The four South African United Rugby sides are in action this weekend and we take a look at all 4 games from a betting angle.

 

 

 

A quick look at the Outright Betting where Leinster remain strong favourites at 5/10 ahead of Munster and Ulster at 5/1.  The South African sides have shortened in the betting though with the Sharks 17/1, the Stormers 22/1, the Bulls 22/1 and unfortunately for Lions fans there is no sign of them in the betting despite 3 successive victories.

Click here for United Rugby Championship Outright Betting

FRIDAY

SHARKS v DRAGONS

The Sharks were disappointing last week when they started 13 point favourites, but lost by 16 points to Edinburgh in wet conditions down in Durban.  That came on the back of fairly comfortable victories over Zebre by 32 points and the Scarlets by 17 points also at home.  That defeat saw the Sharks drop to 8^th on the table behind both the Bulls and the Stormers.

The Dragons are currently 15^th on the log with just 1 win and a draw in their 11 matches.  They were comprehensively beaten 55-20 by the Bulls in Pretoria last week.  While the dragons will enjoy playing at sea level, they will need to up their game considerably if they have any chance of winning this one.

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Sharks 1/100

Draw 70/1

Dragons 20/1

HANDICAP: Sharks -26.5

Suggested Bet:  Handicap, The Sharks (-26.5) at 9/10

The Sharks were poor last week against a good Edinburgh side, but I am backing them to bounce back against a Dragons team that really looks short on class.

 

SATURDAY

BLUE BULLS v ULSTER

The Bulls have won 3 consecutive home matches against overseas opposition starting with a 5 point win over Munster when they nearly let the visitors back in, in the 2^nd half, but the last two weeks have been more convincing with the Scarlets been put to the sword by 45 points and last week the Dragons by 35 points.  The Bulls are now 7^th on the table, 1 point behind the Stormers in 6^th and a point ahead of the Sharks in 8^th.

Ulster are currently 2^nd on the table despite losing 23-20 to the Stormers away last week.  There were plenty of people who felt that they should have won the game with a late try which was disallowed by the TMO.  Ulster would have taken some heart from the performance of Munster back in Pretoria a few weeks ago and this certainly promises to be the Bulls sternest test of recent weeks.

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Blue Bulls 11/20

Draw 22/1

Ulster Rugby 7/4

HANDICAP: Blue Bulls -4.5

Suggested Bet:  Handicap, The Bulls -4.5 at 19/20

Ulster should be a lot stronger than the Scarlets or the Dragons, but the way they have been playing over the last couple of weeks, I think they have every chance of putting this Ulster team away particularly given the altitude factor that should set in, in the second half.

 

LIONS v EDINBURGH

The Lions are 12^th on the table and look to have too much to do to make the playoffs despite having won their last 3 matches.  Last week they were impressive in beating the Ospreys by 30 points in Johannesburg and they had previously come from nowhere to beat Munster 23-21 and also battled their way to a 17 points win over Cardiff at Emirates Airline Park.

Edinburgh were impressive last week against the Sharks where they also benefitted from an early yellow card which many felt could have been a red card against the Sharks.  They won the match 21-5 in very wet conditions and previous games against South African sides this season has seen them draw with the Stormers and beat the Bulls, both of those games at home.  Edinburgh moved up to 5^th on the table still very much in contention for the title.

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Lions 15/10

Draw 22/1

Edinburgh 13/20

HANDICAP: Lions +2.5

Suggested Bet:  Lions win at 15/10

Edinburgh beat the Sharks last weekend, but conditions certainly favoured them and things won’t be the same in Johannesburg where the Lions are no doubt going to try and run them off their feet.  This should be an entertaining, high scoring fixture and I think the Lions are the value to grab a 4^th successive home victory.

 

STORMERS v OSPREYS

The Stormers are currently 6^th on the table and they were made to work hard for their victory last week against Ulster getting up by just 3 points in a low scoring encounter.  The match was much tighter than their previous two games which has seen them beat Cardiff by 37 points and Zebre by 32 points in Cape Town.

Ospreys are currently 9^th on the table and they were badly beaten by the Lions in Johannesburg last week eventually going down 45-15.  Their only other game against South African opposition was a 27-13 home loss to the Sharks.

BETTING – Click here to bet

Stormers 1/33

Draw 60/1

Ospreys 16/1

HANDICAP: Stormers -22.5

Suggested Bet:  Stormers First-Half Handicap, -10.5 at 19/20

I think the Stormers will be too strong for the Ospreys and I am expecting a positive start from the men from Cape Town and prefer the half-time handicap to the 80 minute cap where Ospreys may have a possibility of a consolation try or two.

 

Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change