CAPE TOWN – Go big on the Springboks and you will win big this weekend.
Last weekend was a ripper for me. If you followed the advice of the Boks to win comfortably with double digits against the Wallabies in Johannesburg, and the Pumas to be within one score against the All Blacks, then you would have seen the cash reward.
I always felt the bookies had both games wrong last weekend, especially when analyzing the All Blacks’ squad of 23. They were never going to hammer an in-form Jaguares Super Rugby side playing as the national Pumas.
I wrote a week ago that it would be very close and that it wouldn’t be a shock if the Pumas beat the All Blacks for the first time in history.
The game played out as I expected and with a bit of good fortune, the Pumas could have won it in the final play of the game.
I really enjoyed the performance of the Springboks. They played with enthusiasm, energy and intelligence. Both teams were underdone in the first half but the Boks turned it on in style in the second.
They dominated territory and possession 80 to 20 percent and this was reflected on the scoreboard.
I like what I am seeing in Rassie Erasmus’s approach and the display in Johannesburg certainly would have put the heat on those who start against the All Blacks.
The respective All Blacks and Springbok victories showed the depth of both squads because only three players remain from last weekend’s two starting XVs.
It’s wonderful to experience the confidence of the South African players. The 36-34 win in Wellington a year ago was massive for the Springboks.
There is conviction when the players talk about the possibility of beating the All Blacks in New Zealand because those doing the talking have been there and done it.
I haven’t sensed any arrogance from the Springboks and they have come across as a group of players who believe they are good enough to win.
Of the match 23, 17 proved it a year ago and I believe they will do it again.
The Springbok team that will play against the All Blacks on Saturday in Wellington. #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/WuH28qPkEr
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 25, 2019
I have the Boks to win by a point in Superbru and I am putting R2000 on the Springboks’ 10.5 plus spread.
In layman terms, I am betting that the Boks won’t lose by more than 11 points and this will get me R3800.
Only one point has separated the two teams in the last three match-ups and that is how it should be in the game’s greatest rivalry.
It was a remarkable turnaround from the Springboks last year, given that they had twice in succession conceded 57 points to the All Blacks in 2016 and 2017.
The All Blacks have been magnificent in the last decade but I sense an era coming to an end for the men in black’s World Cup heroes of 2011 and 2015 and a new dawn for the men in green.
⚡️ FLASHBACK | Who remembers this one-point thriller between the All Blacks and Springboks from 2017? Will it be just as close in Wellington this weekend? #NZLvRSA #BACKBLACK pic.twitter.com/zWc9lJN7Mt
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) July 25, 2019
The Jaguares have a brilliant Super Rugby record in Australia.
They haven’t lost there in 2018 and 2019. They are the Pumas in another guise, so they won’t be lacking in confidence.
Still, I don’t think they will win and I don’t think they will cover the 5.5 plus spread.
I have the Wallabies to win by six or more points and am putting down R2000 to win back R3800.
*Kevin Ferguson is Highbury Media CEO and a leading sports betting authority in South Africa.