British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009

[Wumpking]

Match 1 - Royal XV v Lions (30 May 2009 -14:00 BST, 15:00 local time - Royal Bafokeng, Rustenburg) The B&I Lions tour kicks off this Saturday with a match against a Royal Highveld XV team comprising of mainly players from the Griquas team that won the Vodacom Cup (considered to be the 3rd tier of rugby in South Africa behind S14 and the Currie Cup). The B&I Lions have named a strong side / bench and are huge favourites to win this opening game. Current best odds: Royal XV - 21.0 B&I Lions - 1.04 Draw - 101.0 On the handicaps, the B&I Lions can be backed at 1.90 with a -30 points start. I fancy that the game will be relatively close during the first half but then the strength of the Lions (partic the bench) will enable them to pull away during the latter stages of the game. Bet for me therefore is: 5pts on B&I Lions (-30) @ 1.90 with Stan James

[kevshat]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Nice work Wumpy :ok. Very few sporting events are bigger than a Lions tour. This thread is deffo getting stickied mate. Good luck with this bet, and all those which will come on the tour mate :ok

[TheRat]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Can't wait for the tour Good luck with your bets

[Wumpking]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009

Nice work Wumpy :ok. Very few sporting events are bigger than a Lions tour. This thread is deffo getting stickied mate. Good luck with this bet' date=' and all those which will come on the tour mate :ok[/quote'] Cheers guys. I've been looking forward to this tour for ages. The B&I Lions have got a lot to overcome (new side coming together, relatively small squad, injuries, playing at altitude, several tough matches against S14 opposition) but I'm optimistic they'll do well.

[bartonbank]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Well, having watched the game, twice, I am glad I didn't get involved, betting wise, even if I was kicking the imaginary cat. A disjointed performance saved by the NH's best full back, Lee Byrne. A back three that didn't function at the break down and, in Earls, a realisation that Shanklin's injury and absence could hurt the Lions as he is Test back up. Blair showed why he had a poor 6N but had no help from Wallace, who may be a test flanker but is not a No 8. Perhaps the most important thing to take out of this, though, is that any punter must know the identity of the ref. The Saffer today was embarrassing. The Royals front row regularly stood upright (penalty but never given), the scrum wheeled 180 (change of put in, never happened) and flankers leaving the scrum before the scrum had ended (penalty, never given). There should or could have been 3 yellow cards for the Royal scrum but there was barely a penalty. This is not sour grapes, as the team raised their game, but FFS the official has to apply the laws!

[TheRat]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 I don't don't think it's too much cause for concern, as long as we slowly get better in the warm up matches Bound to be a bit more disjoined to start with

[Wumpking]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Not a great start for the Lions or for my bets! Too many knock ons and turnovers, lacklustre defence at times and some poor tactical decision making. Match 2 - Golden Lions v Lions (3 June 2009 -18:10 BST, 19:10 local time - Ellis Park, Johannesburg) The 2nd match of B&I Lions tour kicks off tomorrow with a game against Super 14 opposition. The Golden Lions finished 12th in the S14 this season winning 4 and losing 9 (with 3 from 7 wins at home). They have a new manager following the previous coach leaving under controversial circumstances and are missing their key player as well as a number of first choice forwards. There have also been rumours of a players strike for this game. The B&I Lions have named a strong side containing many likely test starters. The scrum should be dominant. There are a number of forwards who can carry the ball well. Jenkins and Wyn Jones are very aggressive tacklers with extremely high work rates. Phillips and Jones will be a solid halfback pairing used to each others game play. Roberts and O'Driscoll will be potent in the centre whilst Monye is lightening quick. The B&I Lions are again heavy favourites to win this game. Current best odds: Golden Lions - 6.0 B&I Lions - 1.22 Draw - 34.0 On the handicaps, the B&I Lions can be backed at 1.90 with a -13 points start. Although this is a step up in class, I do think the B&I Lions will this comfortably. Bet for me therefore is: 5pts on B&I Lions (-13) @ 1.90 with Blue Square S14 matches involving the Golden Lions have been high scoring, averaging 53 points this season. Providing the team gels together, the B&I Lions have the potential to put a lot of points on the board here from both the boot of Jones and the try scoring ability of the backs. As such, I am also going to have a small punt on the spreads for this match and: 0.5pts Buy of B&I Lions points @ 31.5 with extrabet.com 0.5pts Buy of B&I Lions shirts @ 38 with extrabet.com

[SteveO]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 -13 bet up comfortably already Wumpking. I went out on my bike and forgot all about this match did fancy a bit at -13 but there'll be plenty more matches. WP Wumpking.

