The latest Goodforthegame newsletter penned by @BrentGraham with best bets for the 11th to 14th June including the Fifa World Cup outright betting markets and the Super Rugby play offs
his week's newsletter is coming out a little earlier than usual for two reasons.
Firstly, Super Rugby Pacific is the only major rugby competition I'll be betting on this weekend, and the action gets underway tomorrow morning with the first semi-final.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the FIFA World Cup kicks off tonight with Mexico taking on Bafana Bafana in the opening match of the tournament – click here for Chris’s preview
I must admit there hasn't been a huge amount of hype around this World Cup, and there have been some interesting discussions on the Goodforthegame forum about exactly why that might be. One thing I've learned over the years, however, is that when it comes to sports betting, it doesn't really matter who is playing. If you have a bet on the game, you'll quickly find yourself glued to the screen.
With that in mind, this newsletter includes some outright World Cup fancies from both Chris and myself, together with my bet for the opening game between Mexico and South Africa.
Recap
Before looking ahead, a quick recap of last weekend. The Crusaders delivered comfortably on the newsletter bet, covering the handicap against the Blues, while the Bulls also got the job done for me on the board in their semi. That looked highly unlikely at one stage as they found themselves 21-3 down against Glasgow before producing a proper comeback.
The disappointment came in Super Rugby, where I misread a couple of the playoff games from a points perspective. In the end, it was pretty much a break-even weekend overall.
THE HANDICAP
Due to the clash with Mexico v South Africa, and the fact that Super Rugby was our sole rugby focus this week, a late decision was taken to move The Handicap forward to 10:00am South African time earlier today.
The Mossman joined me looking suitably relaxed after a day's work in Auckland, and we covered both Super Rugby semi-finals before finishing off with a World Cup betting discussion.
The links to those chats can be found below:
• Click here to jump to Chiefs v Crusaders
• Click here to jump to Hurricanes v Blues
• Click here to jump to our FIFA World Cup betting chat
WEEKEND PLAYS
My Super Rugby Pacific bets will be posted here
Test Match Intensity in Hamilton
I got burnt going unders on tries in last weeks Super Rugby Pacific qualifiers but I am prepared to go in again on the opener tomorrow morning.
The points line is 59.5 and I reckon this will be a much tighter game than what we witnessed last week but once again I prefer the unders try line as I think that 3 pointers will be taken, potentially early on, but almost certainly if this is a tight game.
BET: 4 units under 8.5 tries at 17/20 at Pokerbet
Mexico v South Africa
There has been some excellent contributions in the forum so stay close to this thread and register here to join the chat.
Bafana to fire blanks in Mexico
My heart is hoping that Bafana Bafana can do the business away to Mexico tonight.
Can you believe it has been 16 years since South Africa faced Mexico in the opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup? That match, of course, finished 1-1 and gave us one of the most memorable moments in South African sporting history with that Bafana opener.
This time around, however, I think Bafana have a mountain to climb.
To my eye, South Africa played their best football a couple of years ago and may have peaked a little too early for this tournament. Mexico will have the full backing of a passionate home crowd and have looked particularly solid defensively in recent times. At the same time, Bafana's attack has struggled to create and convert enough quality chances against stronger opposition.
As a result, I'm backing the hosts to win without conceding.
BET: 2 units (1-5) Match result and BTTS, Mexico and NO at 21/20 at WSB
WORLD CUP 2026!
Here are a few World Cup bets that can hopefully hold our interest
The Golden Boot
Bet: 0.5 unit (1-5) Juilan Alvarez Golden Boot at 25/1 at Hollywoodbets
I expect Argentina to get plenty of goals and although Messi still headlines the attack I reckon he could be carefully managed and Alvarez looks a lively runner at the price. I suspect that goals in the group stage are going to be crucial with things tightening up from the round of 32.
I had a really nice bet lined up regards the Golden Boot but the market is not freely available and when I tried to get on it seems heavily limited so I don’t want to waste your time, lets move on….
Most Assists
Bet: 0.5 unit (1-5) Michael Olise (France) Most Assists at 10/1 at Sportingbet
Chris covers this one in his outright preview and all match preview are on the Goodforthegame home page
Have a great weekend everyone, I will be hosting family from the USA (clearly not football fans) so another socially intensive weekend lies ahead.
Cheers
BG
