BLUvCHIThe Force face an uphill task in Round 11 of Super Rugby Pacific when they host the log leading Blues in Perth on Friday

 

 

 

Force v Blues, Friday 29th April, Perth, KO 14:00 (South African time)

 

Referee: Angus Gardner
Assistants: Graham Cooper, Jordan Kaminski
TMO : Kyle Burnett

 

Weather Forecast – HBF Park, Perth

 

Force:

 

The Force were due to take on Moana Pasifika in the Super Round last week but the game was postponed due to a Covid outbreak in the Force camp.

 

The early betting for their most recent outing at home to the Tahs suggested it would be a close call but the Force, who were understrength, were never in it and eventually went down 41-24.

 

Earlier the Force had been involved in some real nail-biters, losing 22-21 to the Reds, they also lost to the Brumbies by a single point (39-38) and they edged out

Fijian Drua (20-18)

 

The Force come into the round with a record of 2 wins and 6 defeats and they have 13 log points.

 

Blues:

 

The Blues were around 30 point favourites for their clash with Fijian Drua in Melbourne last week. They eventually won the game 35-18 and secured a bonus point but the performance was below par compared to previous weeks which included a 25-0 win away to the Chiefs and their first victory over the Crusaders (27-23) in Christchurch in 18 years.

 

The Blues only defeat so far came in an amazing game (33-32) against the Canes who scored 3 tries in the final 10 minutes in what was the Blues first action of the tournament. Since then the Blues have reeled off 8 straight wins and after last weekend's results they topped the standings, 1 point ahead of the Brumbies and 3 better off than the Crusaders.

 

In the outright betting the Blues are now trading at around 7/4 to win the tournament, second favourites behind the Crusaders who are 13/8.

 

Team News (subject to change)

 

Force: Tom Robertson, Feleti Kaitu'u (c), Santiago Medrano, Ryan McCauley, Izack Rodda, Fergus Lee-Warner, Kane Koteka, Ollie Callan, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, Reesjan Pasitoa, Manasa Mataele, Bayley Kuenzle, Kyle Godwin, Toni Pulu, Jake Strachan/Jake McIntyre

 

Reserves: Andrew Ready, Bo Abra, Greg Holmes, Jeremy Thrush, Tim Anstee, Alex Masibaka, Ian Prior, Richard Kahui

 

Blues: Alex Hodgman, Kurt Eklund, Ofa Tuungafasi, Luke Romano, Sam Darry, Akira Ioane, Dalton Papalii (c), Anton Segner, Finlay Christie, Beauden Barrett, Caleb Clarke, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Bryce Heem, AJ Lam, Zarn Sullivan

 

Reserves: Ricky Riccitelli, Karl Tu'inukuafe, Marcel Renata, James Tucker, Adrian Choat, Taufa Funaki, Tanielu Tele'a, Jacob Tatumaitavuki-Kneepkens

 

 

The Betting Need to open an account? Claim your 1st deposit bonus of up to R2,000 here

 

Force +23.5 points at 9/10

Blues -22.5 points at 9/10

 

Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.

 

Betting Angle

 

I handicapped this game at +14.5 Force so my initial thought was to back the home team on the handicap. The Conductor pointed out on last night’s The Handicap Rugby Betting Show that there had been COVID issues in the camp and I am instead going to focus my attention on the points line of 57.5. The other guest on last night’s show, Patches nearly fell off his chair when he saw the line and makes this one of his better bets for the weekend. The Force are renowned as a team that can hold possession for long periods and this line looks 3 or 4 points too heavy.

 

Bet: 5 Units under 57.5 points at 17/20 at SportingBet

 

Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.

 

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