New Zealand’s Blues a good early bet for glory

Rugby build-up has been low key and I wouldn’t argue with that, but with just over a week to go until kick-off, the bookmakers are starting to come out with some tempting markets.

New Zealand teams dominate the betting with the first four on the betting boards, with the Lions at 17/2 the only other team quoted in single figures.

It is in the NZ conference where I am going to have an early interest. Those who have followed me on Twitter and on the Goodforthegame forum over the years will know I have a soft spot for the Blues and while they consistently let me down, a recent post on our forum has got me thinking that this could at last be their year.

They are rank outsiders for the conference at 22/1 and I just can’t resist a nibble at that price although my main bet is going to be that they finish ahead of the Brumbies in the regular season and you can get 12/10 on that outcome.

On to the South African conference and here the Lions are strong favourites at 5/10, but I wonder if that isn’t a bit too short given they have lost some key players.

I was initially eyeing the Sharks for a strong run and they are just under 10/1.

Despite losing their match on the weekend, I was quite impressed by the Bulls and my early interest will be on them to win the SA conference at 13/2.

The Sharks are 8/10 to beat the Jaguares in the regular season and I will have a sizeable portion of my pre-season stake on that one.

Brent Graham is a sports betting blogger at

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