After chalking up a win on tour last weekend the Bulls bid to go in again when they visit Cardiff in Round 4 of the first United Rugby Championship on Friday.
Cardiff v Bulls, Friday 10th November, Cardiff, KO 21:35 (South African time)
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Tom Spurrier (Wales) and Steff Edwards (Wales)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)
Weather Forecast - Cardiff
Cardiff:
Cardiff have won 1 and lost 2 of their matches so far and they have earned 6 log points. They were beaten 31-25 away to the Scarlets in Round 3 and in their only home fixture so far they went down 23-22 at home to Benetton. In between those defeats Cardiff came away from a derby at the Dragons as 16-9 winners.
Against South African opposition last season Cardiff lost at home to the Lions (31-18) but they beat the Stormers 30-24. In South Africa they turned the Sharks over 35-0 in Durban but were thrashed 45-9 by the Bulls at Loftus.
Bulls:
The Bulls broke the duck of South African sides on tour when they beat Zebre 52-29 in Parma in Round 3, scoring 8 tries including a hat trick for David Kriel whilst covering a minus handicap of around 14.5 points.
After starting their campaign with a 63-21 hiding of the Scarlets at Loftus the Bulls were unable to follow up in their first tour match as they went down 26-19 to Ulster in Round 2 where they had to settle for a losing bonus point.
Against Welsh opposition last season the Bulls were 43-26 winners at home to the Ospreys and 45-9 victors at home to Cardiff. In Wales they beat the Dragons 29-14 but they went down to the Scarlets 37-28.
The Bulls finished Round 3 in third spot with 11 log points, 1 point behind Munster and 2 shy of Connacht. In the outright betting the Bulls are 13.5/1 shots to win the tournament with BoyleSports
Team News
Cardiff: 15 Jacob Beetham, 14 Harri Millard, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Mason Grady, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Lopeti Timani, 7 Ellis Jenkins (captain), 6 Alex Mann, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Teddy Williams, 3 Rhys Litterick, 2 Efan Daniel, 1 Corey Domachowski.
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Rhys Carré, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Arwell Robson, 23 Cameron Winnett
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 David Kriel, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Mpilo Gumede, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Nizaam Carr (c), 5 Janko Swanepoel, 4 Reinhardt Ludwig, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Cameron Hanekom
The Betting
Cardiff +7.5 points at 9/10
Bulls -7.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
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This handicap opened Cardiff +9.5 and there has been some support for the home team.
The Bulls impressed last week against Zebre and they had some good patches against Ulster the week before. They should be too strong for Cardiff although the handicap looks well set.
A couple of plays I like are over 51.5 points and the Cardiff/Bulls HT/FT
Points have flowed in a couple of the Bulls games already and there were 56 in the Welsh derby between the Scarlets and Cardiff last week. The 51.5 just feels low.
Stay close to our forum thread for more bets
BET: 4 units Over 51.5 points at 9/10 at WSB
The Bulls have made a few changes and the bench stands out as particularly stacked. Cardiff to lead at the break and the Bulls to come back and win it is priced at a tempting 5/1.
BET: 1 unit HT/FT Cardiff/Bulls at 5/1 at Boylesports*
*Read why Boylesports is a must have account for rugby punters & Click Here To Open An Account @Boylesports
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
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