After a short break Sevens Rugby returns to our screens this weekend for the 5th round of the IRB World Rugby Sevens Series.
The players are off to Los Angeles and as things stand New Zealand have a 9 point lead at the top of the table over South Africa with France a further 11 points back in 3rd, England in 4th and Fiji, somewhat surprisingly, in 5th a distant 23 points off the pace.
Looking at the Series Betting, New Zealand are 9/10, South Africa 2/1 and Fiji are still 3rd favourites at 6/1 with 18/1 available about the balance.
Now Sevens Rugby punting is not for everyone, but there are those who take it very seriously and have made good money over the years and in particular in this Series to date.
@Sean_Nicholas and @Son_of_a_Punt both post on the Goodforthegame Forum and can be followed on Twitter and a more knowledgeable combination of Rugby Sevens punters you will not find. They embrace the shorter matches and also that bookmakers do not have a lot of time to analyse the games in between rounds. Rest assured they are sitting waiting at their laptops as the opening handicaps are brought out, making sure they grab the early value.
I am hoping to do a YouTube Show with both of them possibly on Friday night so keep an eye on the Goodforthegame Forum for any announcements in this regard.
Back to the tournament itself and bookmakers are expecting Fiji to bounce back and have priced them as 26/10 favourites with the USA, always strong on home soil, priced at 33/10. South Africa to be backed at 7/2 with New Zealand 4/1 and England at 8/1 and you can get 11/1 and better the balance.
Looking at the Blitzboks chances they have a fairly comfortable group with Kenya, Canada and Ireland and they are 1/12 to win it although both Kenya and Canada have shown they are capable of causing upsets.
So if you are up to it, strap yourself in and get ready to watch and punt on the Los Angeles Sevens for one of the more exhilarating betting experiences you will have.
Look out for World Sports Bettings promo where if you back a team to win before the quarters and they lose in the semi’s you get refunded in free bets – T&C’s apply.
Twitter: @BrentGraham.
This article was written for the CitiGaming supplement of the Citizen Newspaper and was published on the 27 February 2020.
Brent Graham is a blogger on www.goodforthegame.co.za and sends a free weekly e-mail list just CLICK HERE to register