The All Blacks tour continues this weekend, with New Zealand travelling up to the Highveld to take on the Bulls at Loftus and we look at the match from a betting angle.
This is the All Blacks’ last hit-out before their first Test against South Africa next weekend, so we can expect them to take this fixture very seriously as they finalise combinations and get themselves match-sharp.
The Bulls have named an extremely strong squad of their own, packed with South African internationals and franchise veterans, and Loftus is a notoriously tough venue to travel to. It should be a great game to watch and even more exciting with some skin in the game.
Test Series Betting
Ahead of next weekend’s first Test between the two sides, the outright market for the four-Test Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series is beginning to shape up. South Africa are unsurprisingly heavy favourites at just 1.36, backed by their status as world number one and the fact that three of the four Tests will be played on home soil. New Zealand are out at 8.50 to win the series, while the draw is priced at 4.25. The market clearly expects South Africa to lift the silverware, however the draw price offers a bit of intrigue given how tight Test matches between these two sides have traditionally been.
South Africa 1.36
New Zealand 8.50
Draw 4.25
Click here for outright betting on Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry
Vodacom Bulls
The Bulls had a solid season in the URC as they were able to reach another grand final, but fell short losing to Leinster in Dublin. They have been taking part in the Currie Cup with a younger squad, but things haven’t been going very well there, losing their first four matches. The one thing that continues to stand out for the Bulls is their home-ground advantage. They had won their last five matches at home before heading to Glasgow for the URC playoffs.
Although the Bulls have a number of players away in the South Africa camp, they have still managed to name probably the strongest side of any of the franchises to have faced New Zealand so far on this tour. The team is packed with South African internationals alongside veteran players who have been with the franchise for years, and they will fancy themselves at home in front of what will hopefully be a big Loftus crowd.
Starting XV: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Thaakir Abrahams, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Hanro Liebenberg, 6 Marcell Coetzee (c), 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Francois Klopper, 2 Juann Else, 1 Alu Tshakweni
Replacements: 16 Jaundre Schoeman, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Khuta Mchunu, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Katlego Letebele, 23 Hakeem Kunene
New Zealand
After a tough first game against the Stormers, New Zealand had a much smoother ride against the Sharks during the week. They put on a brilliant display in extremely tough conditions to win the game 54-0. Their game against the Stormers saw them win 38-21 in Cape Town. They have now won their last six games in a row across all competitions.
New Zealand have made a number of changes to their side again for this weekend’s game. Another mixture of experience and youth has been named, with the visitors still clearly building depth ahead of the Test series. Codie Taylor will captain the side for the first time on tour.
Starting XV: 15 Beauden Barrett; 14 Leroy Carter, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Josh Moorby; 10 Josh Jacomb, 9 Cortez Ratima; 8 Peter Lakai, 7 Anton Segner, 6 Simon Parker; 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Fabian Holland; 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor (capt), 1 Xavier Numia
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 George Bower, 18 Siale Lauaki, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Wallace Sititi, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Timoci Tavatavanawai, 23 Emoni Narawa
Betting and Verdict
New Zealand are heavy favourites again this week, with the bookies having them trading at 1.01 for the win. The Bulls are currently at 13.00 while the draw is at 56.00.
The handicap is New Zealand -30.5.
New Zealand looked really strong against the Sharks on Tuesday, but they have named a completely different side this weekend and will also face a much tougher beast. The Bulls have made Loftus a bit of a fortress over the last few years, losing only two of their last ten home games in the URC. We do think we will see another win for New Zealand, however we don’t think they will be able to cover the huge handicap of 30.5 points against a strong Bulls side on home turf.
Suggested bet: Handicap, Bulls [+30.5] at 1.87.
One thing we do expect is that we are going to have a high-scoring game. We often see this at Loftus, with the Bulls running in plenty of tries while also letting a few in themselves. Both teams will be looking to attack, and with what almost always happens in the Highveld is that legs get tired and the game inevitably opens up in the second half.
Suggested bet: Total points over 65.5 at 1.87.
Click here for betting on Bulls v New Zealand match
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