[kevshat]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Good work tonight Wumpy, hope you made a few quid on those spreads as well :ok.

[Wumpking]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009

WP Wumpking

Good work tonight Wumpy, hope you made a few quid on those spreads as well :ok

Cheers guys. Tonight has been one of my best outcomes ever on a single rugby match. The make up on the B&I Lions points was 74 whilst the B&I Lions shirts was a staggering 132 (a total greatly helped by the 2 late tries by Hook wearing 21 and Ferris wearing 18 - I was certainly cheering loudly as these went in to say the least!). I'm using stakes of £10 a point so netted a profit of £45 on the fixed odds handicap bet, £212.50 on the points spread and £470 on the shirts spread. Overall for the tour so far (albeit only 2 games played), I'm showing a profit of £677.50 and a yield of 151.4%. Well happy :D

[Wumpking]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Match 3 - Free State Cheetahs v Lions (6 June 2009 -14:00 BST, 15:00 local time - Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein) The 3rd match of the tour sees the Lions play S14 opposition again. The Cheetahs finished bottom of the S14 winning only 2 games from 13 matches (with 2 wins from 6 at home). The Cheetahs side is settled with only their usual captain missing due to being selected for the Springboks squad. Although this does not look on paper as strong as the Lions side that played on Wednesday, the Lions have named a powerful pack and a set of backs who have the potential to be very dangerous. Again the B&I Lions are heavy favourites for this match: Current best odds: Free State Cheetahs - 7.0 B&I Lions - 1.16 Draw - 34.0 On the handicaps, the B&I Lions can be backed at 1.90 with a -14 points start. Although a tougher game, I do think this will be another win for the B&I Lions so bet for me is: 5pts on B&I Lions (-14) @ 1.90 with Skybet

[Drogba's Bitch]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Match 4 - British & Irish Lions v Sharks Wed 10/6/09 This is the strongest team on tour so far and i don't think it will be far off the test team. Like others i am quite surprised that geechan has picked this side on the mid week game. Thought it would be Sat that we got our first look at the near test side. Shane Williams is getting another chance to get his test shirt, this time outside O'Driscoll and Jamie Roberts, surely the test centres. Imo if he dont have a pretty good game then that will be it for him, at least for the 1st test. Lee Byrne is probably holding the 15 jersey and it is his to lose. Fly half is still up for grabs and i think all 3 still have a chance. Hook had a good game on Sat and offers us something different. Jones and O'Gara are quite simular in there game but for me i would give Jones the nod. At scrum half Phillips gets another outing. I think we need his muscle in the test side, like having a 9th forward. A good game could confirm it for him. Dont think Blair stands a chance of getting the test jersey, to be honest i was quite surprised he got the call ahead of Peel. Ellis could be in with a shout and has played pretty well so far but really feel we will need Phillips in there. The forwards look pretty set aswell. In the front row Jones would be the only one i wouldn't have in. Not really done much wrong but would probably have Vickery infront of him. The second row looks good to me. O'Connell and Jones i think will be our test second row combination. As captain O'Connell is gonna be a definate but the second place still could be up for taking with it likely being between Jones and Hinds to be paired with him. The back row is pretty open imo. But this would be my choice. Ferris would have been in and was looking very good till the sad news today. Ryan Jones has got the call up but will definately struggle to get acclimatised in time for the 1st test. Croft has had a couple of good games so far and another tomorrow could cement him in. Not a big fan of Worsley but i think Williams will push them all the way. British & Irish Lions Team: L Byrne (Ospreys & Wales); S Williams (Ospreys & Wales), B O'Driscoll (Leinster & Ireland), J Roberts (Cardiff Blues & Wales), L Fitzgerald (Leinster & Ireland); R O'Gara (Munster & Ireland), M Phillips (Ospreys & Wales); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues & Wales), L Mears (Bath & England), A Jones (Ospreys & Wales), A-W Jones (Ospreys & Wales), P O'Connell (Munster & Ireland) (Captain), T Croft (Leicester & England), D Wallace (Munster & Ireland), J Heaslip (Leinster & Ireland). Replacements: M Rees (Scarlets & Wales), P Vickery (Wasps & England), S Shaw (Wasps & England), J Worsley (Wasps & England), M Blair (Edinburgh & Scotland), R Flutey (Wasps & England), L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues & Wales) Sharks: S Terblanche; C Jordaan, A Strauss, R Swanepoel, L Vulindlu; M Dumond, R Kockott; D Carstens, S Badenhorst, J du Plessis, S Sykes, J Muller (capt), J Botes, J Deysel, K Daniel. Replacements: C Burden, P Cilliers, A van den Berg, M Rhodes, C McLeod, G Cronje, L Mvovo. The sharks are normally a very strong side but have been hit by 8 springbok call ups. John Smit, Bismarck du Plessis, Ryan Kankowski, Adi Jacobs, Odwa Ndungane, Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen and Frans Steyn are all missing and this could really effect them. However they still have some quality players with a few emerging springboks in the side. The handicap is set around the -16 mark and with the strength of this lions team i will be happy to be on it. Come on the Lions!!! :ok

