superugby2018The Super Rugby Pacific final will be contested by the Blues and the Crusaders at Eden Park, Auckland on Saturday and the betting suggests there will be very little between the sides

 

 

 

Blues v Crusaders, Saturday 18th July, Auckland, KO 09:05 (South African time)

 

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Stu Curran (New Zealand)
TMO: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)

 

Weather Forecast – Auckland

 

Blues:

 

The Blues were 12.5 point favourites for last week's semi final match up with the Brumbies at this venue. They led 20-7 at one stage but the Brumbies refused to throw in the towel, closing the gap to 20-19 and the Blues were holding on at the death.

 

The Blues were 16.5 point favourites for their quarter final clash with the Highlanders at Eden Park and they ran out winners 35-6. Their task was made easier with the Highlanders picking up a red card on 22 minutes and the Blues ran away with it thereafter.

 

The Blues finished in top spot of the regular season overall standings. They lost to the Canes in the opening round but have since reeled off 15 successive wins.

 

The Blues sole match up with the Saders in the regular season was staged in Christchurch and the Blues won 27-23.

 

Crusaders:

 

The Crusaders hosted the Chiefs in Christchurch in their semi final. They were 8.5 point favourites and came out on top 20-7 in a game played in difficult weather conditions. The Saders had to really dig deep in defence to keep the Chiefs at bay and Cullen Grace scored both their tries.

 

The Crusaders hosted the Reds in the quarter finals. They started as favourites at around 20.5 points on the handicap and although the Reds were very much in the game for an hour the Saders finished strongly and came out on top 37-15.

 

The Crusaders finished second in the overall standings during the regular season, 6 points adrift of the Blues with a record of 11 wins and 3 defeats. Those defeats came at home to the Chiefs, 24-21 back in Round 4, they also lost at home to the Blues (27-23) and away to the Waratahs (24-21).

 

Team News (subject to change)

 

Blues: 15 Stephen Perofeta, 14 AJ Lam, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Beauden Barrett (c), 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Adrian Choat, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Tom Robinson, 4 Josh Goodhue, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Kurt Eklund, 1 Alex Hodgman

Replacements: 16 Soane Vikena, 17 Karl Tu’inukuafe, 18 Ofa Tuungafasi, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Dalton Papalii/James Tucker, 21 Sam Nock, 22 Bryce Heem, 23 Zarn Sullivan

 

Crusaders: 15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 David Havili, 11 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Cullen Grace, 7 Tom Christie, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Oli Jager, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 George Bower

Replacements: 16 Brodie McAlister, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Quinten Strange, 20 Corey Kellow, 21 Mitch Drummond, 22 Braydon Ennor, 23 George Bridge

 

 

The Betting - Need to open an account? Claim your 1st deposit bonus of up to R2,000 here

 

Blues 9/10

Draw 22/1

Crusaders 11/10

 

Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.

 

Betting Angle

 

The betting on this game has been fairly stable all week and I sensed support for the Crusaders early doors, but subsequently some of the Blues punters have come to the forefront. Both guests on last night’s THE HANDICAP show were on the Crusaders, but I am going against them here and reckon the Blues will grab the victory in Auckland. The Crusaders for my money have been slightly off their best all season and although they have the big match temperament required for finals they are going to have to get more ball than they did against the Chiefs last week when their bodies took an absolute pounding in defence.

I will take a look at points lines closer to kick off – click here for our Rugby Forum thread where any bets will be posted and other punters share information and bets

Click here for the video preview of the match and the views of @BettingStig and @TheCroweTips

 

BetXchange have a promotion where they are betting 1/1 Blues -0.5 1 and Crusaders +0.5 points at 1/1 and I will grab myself some of the former.

If you follow make sure you read any T&C’S and note the maximum bet is R3000

 

BET: 4 Units Blues -0.5 at even money at BetXchange

 

Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.

 

Join @BrentGraham and the panel live at 9pm on Thursday night for “The Handicap” Subscribe to the channel and set a reminder here.

 

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