Wales is paying $1.11 at the TAB to win, while Fiji is paying $5.50.
Wales: Matthew Morgan, Alex Cuthbert, Tyler Morgan, Jamie Roberts, George North, Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Taulupe Faletau, Sam Warburton (captain), Dan Lydiate, Alun-Wyn Jones, Bradley Davies, Tomas Francis, Scott Baldwin, Gethin Jenkins. Reserves: Ken Owens, Aaron Jarvis, Samson Lee, Luke Charteris, Justin Tipuric, Lloyd Williams, Rhys Priestland, James Hook.
Fiji: Metuisela Talebula, Timoci Nagusa, Vereniki Goneva, Lepani Botia, Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Ben Volavola, Nemia Kenatale; Netani Talei, Akapusi Qera (captain), Dominiko Waqaniburotu, Leone Nakarawa, Tevita Cavubati, Manasa Saulo, Sunia Koto, Campese Ma'afu. Reserves: Viliame Veikoso, Peni Ravia, Leeroy Atalifo, Nemia Soqeta, Malakai Ravulo, Henry Seniloli, Joshua Matavesi, Kini Murimurivalu.
2. France v. Canada
The French are fielding 12 changes for their game against Canada at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes at 8am on Friday morning (NZ time). With comfortable wins against Italy and Romania under their belt, and the top of Pool D decider against Ireland coming up last, France has named a fresh squad. Right winger Remy Grosso is making his test debut while Brice Dulin, who played fullback against Romania last week, will start on the left wing. The only other players to remain in the Les Bleus starting line-up after the Romanian game are centre Wesley Fofana and flanker Bernard Le Roux.
Canada has made six changes following their narrow 23-18 loss to Italy over the weekend. Aaron Carpenter will start at hooker ahead of Ray Barkwill, and Brett Beukeboom is in at lock instead of Jebb Sinclair. Flankers Richard Thorpe and Kyle Gilmour will be replacing John Moonlight and Nanyak Dala. In the backline, Nick Blevins will start for injured Connor Braid at inside centre and Phil Mack will be at halfback over Jamie Mackenzie. Braid broke his jaw against Italy and is out for the rest of the tournament and Mackenzie is being rested after taking a blow to the ribs. The TAB has France at $1.01 to win and Canada at $18.
France: Scott Spedding, Remy Grosso, Mathieu Bastareaud, Wesley Fofana, Brice Dulin, Frederic Michalak, Sebastien Tillous-Borde; Damien Chouly, Bernard Le Roux, Thierry Dusautoir (captain), Yoann Maestri, Pascal Pape, Rabah Slimani, Guilhem Guirado, Eddy Ben Arous. Reserves: Benjamin Kayser, Vincent Debaty, Nicolas Mas, Yannick Nyanga, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Morgan Parra, Remi Tales, Alexandre Dumoulin.
Canada: Matt Evans, Phil Mackenzie, Ciaran Hearn, Nick Blevins, DTH Van Der Merwe, Nathan Hirayama, Phil Mack; Tyler Ardron (captain), Richard Thorpe, Kyle Gilmour, Jamie Cudmore, Brett Beukeboom, Doug Wooldridge, Aaron Carpenter, Hubert Buydens. Reserves: Ray Barkwill, Djustice Sears-Duru, Andrew Tiedemann, Evan Olmstead, Nanyak Dala, Gordon McRorie, Harry Jones, Conor Trainor.
3. The All Blacks
The New Zealand side to play Georgia at 8am on Saturday morning (NZ time) will be announced tonight by Steve Hansen. The midnight naming will be up on nzherald.co.nz straight away, with further analysis and reaction in tomorrow's paper.
Georgia are gearing up for the game, with lock Levan Chilachava telling AFP that they are not intimidated by the defending champions and that there is "no inferiority complex or fear". The eastern Europeans see the game as a "a big honour" and Georgian centre Merab Sharikadze was quoted by the news agency as saying the team is "excited" for it. "We want to challenge ourselves and see how we can perform against the best team in the world," he said. "It's going to be a big honour for me personally, and for all the boys to play against New Zealand. We want to improve on our performance from the Argentina game and we are looking forward to the chance to do so."
Georgia lost 54-9 to the Pumas over the weekend, but shocked Tonga in their opening game of the World Cup with a 17-10 upset. The TAB has suspended head-to-head live betting on the All Blacks to win, but Georgia is paying $36.
4. Australia v. England
The game of the weekend once again involves hosts England playing at their hallowed home-ground Twickenham. The sold-out Pool A fixture against Australia is a must-win for the English, and tickets to the game are going for ridiculous prices online.
To make things even more interesting, both sides have been hit by injuries ahead of the clash, which is being played at 8am on Sunday morning (NZ time). The Wallabies are without lock Will Skelton (shoulder) and No 8 Wycliff Palu (hamstring). Both players were injured during Australia's win over Uruguay and have been ruled out for the rest of the World Cup. England has lost No 8 Billy Vunipola for the rest of the tournament with a knee injury and has fitness concerns over lock Courtney Lawes (knee) and halfback Ben Youngs (ankle).
Both sides are expected to name their teams overnight but speculation over who will be dropped and included for England is already all over the British newspapers, with many suggesting centre Jonathan Joseph will return from his chest injury to replace Sam Burgess. The Telegraph and others also reported that Brad Barritt will move back to inside centre and Owen Farrell will stay on at first five. Ben Morgan, who missed the Welsh game due to a knee injury, has also been named by more than one news outlet as Billy Vunipola's replacement at No 8. Joe Launchbury is also said to be starting over injured Courtney Lawes. Whether Ben Youngs will be fit for the game is still uncertain. The TAB currently has England as the favourites, paying $1.70 for the win. Australia is paying $2.05 to win.
5. Player rankings
6. Team rankings
7. Standings
EXTRA TIME
The All Blacks appear to be inspiring and influencing a number of coaches in recent days, and not only those associated to rugby. First there was Steve Hansen's supportive text to Springbok counterpart Heyneke Meyer reported yesterday, then the "uplifting" boost that Welsh coach Warren Gatland said he got from comments made by some of the All Blacks following his side's win over England on the weekend.
Now an English Premier League football coach has revealed his All Black inspiration. The Wales Online news website reported that Swansea City coach Garry Monk has been reading the book Legacy - 15 Lessons in Leadership: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life.
"...It's all about their code of conduct and how they approach things. It's about their leadership, too, not just from the management, but from the players themselves," Monk said. "I think that's a vital compound. It's vital that the players manage themselves and that it doesn't always come from me. It must come from within, as well as from outside. I have always thought that anyway, but when you read about others doing it at such a high level, it is really fascinating. I really enjoy reading about it in other sports. It is always the same principles, but in different sports."
