Tackling the Odds: Tackling the Odds: European Rugby Finals Special
Here we have it, finally some finals! As European rugby comes to a close we take a look at some of the betting markets for the two finals we have this weekend. there is everything to play for here, wth all sides wanting to stake a claim for stardom – take a look below!
Challenge Cup
Don’t be fooled by this being the 2nd tier of europe, this final has everything to play for with the winner of this final earning themselves a spot in Europe’s top tier next season. Cloucester & The Sharks both sit out of contention to qualify for Europe’s top tier in their domestic leagues.
Gloucester are somewhat of an enigma, they have been the whipping boys in the premiership even though boasting genuine talent like Zach Mercer, Adam Hastings & England’s Jonny May. They took an absolute hammering of 90 points to nil in the Premiership at the hands of Northampton Saints. All in all their form in the premiership almost tells us nothing, they have very much been focusing on Europe when it became clear that the play-offs were very much out of reach. Take a look at their Semi-Final vs Benneton, these boys can play
The Sharks are a serious outfit and have somewhat underperformed in the URC. Similar to Leinster, it doesn’t look like their star studded team always features every week for them. but any side boasting world class springbocks are worth backing. There is almost no point looking at The Sharks form, They have the players that know how to win a few finals 😅. The Sharks number 10 Siya Masuku is a serious player and is certainly getting The South Africans 🇿🇦 excited:
The Verdict
The Sharks are the bookies favourites with their price going at 1.67 at their highest. You can understand why with the team that they can put out. Gloucester are priced at 2.40 at their highest. I would fancy picking Gloucester for this game, given where it is being played and the Likelihood of travelling support. If you still can’t trust Gloucester to get the job done then you may look at a handicap bet to extend the odds on The Sharks at -7.5 you can get odds as high as 2.60 which is certainly not out of reach for the South African side.
The Champions Cup
This is an absolute showdown between two eruopean giants. the tale of two superstars of the game in the form of Antoine Dupont and Jamieson Gibson-Park – I would throw Romain Ntamac in there for good measure as well. this final promises not to dissapoint – we take a look at the teams below.
Leinster are an interesting challenge for this weekend, their form in the URC has not been great dropping down from top of the league to 4th in recent weeks. But much like The Sharks they often don’t feature their best players in the URC. This team will be the all Ireland superstars. Much has been made of Ross Byrne playing at 10 for Leinster, many of the pundits criticising his killer instinct and his ability to kick goals. This is largely negated with Gibson-Parks’ running game often bringing James Lowe into the game. My gut feeling is that Leinster aren’t quite fully cooked this season and may have met their match for this weekend.
Toulouse are a mouthwatering prospect, they are on top form domestically sitting 1st in the Top14 and they boast one of the best players in the game. You can’t help but feel the sheer Competitiveness of the top14 means that Toulouse are arguably in the best shape to win this final. They have such power in their forwards as well, Paeto Mauvaka has guile to go with his power and then Emmanuel Meafou in the 2nd row pairing complementing each other with sheer size and athleticism. I feel like toulouse could really damage this Leinster team with their beastly forwards just feeding off duponts every move.
The Verdict
Surprisingly the bookies have Leinster as the favourites here – Albeit only slightly. Leinster will be found at their highest at 1.91 with Toulouse being at their highest 2.10. I like the look of extending Toulouse’ odds here by putting a handicap of 7.5 points on them, this can extend their odds to 3.75 . whatever happens – this is a mouth watering game, clear your diary – kick off is at 14:45 BST. Follow on with the live scores here.
10Bet
WorldRugbyHub has partnered with 10Bet who offer the best odds for the rugby market. You’ll get 100% of your deposit extended for signing up (up to £50), so follow the links and extend your money – £50 deposit will give you £100 in your account to play with.