After hitting with a 9/2 treble put up in the newsletter two weeks ago, I was raring to go last week. The problem was that there wasn't much significant rugby to speak of, or certainly nothing that I really fancied betting on. I put my feet up and took the week off, but I'm back today with a bang for what regular readers of the newsletter will know is one of the biggest weekends of the year for me.
This year is perhaps even bigger than usual with the start of the Nations Championship, where we have six Test matches back-to-back, starting with New Zealand v France, which kicks off at 09:10 this morning.
Previews and bets are already up for what I consider to be the three biggest matches, and any additional plays will be posted in the GFTG Forum Thread.
- Click here: New Zealand v France betting preview
- Click here: Australia v Ireland betting preview
- Click here: South Africa v England betting preview
The Handicap
This week's Handicap features Oracle and myself running through the weekend's games.
Just a heads-up that I'm away for the next couple of weeks, so there won't be a live show. I'll try to get some sort of recording out though, as I'll certainly still be following the rugby closely.
Click here to Jump straight to South Africa v England
Click here to jump to Argentina v Scotland where Oracle reckons there is a digit missing on the handicap
Hollywoodbets Durban July
The Hollywoodbets Durban July takes place later today, and I can tell you from the activity on our website that, while the field may not be the strongest in recent memory, the hype around the race is bigger than ever. Full marks must go to the sponsors, Hollywoodbets, for that.
Chris has been incredibly busy on the Goodforthegame website.
- Click here: Latest Durban July betting odds and runner comments
- Click here: Durban July 2026 betting blog
There is also an individual article on every runner on the Goodforthegame home page and here is the dope on Chris’s fancy Native Ruler
There are plenty of bookmakers offering deposit bonuses for the July, so if you're getting involved, make sure you take advantage of one of those offers.
This isn't a July where I have a particularly strong opinion, but I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to Chris and Southpaw in our YouTube preview. We went into detail on the July itself before running through the other nine races on the first ten-race card.
Chris has also highlighted a bet in each of the 12 races in this Full Card Preview.
My Bets
Bet: 0.5 Unit (1-5) Native Ruler to win at 14.29 – Hollywoodbets
Bet: 2 Units (1-5) Swinger 12 & 10 – Hollywoodbets
Tour de France
This year's Tour de France is stacked, although we do have a very short-priced favourite in Tadej Pogacar at 1/4. As the reigning Tour de France and World Champion, it's difficult to see him being beaten, but the beauty of the Tour is that it lasts three weeks and anything can happen.
We also have every stage to look forward to.
- Click here: Stage 1 preview (courtesy of World Sports Betting)
There's also a Yellow, Green and Polka preview for those happy to tie up their money for the next three weeks.
I'm not getting heavily involved in the outright markets, but here are three bets to hopefully keep me interested at tasty prices:
Bet: 0.5 Unit – Last Place: Lipowitz at 16/1
Bet: 1 Unit – Green Jersey: Mads Pedersen at 11/2
Bet: 0.5 Unit – Team Classification: Lidl-Trek at 11/1
All bets are available at World Sports Betting.
Note: As I am away for 2 weeks I am probably not going to do video previews for each stage but will have previews up for the 1st 3 stages on the Goodforthegame You Tube Channel
Nations Championship – Round 1
When the Nations Championship was announced last year, I never paid too much attention and, in all honesty, wasn't expecting to get particularly excited about it. However, the fact that the Northern Hemisphere teams have sent quality squads to the Southern Hemisphere has certainly added to the excitement, and we have six cracking Test matches to look forward to.
A quick word on the format. Northern and Southern Hemisphere teams play cross-conference fixtures, but each conference has its own standings. At the end of the competition, the Northern and Southern Hemisphere teams finishing in the same position on their respective logs meet in playoff matches at Twickenham, first plays first in the final, second plays second, third plays third, and so on.
On Thursday's show I highlighted the South Africa v England points line of 52.5 as my best bet and suggested it would probably open closer to 55.5. As of this morning, I've already seen 57.5, so I'm a little annoyed I didn't get the newsletter out earlier, but this weekend is about so much more than rugby.
My preference, however, is England's team points, which were 18.5 when I wrote the preview. At 20.5 I'm still happy to have a go. I think this game opens up at some stage, and with perfect rugby conditions expected in Johannesburg, I'm backing England to score 21 points or more, which has been achieved by the last 4 visiting teams and also England last time they played in Joburg.
I'm reducing my stake slightly from the preview and changing bookmakers because of the line movement.
Bet: 2 Units (1-5) England Over 20.5 Team Points at 17/20 – PokerBet
Nations Championship and World Cup Accumulator
- Japan v Italy Under 55.5 Points at 10/11
- Australia to beat Ireland at 9/4
- Argentina -8.5 vs Scotland at 1.87
- Mexico to qualify at 23/20
Bet: 0.5 Unit (1-5) Four-fold Accumulator at 16.28/1 – World Sports Betting
You can use the bet code to follow the accumulator: 8150738
FIFA World Cup
I haven't even touched on the World Cup, but Chris has been churning out previews and there's already been plenty of excitement, drama and controversy.
The game I'm most looking forward to is Mexico v England. Although I haven't really got involved in this tournament from a betting perspective yet, I expect to have a bet on that one and will post it in the Forum thread.
You can access all of Chris's World Cup previews on the Goodforthegame home page, including Mexico v England, where he is tipping Harry Kane at a boosted 17/4 to score the first goal with Sportingbet.
It's a monster newsletter for a monster weekend. I can't wait for the action and hope you all have a successful few days' punting.
I'll probably still send the newsletter out over the next two weeks, but if it doesn't arrive, you'll know I'm simply having too much fun on holiday!
Cheers
BG