[Wumpking]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 After storming to a 20 - 0 lead in the first quarter, the Lions (& the ref!!!)allowed the Cheetahs back into the match and disappointingly only narrowly hung on for the win. Match 4 - Natal Sharks v Lions (10 June 2009 -18:10 BST, 19:10 local time - ABSA Park, Durban) S14 mid table opposition face the Lions in their next match in Durban tomorrow. The Sharks won 8 from 13 matches (4 from 7 at home) during the S14 and whilst aren't fielding a full strength side, they have a strong looking set of forwards and decent backs. The Lions pack looks pretty much test strength. In the backs, they field the impressive centre pairing of O'Dirscoll & Roberts. Phillips looks solid at scrum half, although whether he and O'Gara form a decent partnership will be interesting to see. Predictably, the Lions are heavy favourites again: Current best odds: Natal Sharks - 8.0 B&I Lions - 1.14 Draw - 50.0 On the handicaps, the B&I Lions can be backed at 1.90 with a -16 points start. Another step up in class for the Lions but again this will be another win for the B&I Lions. The pack should dominate and backs look strong enough to capitalise. Bet for me is: 5pts on B&I Lions (-16) @ 1.90 with Skybet

[Wumpking]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Hey Drogba Nice write up (you posted whilst I was typing mine!). Glad we both have similar conclusions. GL with your bets W

[Drogba's Bitch]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009

Hey Drogba Nice write up (you posted whilst I was typing mine!). Glad we both have similar conclusions. GL with your bets W

Lol. Cheers mate, took me a while to write and thought someone might beat me to it but looks like i got in there first. Love watchin the lions wish i was out there!!! Gl to mate

[Pie-chucker]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Good luck with Lions @ 15 pts. This Lions team v Sharks looks like 11 or so of the test starters but I think the Geech plan here will be to look for small increments in various areas and not reveal any full bag of tricks. He will now be very injury conscious. All bench coming on, of course. I think they'll get the job done, and win by 12. I'm an 'under' man on this. There could be a bit of 'cotton wool' here. Then thunder on Saturday with a 'weaker' XV to see who can really step-up. The man to keep an eye on is Flutey in the second half. I'm not convinced the centre pairing that start is locked in yet.

[Pie-chucker]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 British & Irish Lions Subs Try Minutes A prediction on the total number of try scoring minutes by British & Irish Lions substitutes. Note: In the case of a penalty try the player awarded the try counts. This is Sporting Index. And this is nonsense, surely.

[Drogba's Bitch]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009

The man to keep an eye on is Flutey in the second half. I'm not convinced the centre pairing that start is locked in yet.

