New Zealand’s next assignment in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour sees them take on the Sharks in Durban on Tuesday night
Sharks vs New Zealand, Tuesday 11th August, Durban
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (England), Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Weather Forecast – Durban
Sharks:
The Sharks are the second of the four provincial sides to get a crack at the All Blacks after the Stormers put up a gallant performance in a 38-21 defeat in Cape Town last Friday night.
As was the case with the Stormers, who were also without their Bok contingent, the Sharks URC players are in the early stages of pre-season and they have also just recruited All Black Ma’a Nonu who will feature from the bench.
Coach JP Pietersen goes with the proverbial mix of youth and experience but will face an All Blacks side that looks far stronger than the one that faced the Stormers.
New Zealand:
The All Blacks were around -33.5 points on the bookmakers main handicap line for their opening match of the tour against the Stomers in Cape Town on Friday night but it was only late in the game that they put the game to bed with 4 of their 6 tries coming from the 66th minute onwards.
There was bad news on the injury front with Billy Proctor now ruled out of the tour after picking up an injury in the Stormers game after George Bell had suffered the same fate. After this the All Blacks meet the Bulls in their final prep for the first of 4 tests against the Boks. Betting is already out for that first test with the Boks priced up as -7.5 points favourites.
In the Nations Championship New Zealand are second in the Southern Hemisphere behind the Springboks on points difference. They won all 3 of their recent home matches with a bonus point, starting by edging out France 34-32 in Christchurch in what was Dave Rennie’s first game in charge. In Round 2 in Wellington New Zealand put Italy away 47–17 whilst arguably their most convincing display came in Round 3 at Eden Park where they beat Ireland 40–21.
Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Results Fixtures
Friday 7th August, Stormers 21-38 New Zealand (Cape Town Stadium)
Tuesday 11th August, Sharks v New Zealand (Kings Park, Durban)
Saturday 15th August, Bulls v New Zealand (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday 22nd August, 1st test: South Africa v New Zealand (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)
Tuesday 25th August, Lions v New Zealand (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)
Saturday, 29th August, 2nd test: South Africa v New Zealand (Cape Town Stadium)
Saturday, 5th September, 3rd test: South Africa v New Zealand (FNB Stadium, Soweto)
Saturday, 12th September, 4th test: South Africa v New Zealand (Baltimore, USA)
Team News
Sharks: 15 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 14 Donovan Don, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Murray Koster, 11 Litelihle Bester, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton (captain), 7 Manu Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Deon Slabbert, 4 Hendre Stassen, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Nemo Roelofse
Replacements: 16 Liam van Wyk, 17 Rambo Kubekha, 18 Simphiwe Ngobese, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Luan Giliomee, 23 Ma’a Nonu.
New Zealand: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Fehi Fineanganofo, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Kyle Preston, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Luke Jacobson (captain), 6 Tupou Vaa’i, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Josh Lord, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Bradley Slater, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Ethan Blackadder, 20 Semisi Ta’eiloa, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Timoci Tavatavanawai, 23 Emoni Narawa
The Betting
Updated 10 August 12h30
Sharks +38.5 points
New Zealand -38.5 points
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
Betting Update
Posted 10 August 12h33
The early New Zealand -34.5 has disappeared, with -38.5 currently available. That will come as no surprise to Goodforthegame forum punter Jaques who got on the -34.5 early.
I've been a bit slow out of the blocks on this one, so I'm going to wait for the points lines before deciding whether to get involved.
The weather looks miserable in Durban, and that looks set to continue throughout Monday and Tuesday. It will be interesting to see how the bookies price up the points markets given the conditions.
I'll be back with a bet once I've seen the lines and had a chance to give the game some more thought.
Bet: Sharks v New Zealand
Posted 11 August 08h43
Bet: 2 units (1–5) – Sharks under 12.5 points at 9/10 with Hollywoodbets.
The handicap has shifted out a further point to New Zealand -39.5, while the total points line is set at 65.5, and the weather looks very poor for this encounter.
Bad weather is usually a sign for me to look at the underdog's team points, and I was hoping for a line of 14.5. The bookmakers appear wise to that, though, and the highest I've seen is 13.5, at a slightly reduced price.
I'm not expecting penalties, so for me 12.5 and 13.5 are very much the same in this situation, and I'm happy to take the 9/10 available on under 12.5.
I'll be hoping this powerful New Zealand team holds firm on defence and that the weather plays its part.
I will be back this evening with a try scorer play
Bet 2 and 3: Sharks v New Zealand
Posted 11 August 16h47
Bet: 0.5 unit (1–5) – Asafo Aumua, New Zealand first try scorer at 10/1 with PokerBet.
Bet: 0.5 unit (1–5) – Bradley Slater, New Zealand last try scorer at 14/1 with PokerBet.
The logic behind these bets is pretty simple. There are likely to be plenty of rolling mauls in these conditions, and Aumua in particular has a keen eye for a 5 pointer.
He should be off the field later in the game, though, with Slater taking over at hooker, which gives us an interest right through to the final whistle.
Two small speculative plays that don't impact our Sharks unders play.
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
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