Wales vs France, Rugby World Cup 2019: What time is kick-off tomorrow, what TV channel is it on and what is our prediction?
What is it?
Wales vs France in the first quarter-final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Wales came top of Pool D after beating Georgia, Australia and Uruguay. France came second in Pool C after their match against England was cancelled, despite beating Argentina, Tonga, and USA.
When is the match?
Tomorrow - Sunday October 20.
What time is kick-off?
8.15am (BST) in Oita Stadium, Oita.
What TV channel is it on?
This one is on ITV. You can also follow this game right here with Telegraph Sport.
Follow the full TV schedule for every fixture.
What is the latest squad news?
Wales
Warren Gatland is expected to have a fully-fit 31-man squad to choose from for this quarter-final, with Dan Biggar and Jonathan Davies set to be fit to play after sitting out the win over Uruguay with a head and knee knock respectively.
George North is expected to have recovered from an ankle injury, while Hadleigh Parkes' shoulder injury is not thought to be serious.
Gatland's biggest dilemma will come on the back-row, where hard-hitting Ross Moriarty is likely to miss out as Aaron Wainwright, Josh Navidi and Justin Tipuric aim to pick up where they left off in Wales' biggest match thus far, against Australia in the pool stages.
France
France coach Jacques Brunel will be sweating over the fitness of star duo Antoine Dupont and Damian Penaud, both of whom are reported injury doubts ahead of the match.
According to French media reports, Dupont has bee struggling with a back niggle, with Toulon-bound Baptiste Serin set to start if Dupont cannot recover.
Penaud's injury is reportedly less serious, but the dangerous Alivereti Raka will be the man to step up if the Clermont youngster cannot recover from a stomach strain.
What are they saying?
Wales wing Josh Adams:
France are renowned for being able to turn it on and when they do they’re extremely dangerous. They’ve got some quality players. At times in this competition they’ve looked really, really good.
They definitely pose a threat to us. We have seven days now, which is nice, especially after the four days we’ve just had. That was tough, especially backing up. Me and [Hadleigh] Parksey were sore but we got through it all right and that’s the main thing.
We’re excited now because this is where we wanted to get ourselves to. Top of the pool gives us the best chance of making it all the way.
There is no reason why this group of players can’t achieve something special. We’ve got belief in each other and in the squad and I think we’re all really excited moving forwards now.
France fly-half Romain Ntamack on his side's Six Nations capitulation against Wales:
We must turn it to our advantage. We had a great first half. We put them in trouble. We have to take that as our working base.
But we have to correct things - we only played 40 minutes against them. This time, we'll need to play for 80 minutes - more even. And last 80 minutes.
We start matches strongly, we have the opportunity to kill them off, but we don't and teams come back.
We hold back, our first-half success deserts us. We have to correct that and we'll correct it this weekend.
The goal is to make the same start, last 80 minutes, and if we have the chance, kill off the match. Little things make us depart from our gameplan. We've corrected them so we'll be ready this weekend.
What is the head-to-head record of both sides?
Wales and France have faced each other on 97 previous occasions, the first match taking place in 1908 and Wales just have the edge, winning 50 times.
Wales have won seven of the last 10 meetings, however, with their latest triumph coming in the form of that thrilling comeback at the Stade de France, during the 2019 Six Nations.
What are the betting odds?
Wales to win: 2/5
France to win: 2/1
Draw: 33/1
Read the latest odds for the quarter-final matches.
What is our prediction?
France are volatile and out for revenge - they will be dangerous and Wales will know that. Les Bleus have some superb individuals - on paper they look as good, if not better, than Wales.
Nonetheless, Wales' spirit and gritty determination will be enough to get them through. They have won their only match against 'Tier one' opposition this tournament, where they upped their game impressively, and they will be readying themselves for another World Cup semi-final.
Prediction: Wales 25 France 20
See our latest predictions for the quarter-finals.
