Take a bet on Currie Cup

The Currie Cup has taken a lot of criticism from fans in recent times because it has become diluted due to Bok callups, the Pro 14 and players choosing to make money in countries such as Japan.

You will hear no such moaning from local rugby punters though and the Currie Cup has been extremely profitable for the alert punter. Where there is uncertainty in areas such as team selection, some of the betting movements over the course of a week have been staggering.

This week should be no exception: the game that has captured the imagination of the betting public is the Lions v Cheetahs in Johannesburg. Both sides need to win if they are to guarantee themselves a place in the semi-finals (although a couple of bonus points would do it for the Cheetahs). With motivation levels of both teams high, setting a handicap would usually be straightforward.

When bookies initially came out with Cheetahs +10.5 they probably hadn’t factored in that the Pro 14 was on a break and that the Cheetahs would be playing their Super Rugby side. Punters steamed into the Cheetahs on the handicap and the market was quickly suspended.

As the dust settled, punters now spoke of the Cheetahs starting as favourites – but then news filtered in that some of the Lions Springboks, such as Malcolm Marx and Andries Coetzee, could play. All of a sudden another group seemed keen to back the Lions at the revised line of -5.5 points.

At the time of writing I still have no idea what the betting will look like come kick-off, but I have had a bet on the Cheetahs +7.5.

The other game of interest is the Sharks v WP where the early -6.5 Sharks was snapped up. Punters pointed to the excellent form of the Sharks and the poor away form of WP – but as the line reached 10 points, the plus backers pointed out that the Sharks have nothing to play for.

Roll on the weekend!

Brent Graham is a sports betting blogger at

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