The Vodacom United Rugby Championship continues this weekend, and we take a look at the 4 matches involving South African teams, all of which take place on Saturday the 28th of September.
Leinster are 1.66 favourites to win the VURC after round 1 and the Bulls are the shortest priced South African team at 6.00.
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LIONS vs ULSTER – Click here to bet
The Lions failed to make the playoffs last season and they are outsiders at 76.00 to win the URC. They are coming off a strong domestic campaign which saw them top the Currie Cup log but lose last week in the final to the Sharks.
Ulster were in action last week against the Glasgow Warriors and they won a hard fought match 20-19.
Ulster beat the Lions 24-17 in Ulster last year and in 2022 they won a high scoring match 39-37 in Johannesburg.
Handicap: Lions -6.5
BET: Winning Margin – Lions by 8-14 at 3.70
The Lions can put their Currie Cup defeat behind them and beat an Ulster side that will feel the altitude late on.
BULLS vs EDINBURGH – Click here to bet
The Bulls had an extremely successful run in last seasons URC, where they reached the final, but unfortunately fell short against the Glasgow Warriors, losing the match 16-21 at Loftus Versfeld. They also had a good season in the recent Currie Cup, falling out in the semi-finals against the Sharks.
Edinburgh went head-to-head with Leinster at home last week Friday, where the match was extremely tight, but they could not get the job done losing by 2 points, the final score was 31-33.
The last 3 times these sides have met, the Bulls have won 1 game, with Edinburgh winning 2.
Handicap: Bulls -9.5
BET: Handicap Bulls -9.5 at 1.95
The Bulls have a strong squad and should win this by 10 points or more.
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OSPREYS vs STORMERS – Click here to bet
The Ospreys have had a poor start to this season’s campaign after losing away from home, 23-21 to the Dragons who came last on the 2023/2024 seasons log.
The Stormers had a good run last season, and they placed 5th on the log, falling just short of the semi-finals. A number of the players who will be involved in the URC setup have been playing under the Western Province banner in the recent Currie Cup action where they struggled, finishing in second last.
These sides met in April 2022 with the Stormers winning 29-13, they then drew their second match 16 all in October 2022. Their most recent match took place in early 2024 where the Ospreys won 27-21 away from home.
Handicap: Ospreys +2.5
BET: First Half Winning Margin – Stormers by 1-7 at 2.95
I believe the Stormers will come out firing and will hold a narrow lead at the break.
CONNACHT vs SHARKS – Click here to bet
Connacht put up a great fight in their opening game of the season against Munster, who topped the table last season. The game was held last weekend on Munster’s turf, and the result was a 35-33 loss for Connacht.
The Sharks finished in 14th place out of 16 teams last season, however, they are coming off powerful form in the Currie Cup, where they beat the Lions in the dying seconds of the final to lift the trophy.
These sides met twice in the most recent URC season, where Connacht won on both occasions with the first result being 24-12 in Ireland, the second match was much closer, and Connacht won 13-12 in Durban.
Handicap: Connacht -6.5
BET: HT/FT Sharks/Connacht at 5/1
The Sharks can start strongly but the travel and exertions of the last week will take their toll.
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
