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A tale of two teams with very different goals and aspirations will see Warren Gatland’s Wales searching for their second win of the tournament while Portugal will be desperate for their first ever win at a Rugby World Cup when they commence their 2023 campaign.
Wales vs Portugal match predictions
Contents
Will Portugal be able to defy the odds and surprise Wales in this game? Find out from our Rugby World Cup predictions for this match.
Prediction 1: Wales to win @ 1/100 (1.10)
A Portugal result is not outside the realms of possibility, Portugal drew with Georgia in the Rugby Europe Championship last year who later went on to beat Wales.
However, Rugby World Cup’s are different gravy and, based on last Sunday’s evidence, Wales are back to their best under Gatland and should sweep away a brave and talented but inexperienced Portugal team.
Portugal will come out the blocks with fire and thunder and may even score first but as is the case with many of these matches, expect Wales to pull away after the hour mark.
Prediction: Wales by 46-50 @ 10/1 (10.00)
Wales have some seriously talented backs, the likes of Louis Rees-Zammit, Josh Adams, Mason Grady, Rio Dyer, who will likely have an enjoyable evening as the forwards grind out space for the speedsters to punish.
Rees-Zammit already has one try at Rugby World Cup 2023, after scoring versus Fiji last weekend, a bet on him as first try scorer is a fairly safe bet.
With Ireland running up a 74-point margin over Romania last weekend and with all due respect given to Portugal, Wales’ World Cup experience should shine through and a 50-point buffer is most likely.
Is there even a small chance for Portugal to surprise Wales?
We will now take a closer look at these two teams and their form heading into this game:
Wales
Wales ran out stunning 32-26 victors over Fiji last Sunday night in, arguably, the game of the first round, as Gatland’s men defied the doubters and the bookies prediction that the Flying Fijians would be too much for them.
Against all the odds, Wales are just two wins away from the quarter-final, starting with Portugal this Saturday and leading to a likely top-of-the-group decider against Australia next week.
Wales last five
- Wales 32-26 Fiji
- Wales 16-52 South Africa
- England 19-17 Wales
- Wales 20-9 England
- France 41-28 Wales
Portugal
Portugal are competing at their first Rugby World Cup since 2007 and their second World Cup ever. ‘Os Lobos’ qualified through the repechage event where they topped the group due to a dramatic last minute penalty kick which earned a draw against the USA and sent the Americans home in the process.
Portugal last five
- Portugal 17-30 Australia A
- Portugal 46-20 USA
- Portugal 11-38 Georgia
- Portugal 27-10 Spain
- Portugal 38-20 Romania
Wales vs Portugal head to head
It will be an historic today no matter no result as these two nations meet on a rugby field for the first time ever. Portugal faced Scotland and Italy in their pool at the 2007 World Cup and Wales will be their newest Six Nations opponents.
Match details
- Date and time: Saturday 16th September, 16:45 GMT
- Venue: Stade de Nice, Nice
- How to watch in the UK: ITV X
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