The Rugby Championship concludes at the Gold Coast in Australia this weekend and we take a look at the two matches from a betting angle.
ARGENTINA v AUSTRALIA
Argentina have had a poor Tournament and are still looking for their first win and in fact their narrowest defeat has been the 19 point loss to South Africa in Port Elizabeth in Round 2. Last week they played Australia and there was (-8.5) points available on the hosts, a bet which quickly looked great value as Australia took control of the match eventually winning 27-8.
That was the 3rd successive victory for the Wallabies who also beat South Africa 2 games in a row, by 13 points in Brisbane and by 2 points in the Gold Coast.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Argentina 7/1
Draw 40/1
Australia 1/8
Handicap: Argentina (+15.5) at 9/10, Australia (-15.5) at 9/10
Suggested Bet: Handicap, Australia (-15.5) at 9/10
I haven't seen anything from this Argentina side that makes me think they can stop the rot and I am sure that Coach, Dave Rennie will have the Australians up for this to make sure they end their Rugby Championship on a high. I was initially looking at the -13.5 on offer but while writing this preview the line shifted to -15.5 on the back of news that 5 Argentina players are unavailable due to Covid protocols.
SOUTH AFRICA v NEW ZEALAND
This match takes place after the Argentina v Australia game and South Africa will be looking to halt a 3 match losing run in the competition.
They started 12 point underdogs to the All Blacks last week and while comfortably beating the handicap, they lost the game by 2 points something they would have been disappointed with having put themselves in a position to win. There has been plenty of criticism about the South African strategy both from Springbok and opposition fans and their insistence of kicking good ball away probably cost them the match.
Prior to last week’s defeat, South Africa had gone down by 13 points and 2 points respectively to Australia and back at home they beat Argentina by 20 points and 19 points in the two test matches.
The All Blacks had effectively wrapped up the Rugby Championship Title after 4 matches, but they made it a mathematical certainty last week when they beat South Africa. Prior to that they were too strong for Argentina winning by 23 points in Brisbane and 39-0 at the Gold Coast and their games against Australia also saw comfortable victories by 35 points in Auckland and by 17 points in Perth.
BETTING – Click here to bet
South Africa 4/1
Draw 28/1
New Zealand 2/9
Handicap: South Africa (+10.5) at 9/10, New Zealand (-10.5) at 9/10
Suggested Bet: Handicap, New Zealand (-10.5) at 9/10
The Boks had their opportunity to beat New Zealand last week and they failed to take advantage and I believe they could pay the price for that this week. Some of New Zealand’s errors must be credited to Springbok pressure, but there was no doubt they were slightly off their best and I expect them to come out firing and to win more comfortably this week.
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
