Wilkinson to score all England's World Cup final points?

Stan James are facing at least a £1m payout if England win the World Cup thanks to some bright spark suggesting they refund all of their bets taken on the tournament outright market if one of the home nations went on to win. And yet, the World champions are in the World Cup final through a mixture of playing cup rugby, being realistic, and sheer guts. And it is that kind of will, that sheer belief that has hauled England from nothing to something. We have all seen how England have put in one gutsy performance after the other since their dramatic 36-0 loss to the Springboks in Paris in the Pool stage and it is this that could carry them to successive World Cups. From the depths, England have found their resolve, and it is this aspect that the press have analysed consistently since they beat Australia 12-10 in Marseilles. Nobody has sat down and focussed on what England are doing on the pitch, and it is chiefly for this reason that the papers have got themselves in a lather about the world champions holding on to the Webb Ellis Trophy. England have become good at several things since Ashton sat them down after their abject defeat to the Springboks in the Stade de France and told everyone to speak their minds. They flood the breakdown consistently forcing the opposition to commit more players than either they would have liked, or have been trained to do. This creates slow ball for the opposition and because some of their attackers have been dragged in to the breakdown, their rhythm and options decrease. Ashton has based his gameplan on the Warren Ryan school of rugby league. Legendary rugby writer Spiro Zavos picked up on this point and it illustrates clearly why England may struggle. They try nothing in attack and therefore make few mistakes or giveaway turnovers. They also rely almost exclusively on Wilkinson to boot them home with greater accuracy, or with more opportunities than the other side. This presents a very real opportunity for punters. Josh Lewsey's try against France was a tremendous piece of opportunism but England's prospects of scoring a try against a team such as South Africa are small. With that in mind, the 9/4 with Sportingbet about Wilkinson scoring all of England's points looks a decent bet. South Africa have been playing pressure rugby for years. The likes of Percy Montgomery hoof the ball up field, and the Springboks rely on the best lineout unit in the world to put pressure on the opposition's throw. When that fails, they employ a frightening blitz defence that enforces turnovers and errors, and they have the perfect counter-attacking foil in Bryan Habana, one of the world's fastest wingers. Make no mistake, there will be territorial kicking galore in this game and it will be a war of attrition for all concerned. Montgomery and Wilkinson will be forced by their captains to take pot-shots at goal, and even the massive boot of youngster Francois Steyn may be employed in the Springboks' own half. Points therefore will be in short supply and on the fixed-odds it may pay to go low, despite the quotes of 37.5. Without a shadow of doubt I believe South Africa will win the final. England have certainly showed these past two weeks that they have the ability to beat teams as good as Jake White's bruisers, but I think with the wily coach Eddie Jones in tow, South Africa have the nous and the know-how to get round England. But I won't be making a call like that. I'll leave that to Stan James. Verdict: 1pt Wilkinson to score all of England's points @ 9/4 (SportingBet) (Editor's Note: If you are English be sure to not let patriotism stand in the way of your punting. England should not win this game as South Africa are the better team. Instead turn your attentions to SportingBet and their Wilkinson bet)