The Bulls host Benetton in the United Rugby Championship at Loftus on Saturday and the home side are firm favourites to strengthen their position towards the top of the standings.
Bulls v Benetton, Saturday 18th May, Pretoria, KO 14:00 (South African time)
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa) and Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa)
TMO: Mike Adamson (South Africa)
Weather Forecast – Pretoria
Bulls:
The Bulls come into the penultimate round of the regular season in fourth place on the log with 11 wins and 5 defeats. Their tally of 56 log points is 4 shy of Glasgow Warriors who are top, Leinster are second on 59 points and Munster third on 58.
In Round 16 the Bulls saw off Glasgow Warriors 40-34, a game they led 37-10 at one stage and although they landed a bonus point Glasgow also left with 2 points.
The Bulls went down 27-22 to Munster in Round 14, their only home defeat this season. One earlier match against Italian opposition saw the Bulls beat Zebre 54-29 in Parma in Round 3.
After this the Bulls finish the regular season away to the Sharks. In the outright betting the Bulls are now 6/1 second favourites to win the tournament with BoyleSports who make Leinster 6/10 shots
Benetton:
Benetton are currently eighth in the URC standings with 10 wins, 1 draw and 5 defeats, they still have to visit Edinburgh after this but they do have 4 points worth of daylight over Connacht and the Lions who are also chasing a play off spot.
Last week Benetton edged out the Sharks 25-24 in Durban. They came back from 12-3 down and scored the winning try in the 78th minute against a Sharks side who's focus is on the forthcoming Challenge Cup final.
In earlier matches against South African opposition Benetton beat the Lions 15-10 and the Stormers 20-17 in home fixtures in Rounds 3 and 4.
Benetton are priced at 44/1 to win the URC title with BoyleSports
Team News
Bulls: 15 Willie Le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Sebastian de Klerk
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Ignacio Brex, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Leonardo Marin, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Sebastian Negri, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Eli Snyman (C), 4 Scott Scrafton, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Destiny Aminu, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Edoardo Iachizzi, 20 Toa Halafihi, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Marco Zanon
The Betting,
Bulls -18.5 points at 9/10
Benetton +19.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
Money came for the Bulls this week with the handicap having opened -18.5 pushing it to -20.5. It seems to have come back in though and -18.5 is once again available.
The points line is set at 59.5 and while that looks high I am not sure it is high enough. I think this could be an open game if the Bulls chase a bonus point win and I think that Benetton would be content to take a 4 try bonus point home with them.
The Bulls two most recent home games have had 74 points (Glasgow) and 85 points (Ospreys) and I think that over 59.5 is a play.
I can’t find a price on Bulls total points at this stage, although expect it to be around 40.5 and I actually prefer that and I will post any additional bets in our Forum thread.
BET: 5 Units, over 59.5 points at 9/10 at Pokerbet
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Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
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