The 2016 Rugby Championships started with a bang as the Wallabies were embarrassed on home soil whilst the Pumas almost caused a massive upset. Continue reading for our Rugby Championships Round 2 Preview and Betting Tips.
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New Zealand vs Australia (Saturday 5.35pm AEST)
The Wallabies started the match strongly by taking the lead through the boot but that was just about as good as it got for the Australians. The All Blacks demonstrated their superiority by taking a huge lead into the half time break and they cruised through the second half to earn a 42-8 victory. Throughout the match the Wallabies never looked threatening with the ball in hand as every time they would spread it the All Blacks had numbers in defence and were able to put pressure on the ball. It definitely didn’t help the situation that Matt Giteau was forced from the field inside the opening 10-minutes due to an ankle injury. It definitely wasn’t their night when his replacement Matt Toomua suffered a concussion and then Rob Horne injured his elbow to force scrum half Nick Phipps onto the wing for the remaining 50-minutes. Giteau and Horne are both likely to be ruled out for the remainder of the championship, which will further test the Wallabies depth.
The All Blacks were constantly looking dangerous and always seemed to have the numbers when they had the ball in hand. Their slick passing from every player allowed them to capitalise on these opportunities as they punished the Wallabies for failing to convert on their set pieces. The line has moved from -6 last week to -19.5 this week to demonstrate how dominant their performance was. We believe the All Blacks will be able to get past that line as they are a couple of levels above the competition.
TIP: New Zealand -19.5 @ $1.90 with Sportsbet
Argentina vs South Africa (Sunday 5.40am AEST)
The South Africans were far from convincing in their match against the Argentinians last week as it took a Warren Whiteley try two-minutes from time to earn the victory. It was a good comeback though as the Springboks trailed by 10-points with 10-minutes remaining before they final kicked into gear and were able to seal the four-competition points.
The Pumas will consider themselves very unlucky to have suffered the loss as they were the better side for the majority of the match. The side needs to learn how to close a match out though as it was their errors and fumbles in the final minutes that prevented their victory and perfect start to the 2016 Rugby Championships.
The Pumas should be able to take a lot of confidence out of the match despite the loss and they will be backing themselves to get the job done on home soil. However, it will be a wake up call for the Springboks too and if they are able to take a more attacking approach into the match from the outset they should be able to get a lead and show their class throughout the remainder of the contest to earn another narrow victory.
TIP: South Africa 1-12 @ $2.55 with William Hill
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