Have to disagree with you there mate, for me apart from Byrne and O'Connell this is the one definate on tour. O'Driscoll is a banker and imo Jamie Roberts has probably been one of the stand out players of the tour. Dont get me wrong i am a BIG fan of Flutey, and before the tour thought he would make it. But so far Roberts has been superb and if i was him i would be mighty pissed off if Flutey got the nod A good win today but to be honest it should have been alot better. Very disappointed in our ball retention. Way to many turn overs in key areas, we should have scored at least a couple more times. Lack of support to the ball carrier allowed the opposition in. Time and time agin we got stripped in their 22. If we dont get this sorted by the test we could get a hammering! Before the tour started i thought we really could do this, but the more i see im starting to think a white wash is on the cards. I really hope im wrong but as you all know you need to bet with your head, not your heart!!!! If we play like we did today we will score some points but the boks will score alot more and probably dominant the game. You can get -8 on the boks for the first test and i will take that now incase it goes out anymore. As i said this is one bet i would love to lose especially if we win but the way things are im a little doubtful.

[Pie-chucker]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Well done with Lions handicap, lads. It's a bit of a worry. 11 tests starters (one in the front row, fly-half and two wingers to miss out) against a depleted Sharks and all that first half huffing and puffing. Boks must be quietly confident. These 11 will just get run-on roles Saturday & Tuesday, I suppose.

[kevshat]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Good work last night guys :ok

[Drogba's Bitch]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Match 5 - Western Province vs Lions This is the last chance for people to stand up for the test jersey. Many positions have already been taken but a good performance today could make things interesting. A few positions are still to be decided and im expecting a big game from the lions. From the back, Kearney hasn't really done much wrong but even a great game wont shift Byrne. Imo this will be the starting wingers. Would have to take a pretty bad game for that to change. In the centres 2 cracking players that i really rate. Unfortuate for them that this is probably one of our strongest areas. Earls had a nightmare start to the tour but has grown in confidence. Flutey has been unlucky with injury and if he had been fully fit would have pushed Roberts but is maybe a couple of good games short. A good game from Jones and he should get the nod over O'Gara Ellis could spring a surprise especially if he plays well with Jones today. Imo phillips is in pole but harry's speed of play might cause a change of mind. In the front row i believe there could be an all english test team (bit of bias maybe ;) ). Rees line out work lets him down and i think Mears looks good to be hooker. Vickery should get the nod at 3. That leaves the 1 shirt a little open. Sheridan is one of the best scrumagers in the world but Jenkins offers us more in the open. Will be interesting which way the selecters go but i think Jenkins might probably pip him. Second row is still open. O'Connell is a cert so who gets the other shirt. Hines and O'Callaghan get the nod for this game which to me says Shaw is out of the running. Either of these could get in there but out of the 2 i would say Hinds is the biggest threat to Jones. After Wed performance the back 3 picked today i think is gonna be the midweek team. Imo Williams is the only one that could force his way into the team. Western Province: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Tonderai Chavhanga, 13 Morgan Newman, 12 Peter Grant, 11 Gcobani Bobo, 10 Willem De Waal, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Luke Watson ©, 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Pieter Louw, 5 Anton Van Zyl, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw. Replacements: 16 Hanyani Shimange, 17 JD Moller, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Zandre Jordaan, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 JJ Engelbrecht, 22 Gio Aplon. British and Irish Lions: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Harry Ellis, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Phil Vickery (capt), 2 Mathew Rees, 1 Andrew Sheridan. Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Euan Murray, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Mike Blair, 21 James Hook, 22 Gordan D'Arcy. WP will be missing 4 Boks for the game Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger, Jean de Villiers and Ricky Januarie but still have a strong side out. This is last chance for the lions to try and get that test shirts so its gotta be big games from everyone. Have seen a few tipsters tipping them to win by 30 odd points. Cant see that myself. Dont get me wrong these are still world class players but for me the team has a slight midweek team tinge to it. Think we will win but the bookies have it spot on for me around the 14/15 mark. Ball retention once agin will be the key. I will gamble on us to beat the cap at -14.

