The 4 South African United Rugby Championship teams are back in action this weekend and we take a look at the 2 local derbies from a betting angle.
LIONS v SHARKS
This match will take place in Johannesburg and the Lions will be looking to build on their strong performance in Cape Town in December when they beat the Stormers 37-19. There were signs that day that the new coaching staff were beginning to have a positive effect and with the Currie Cup and United Rugby Championship teams separated you cannot read anything in to the heavy defeat against the Pumas in the Currie Cup on Wednesday.
The Lions got their campaign off to a winning start at Zebre, but subsequently lost the other 3 games on Tour.
The Sharks also won their South African Derby back in December beating the Bulls 30-16 in Durban. Like the Lions they had a 1 in 3 record on Tour with their only victory coming against the Ospreys where they won by 14 points.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Lions 7/2
Draw 28/1
Sharks 2/9
Handicap: Lions +10.5 at 9/10
Suggested Bet: Lions +10.5 at 9/10
There has been plenty of money for the Sharks who have named a strong team but I was impressed with the Lions when they won in Cape Town and I think they can challenge the Sharks here.
BULLS v STORMERS
The Bulls take on the Stormers in Pretoria and they will be looking to bounce back from that defeat to the Sharks in Durban.
They were the shortest price of the South African teams going into the Tournament, but currently sit bottom of the South Africa Shield, 6 points behind the table topping Lions. The Bulls won 1 and lost 3 of their Tour matches with heavy defeats to Leinster and Connacht before a 29-19 win over Cardiff. They were a bit disappointing in going down 17-10 to Edinburgh.
Much was expected of the Stormers when they hosted the Lions in December, but they were beaten 37-19 by the Johannesburg team.
Their Tour saw the Stormers win 1, draw 1 and lose 2 and their final match against the Dragons was their highlight when they won 24-10 and the 20-20 draw against Edinburgh was also impressive given they came from 14-0 down.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Bulls 1/4
Draw 28/1
Stormers 33/10
Handicap: Bulls -9.5 at 9/10
Suggested Bet: Bulls -9.5 at 9/10
This should be a great game and the Stormers look capable of hanging with the Bulls but I suspect the home team have the better bench and will pull clear to win by a double point margin
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
