South African rugby was dealt another blow this past week with news that local teams would not be able to travel and play in the Rainbow Cup. I will keep my feelings on this decision and the logic behind it to myself but sadly it looks as though we will have to make do with more local derbies for the foreseeable future.
Looming not that far on the horizon though is the British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa and with the Boks not having been in action since they won the World Cup Final back in 2019, you have to wonder about our chances against the tourists who have being playing plenty of top level club and international rugby up in the Northern Hemisphere.
A look at the series betting sees the Lions trading at 13/20 favourites with South Africa 5/4 and you can get the drawn series at 28/1. There are 3 matches, 2 of them take place at altitude which may be the Springboks trump card.
As those who followed my previews in the Rugby World Cup will recall I am well capable of putting aside my patriotic feelings and betting where I think the money is to be made. In the Rugby World Cup Final I was proved expensively wrong as I sat dressed in green with a host of Bok fans but knowing my bank balance would benefit if the team playing in white won. They didn’t and I ate humble pie and may well do so again.
I believe the Boks are going to battle as against a Lions side which in their last tour 4 years ago managed to draw the series against a well prepared New Zealand who went into that series as World Champs.
My advice then is simple, if you are able to stomach betting against the Springboks then take the 13/20 that the British and Irish Lions win the series and wait for July to roll on because I am very confident you will be collecting at the end of the 3rd Test.
On a non-betting related note it is great to see school boy rugby starting up again, but what a pity the parents cannot watch the games, yet there is absolutely no problem with any of us going to sit in the pub. What crazy times we live in!
Twitter: @BrentGraham.
This article was written for the CitiGaming supplement of the Citizen Newspaper and was published on the 22 April 2021.
Brent Graham is a blogger on www.goodforthegame.co.za and sends a free weekly e-mail list just CLICK HERE to register