New Zealand can cover the Handicap in beating South Africa and claiming Rugby Championship title

Recommended bet:

Handicap No Draw – New Zealand – 22.5 at 93/100 (1.93) with bet365*

New Zealand take on South Africa in the Rugby Championship at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.

With three wins from three matches to date, the All Blacks go into Saturday’s clash knowing that a bonus point victory will secure another Rugby Championship title with two rounds of games still remaining.

The All Blacks saw off the Pumas 46-24 at Trafalgar Park, Nelson last weekend, with the All Blacks going over for six tries in their victory.  The front row of Karl Tu’inukuafe, Codie Taylor and Owen Franks turned in excellent performances and Shannon Frizell was also superb. 

On the downside, Brodie Retallick (arm) and Ngani Laumape (knee) both had to leave the field early and both will miss the game on Saturday as a consequence of their respective injuries.  With Luke Romano suffering a calf strain the replacement for Retallick against South Africa would be Auckland lock Patrick Tuipulotu.

The Springboks come into the game on the back of two straight defeats on the road against Argentina and Australia, but have a habit of raising their game against the All Blacks that makes them dangerous opposition for Steve Hansen’s team.

They went down 23-18 in Brisbane to Australia last weekend and were decidedly second best after the interval.  There were also 18 Boks possession turnovers and the loss came despite the Wallabies losing key players in David Pocock, Israel Folau and Adam Coleman in the build-up to the game.  That doesn’t bode well when your next opponents are the All Blacks on their own territory.

It almost goes without saying that New Zealand are overwhelming favorites on Saturday, with an All Blacks win available at odds of just 1/20 (1.05) with bet365*.  The Springboks can be backed at 10/1 (11.00) with Palmer Bet.  Should you fancy an unlikely draw, Palmer Bet offer 90/1 (91.00) on the eventuality.

The Handicap No Draw market could be the better option in finding some betting value, with New Zealand looking capable of covering the 22.5 points advantage given to the Springboks at 93/100 (1.93) with bet365*

* Odds correct at the time of writing