The Trans-Tasman Super Rugby Tournament gets going on Friday and we take a look at the 2 matches and suggest a bet in each.
Let’s start with a look at the Outright Betting where the Crusaders are 17/20 favourites ahead of the Blues 6/1, the Chiefs 7/1, the Hurricanes and Highlanders both 8/1 and the rest of the top of the Australian side are 11/1 with 14/1 and better the balance.
Click here for Trans-Tasman Outright Betting
HIGHLANDERS v REDS
The Highlanders finished second from bottom in the Super Rugby Aotearoa Tournament which was completed last week. Their home record doesn’t make the best of reading with 3 defeats and just 1 victory, that coming in their last home match against the Blues where they won by 6 points.
The Reds come into this one as Super Rugby Australia Champions and based on the team selected they are keen to make a statement in this opening game. They won 3 of their 4 away matches in Super Rugby Australia just losing their last one by 3 points in Perth, although at that point they had already booked their spot in the final.
BETTING - Click here to bet
Highlanders 2/7
Draw 30/1
Reds 33/10
Handicap: Highlanders (-9.5) at 9/10, Reds (+9.5) at 9/10
Suggested Bet: Ash Dixon, First Try Scorer at 9/1
The handicap looks well set for me and I think in general the opening weeks scores are going to be quite tough in that market. Ash Dixon, as a hooker, gets plenty of tries and I am hoping for an early penalty to the corner followed by a rolling maul.
WARATAHS v HURRICANES
The Waratahs lost all 8 of their Super Rugby AU matches, but they did show some improvement towards the end of the season with some narrow defeats. Their last game was a home match against the Rebels where they went down 36-25.
Their opponents, the Hurricanes had a disappointing season winning just 2 of their matches and finishing bottom of the New Zealand table. They did end the season on a high though beating the Highlanders 41-22 in Wellington and they only won 1 match on the road and that was against the Highlanders.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Waratahs 14/1
Draw 60/1
Hurricanes 1/25
Handicap: Waratahs (+24.5) at 9/10, Hurricanes (-24.5) at 9/10
Suggested Bet: Alternative Winning Margin, Hurricanes by 21-30 points inclusive at 3/1
This is another handicap which looks to be well set and I can’t bring myself to back either team. The Waratahs are improving, but the Hurricanes should win this comfortably and the speculative play that the final margin is somewhere around the handicap is my call.
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
