Bulls look the business

To start this first column of 2021, let me wish my readers a happy and prosperous year and as far as the betting goes, a profitable one, of course. The year started off fairly slowly for me and that is largely due to the lack of rugby, although it has to be said we have had more rugby in January than we usually do, with the Currie Cup group stages having concluded and the semifinals taking place this weekend.

The tournament has been disrupted and for that reason, bookmakers have been reluctant to price up on the outright markets, although I have seen some 8/10 available about the Blue Bulls.

I generally enjoy play-off rugby and have a pretty decent betting record in knock-out games, so I am looking forward to both of this weekend’s matches

The Bulls are firm favourites when they host the Lions on Saturday in the first of the semi-finals and they are currently priced at (-9.5), meaning if you back them on the handicap they have to win by 10 points or more. This handicap is exactly where I thought it would be, but I find myself leaning towards the home team.

Over the years I have researched many play-off games and while most people believe they are usually tight-fought affairs, the opposite is often true as the team that gets ahead can just accumulate points while the team that falls a few points behind finds themselves chasing the game with no bonus points in play.

There will be plenty of other betting markets available, including total and team points.

The other semi-final sees Western Province hosting the Sharks.

Their Super Rugby Unlocked and Currie Cup fixtures were cancelled, so there is no recent headto-head form to go on.

Both sides have been disappointing on the betting front in recent weeks and with the current handicap at Western Province (-4.5) points, I am content to wait until the total points lines for a bet.