Red card the final nail in my coffin
Iam heading to Pietermaritzburg to watch my son play in a rugby festival this weekend and the timing could not be better as I am in desperate need of a break from punting.
This past weekend will go down as my worst yet. I am predominantly a spreads punter as opposed to a fixed odds man and my favourite bet is to buy or go high on match or team shirt numbers. It is a volatile market but over the years, I have ridden out the inevitable lows and have done okay.
I went into this weekend on a poor run and things got ugly early when I bought Waratahs shirts at 82. Despite scoring three tries in the first half, they failed to cross the line against the Kings until after the hooter and the sum total of their try scorer shirts ended on 52 and I lost 30 points.
I continued to leak money all weekend and after sitting through 80 minutes of absolute drivel served up by the Bulls and Cheetahs, I decided to have a “get out of jail” bet in the Sharks game. There was no science to my bet just a desperate attempt to claw back losses and even as I hit the submit button to buy Sharks shirt numbers at 56, I sensed I had made an error.
My stake was larger than usual (because that is what us punters do when chasing losses) and there were worrying signs early as both teams struggled to settle. Things were looking up with the Sharks on the attack and under a penalty advantage when the Sharks centre, whose IQ apparently matches his shirt number, made a dangerous tackle and was red-carded.
The Sharks failed to score a try in what must be a contender for the worst game in Super Rugby history and will definitely go down as the most expensive 80 minutes in my sports betting career.
I have taken a battering but have been on the ropes before and I know I will fight back. First, though, some time away to clear the mind and enjoy some quality primary school rugby.
Brent Graham is a sports betting blogger at
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