Tackling the Odds: Rugby Tipster 17/05/24

Rugby Recap

The Rugby Tipster Story of the week has got to be the 90 point drubbing suffered by Gloucester to Northampton Saints. Gloucester have been poor this season in the premiership but the irony is that they could still qualify for the Champions Cup next year should they beat The Sharks in the Challenge Cup final. The premiership is looking quite tasty in its final round this weekend with 7 teams still in the run in to secure the 4 play off spots. Bristol, Exeter & Harlequins all equal of 49 points – bonus points and points difference could be critical. Outside of that Super Rugby was pretty interesting, the learnings very much that you shouldn’t bet on the Crusaders who lost to The Highlanders. The Blues pinched top spot from The Hurricanes which was a helluva steal. In the URC has two rounds left before the play offs. Munster look in top from winning 5 out of their last 5 games – check out the line-out take below from Peter O’Mahoney for the purists out there!

The Top14 all went more or less as expected. With 3 rounds to go it looks like there are 3 or 4 play off spots up for grabs which could impact how much effort some of those teams further down the table put in. Perpignan in particular look in good form winning 4 out of their last 5 matches. Bordeaux Begles also look to be peaking at the right time, some bets going on those two

The weekend ahead

Premiership

The Final round! Bristol & Sale are in fine form but they need results to go their way. Bath have a tough gig against top of the table Northampton Saints but a really important game if they want a home Semi-Final. Harlequins vs Bristol will surely have over 50 points in that game if you fancy an over and under bet. Leicester are out of the running but will put up a strong effort for their last home game against Exeter who have all to play for – watch out for a motivated Exeter side. Saracens vs Sale you would think Alex Sanderson has a few tricks against his former club. Saracen’s have Owen Farrell who is their very own cheat code. Gloucester vs Newcastle isn’t much worth writing about – dead rubber!

Super Rugby

The ever unpredictable Super Rugby! There is definitely a league within a league developing here – 1st v 2nd, 3rd & 4th and then the 8th spot is really up for grabs by the bottom teams. The Brumbies & The Chiefs are in good form outside of top of the table Auckland Blues. I’m most interested by the bottom teams fighting for the 8th play off spot. The Western Force looks an intwresting bet against bottom of the table Waratahs. The Rebels have an outside chance of beating Waikato Chiefs given they’re at home and reasonable form. Fijian Drua have superb home form who host The Reds. This weekend is tough to call.

Top14

The Top14 continues to amaze at how strong teams are on their home patch. As mentioned, Bordeaux Begles look in great form with Damien Penaud beating defenders for fun. The teams that look fairly unbeatable at home are: Toulouse, La Rochelle, Toulon, Lyon, Stade Francais, Bordeaux Begles, Castres & Pau. I know it’s stating the obvious a bit but any of these teams playing at home will be hard to beat. Racing Metro are remarkably high up the table with such poor recent home form.

URC

Two more rounds to go! Leinster & Glasgow tied at the top of the table on 58 points, you feel Leinster rather dropped the ball somewhat, however you know how easy it is for them to bring in their big guns. Again this week the interesting match ups are those fighting to make the play-offs Connacht, Lions & Ospreys all sitting just outside but with a fighting chance. Edinburgh, Ulster & Treviso all equal on 48 points. Coincidentally, none of these teams are playing each other this week.

Predictions

In order of play:

Hurricanes @1.03
Chiefs @1.10
Munster @1.66
Scarlets @1.89
Brumbies @1.40
Blues @1.08
Western Force @1.85
Toulouse @3.40
Bayonne @1.20
Clermont @1.20
Lyon @1.44
Toulon @1.22
La Rochelle @1.10
Bath @1.44
Gloucester @1.11
Harlequins @1.44
Exeter @1.57
Saracens @1.22
Bulls @1.08
Ospreys @1.11
Glasgow @2.12
Stormers @1.53
Sharks @1.75
Leinster @2.12
Stade Francais @1.57

In case you are not caught up on the rugby action, check out our roundup of the rugby highlights from last weekend here. Remember, we’re working in partnership with 10Bet to offer a combination of the best odds and the best new sign-up bonus for rugby union. 10Bet provide odds for all the major rugby competitions every week. Simply click the link below to benefit from a 100% sign-up bonus