[bartonbank]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Good write-up, DB, although I disagree on a couple of things. Firstly I think the front row is still undecided. Frankly, as far as the props are concerned, I wouldn't worry who we picked for the test team. It must be that Murray isn't showing much on the practice pitch and, although I fully accept what you say about Vickery, who I thought was there for midweek, Jones has really impressed me. He mullered the Bok squad member on Wednesday and his work in the loose has been a revelation. In addition, he gives fewer penalties away than Red Bull and I think he is in with a shout. Agree with you about the back 3 and only Nugget has a chance, but the midfield for this game concerns me as being lightweight, defensively, and I have never rated 'Meerkat' at 9. However, I think, again, our setpiece will win the game and I have taken the Lions on the handicap. As an aside I note what you say about AWJ. I am a huge fan of his (and see him as a future Lions captain) but he strikes me as being too similar to POC. If Hines plays well today I could see him getting the nod for the tests.

[Wumpking]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Wasn't able to post or bet at the weekend due to famly commitments. Western Province proved to be tough opposition. The Lions did well to win at the end. Match 6 - Southern Kings v Lions (16 June 2009 - 14:00 BST, 15:00 local time - Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth) The last match before the tests commence and despite the Lion's management protestations, the Lions side selected has the feel of being the midweek 'dirt trackers' as many of these players are unlikely to start on Saturday. That being said they are up against a team that looks thrown together in an attempt to gain momentum to become a new region for an expanded S14. The Lions look far stronger in all aspects. I'm expecting them to win and win big. Bets for me therefore are: 5pts on B&I Lions (-19) @ 1.90 with Skybet I'm also going to have a bet on the spreads as I think the Lions could really rack up a score here. Bets are: 1pts Buy of B&I Lions points @ 39 with Sporting Index

[Tintifax]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 I´ve seen the game and the lions couldn´t impress me. Only in the scrum they were clear better than the opponent. In this shape they are without chance against the springboks. Ok there are some opportunities with other guys in the 3/4 row and the wings, but it´s enough for the host? I say no- that will be the first defeat for the B&I L´s maybe in HC. @1,4 boylesports 10 pts for me.

[Wumpking]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Having recovered from the betting horror of the Southern Kings experience :cry, attention now turns to the first test. Match 6 - 1st Test - South Africa v Lions (20 June 2009 - 14:00 BST, 15:00 local time - ABSA Park, Durban) I think the Lions will win this opening test. Reasoning being:

• the Lions players are match fit
• the Boks players have not played for several weeks
• the Lions backs look very sharp, particularly the midfield combo of O'Driscoll & Roberts
• Lions set piece looks solid & strong
• match at sea level

The main worry for me is the breakdown. The Lions have struggled all tour with this and I'm sure the Boks will be targeting this area. That being said I think the advantages of match fitness and form players will enable the Lions to go 1 -0 up in the series. Bet for me therefore is: 5pts on B&I Lions @ 3.35 with Betfair

[Snodser]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009

Having recovered from the betting horror of the Southern Kings experience :cry' date=' attention now turns to the first test.[/quote'] I feel your pain, as does my bank :$ Its the best chance they have

• I'd add very motivated
• they are well rested & they are a national team so not much negative there imho

[ken678]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 South Africa v British & Irish Lions: First Scoring Play

Lions 3.0 Canbet

S Africa 2.9 Canbet

Backing both Lions & South Africa to score first by a penalty. Across the two you are on a 1/2 shot. These things are of course created to make you look foolish but I would have thought 1/4 or even 1/5 was the "right price" for the first score coming via a penalty kick in modern rugby. (Hope I'm wrong - hope its a Lions try!!:)

South Africa v British & Irish Lions: First Scoring Play

[ken678]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 South Africa v British & Irish Lions: Team Scoring First Wins - NO Don't believe this proposition is anything morethan a 50:50 shot so expected 5/6 the pair. At 2.3 I am getting what I consider to be 60% more than I would expect. On that basis it has to be an offer to be taken

Back at with 2.3 Bet365

[ken678]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 South Africa v British and Irish Lions (1st Test) -to win both halves

Dont see this to often - have checked these prices ARE/prob now were available

YES - 2.2 Bet 365 NO - 5.5 Paddy Power

[Drogba's Bitch]

Re: British & Irish Lions Tour - South Africa 2009 Its here at last!!! And should be a cracker. Not much i can really add to what Wumpkin or Snodser have put. Not 100% confidnet on the striaght win but the handicap looks good. If we improve on the breakdown then we definately can win, just not sure we will see the needed improvement, as said before this is a strength for the boks and an area they will definately target. Lions +8 for me :ok Lions, Lions, Lions!!!!!