 2017.

The Scottish entered this tournament following a strong 2023 Six Nations campaign where they finished third, beating Wales, Italy and England. They also kept their losses relatively competitive with only 15 points or less the deficit against France and Ireland.

The performances in their Rugby World Cup warm-up games were also encouraging. Scotland opened with a 25-13 win against Italy. That win was followed by a brilliant performance against France where Scotland ran out 25-21 winners although they would lose the return game 30-27. Townsend’s side finished their warmup campaign with a 33-6 victory over Georgia.

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Tonga’s Form

Tonga sat out the first weekend of the tournament before getting their campaign underway against world number one ranked Ireland. The Tongas were comprehensively beaten 59-16 with their sole try coming from Scarlets player Vaea Fifita. This promises to be another difficult game for the Pacific islanders.

The Tongans are the 15th ranked side in world rugby and are no strangers to this event having played in eight other Rugby World Cups. Despite eight World Cup appearances Tonga have never managed to qualify from the pool stage.

Tonga’s Head Coach, Toutai Kefu, has yet to guide this team to a victory over a Tier 1 nation despite being in charge since 2016. They will be hoping to put that right this Sunday by pulling off the upset against Scotland.

The first Rugby World Cup warm-up game came for Tonga came against Fiji. They were defeated 36-20 in that outing. This was followed by two further losses 21-16 against Japan and 34-09 against Samoa. However, they did earn a 28-3 victory and later a 36-12 win over Canada before they ended their warm-up fixtures.

Key Players To Watch

Finn Russell

South Africa were able to nullify the threat of Finn Russell in their opening game of the tournament. By extension Scotland failed to cause the South Africans any problems in what many thought would be a closer game.

Finn Russell is essentially the quarter-back in this Scottish side and you can expect him to have it a lot easier against Tonga. He is central to everything positive about Scotland and a wonderful kicker too.

🗣️ 'Every time Finn Russell looked up to pass, there was a player standing with his hands in the air.'

Keith Wood feels Ireland have more attacking options to be able to unlock South Africa's defence when the two meet in under a fortnight. | ☘️@VodafoneIreland | #TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/EHCxNgZAE9

— Off The Ball (@offtheball) September 12, 2023

William Havili

The New Zealand-born fly-half was eligible for Tonga through his ancestry (his brother has played for New Zealand). Havili plays his rugby for Moana Pasifika in the Super League. He made his debut for Tonga in 2022 and has racked up 77 points in 12 tests so far.

Despite their heavy defeat against Ireland, Havili was impeccable from the boot making 1/1 conversion attempts and dispatching 3/3 penalties.

🙌 A proud moment for the Havili family with William and David representing Tonga and New Zealand at #RWC2023. pic.twitter.com/AKpyFmAve1

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 15, 2023

Scotland v Tonga Previous Results

Scotland has faced Tonga on four occasions previously with The Scots winning three times and losing once.

2021: Autumn Nations Series – Scotland 60-14 Tonga

2014: Autumn Nations Series – Scotland 37-12 Tonga

2012: Autumns Nations Series – Scotland 15- 21 Tonga

1995: Rugby World Cup– Scotland 41-5 Tonga

Ireland v Tonga Prediction & Best Bet

Prediction: Scotland 35-10 Tonga

Scotland were routinely put away against South Africa in their opening Pool B match. Don’t let that result fool you though, they are still a serious threat in this pool.

I fancy Scotland to put Tonga to the sword in this one and in doing so will put themselves into qualification contention no matter what the result is between South Africa and Ireland.

Best Bet: Scotland To Win Both Halves By 12 Points Or More @ 5/2

Click Below For All Our Scotland v Tonga Odds

*Prices subject to fluctuation

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