IT'S Week 13 of the Super Rugby season, and punters can only hope and pray that it’s as lucky as Week 12 was.
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Last week, followers of the Super Rugby Set were farting through silk after our Super Rugby Expert nailed a perfect week – four suggested bets for four wins, and a return of close enough to 200%!
The winners look likely to keep flowing this weekend, so if you’re planning on having a bet on the rugby, you simply cannot be without the Super Rugby Set.
Here are the big questions, and a few early bets, for Week 13.
Can the Waratahs win the title without Kurtley Beale?
Just over a month ago, we called time on the NSW Waratahs’ 2016 season. They had just fallen to a disappointing home loss to the ACT Brumbies, and slumped to third in the Australian conference, with a trip to South Africa on the horizon.
Since then, the ‘Tahs have strung together four impressive victories, beating the Force and Stormers away, and the Cheetahs and Bulls back in Sydney. As it stands, they are sitting pretty on top of the Australian conference, with a game in hand over their nearest rivals, the Brumbies.
But this success has come at a cruel cost. Their mid-field magician, Kurtley Beale, is set to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. Beale is at the centre of so much of the Waratah’s attacking play, and his combination with Bernard Foley and Israel Folau was starting to bristle with menace.
The loss of Beale, and a tough run home sees the Waratahs still as outsiders to take the conference and feature in the finals – they are out to $2.50 to win the Australian conference, with the Brumbies $1.50 favourites.
This weekend, the Waratahs travel to take on the mighty Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch. They are $4.00 outsiders (the Crusaders are $1.24), with the bookies giving them 10.5 points start.
To be honest, the Tahs are likely to need every bit of that start against the Crusaders, and with tough games against the Chiefs and Hurricanes still to come, it’s very hard to see them playing finals footy this season.
EARLY BET: The Crusaders lost just their second game of the season last week, and return home to Christchurch. They should cover the start easily – take them -10.5 at $1.92.
Purchase the full Super Rugby Assessments for Week 13 HERE
Who will finish on top of the Super Rugby Table?
One thing for sure… it will be a New Zealand team!
As we stand, the Chiefs are favourites at $2.75, closely followed by the Crusaders (at $2.63) and Highlanders (at $5.00). The next teams in the betting, the Lions and Stormers from South Africa, are at double figure odds, and the best Aussie team is the Brumbies at $67.00!
That’s reflected in the standings, where the Crusaders, Chiefs and Highlanders are all locked together on 37 competition points, with the Hurricanes one point back on 36 points. However, the Crusaders and Chiefs both have a game in hand over their Kiwi rivals.
The top two teams have very similar runs home – they both play the Waratahs and Rebels, and have Kiwi opposition in the final round – so it could all come down to Week 15 when the two teams face off in Suva, Fiji. That will be a cracking game – put it in the diary now and make sure you’re in front of a TV!
EARLY BET: The Chiefs host the Melbourne Rebels and should be too strong for them. They are $1.19 to win, so take that and roll it into the Crusaders to win. That multi will pay about $1.48 and is money for jam.
This article first appeared on TopBetta