Two in form sides chasing United Rugby Championship play off places clash in Johannesburg on Saturday when the Lions host Connacht
Lions v Connacht, Saturday 25th April, Johannesburg, KO 16:00 (South African time)
Referee: tbc
Assistant Referees: tbc
TMO: tbc
Weather Forecast - Johannesburg
Lions:
The Lions continue to make a good fist of their URC play off bid. They finished the previous round in fourth place with a record of 9 wins, 1 draw and 5 defeats and with 48 log points they are just 3 shy of Leinster and the Stormers and 7 adrift of Glasgow Warriors
The Lions have recently completed two thumping home wins over Scottish sides. They put Edinburgh away 54-17 in Round 13 and last week they thrashed Glasgow Warriors 54-12, running in 8 tries. They have also put the Dragons away at Ellis Park and a couple of SA derby wins on home turf means it’s 5 straight wins in front of their own supporters, a run which has catapulted them into the play off picture.
After this the Lions travel to Ireland for tough games at Leinster and Munster and in the outright betting to win the URC title the Lions are 20/1 with Hollywoodbets
Connacht:
In the URC Connacht are in ninth position with 44 log points and a record of 8 wins and 7 defeats.
They are they are just 1 point behind the Bulls who are currently in eighth, the last of the play off places, Cardiff, Munster and Ulster are also in their sights, as are the Lions who are just 4 points better off.
Connacht put together a 5 match winning streak from the end of January into March and that run was extended last week when they upset the Stormers 33-24 in Cape Town, scoring 5 tries to 3 to land a bonus point.
In earlier matches against South African opposition Connacht lost at home to the Bulls 28-27 in Round 4 but beat the Sharks 44-17 in Galway in Round 6.
After this Connacht return to Ireland for a home derby with Munster and finally a visit to Edinburgh and in the outright betting to win the URC title they are 66/1 shots with Hollywoodbets
Line Ups:
Lions: tbc
Connacht: tbc
The Betting,
Average early show
Lions -11.5 points at 9/10
Connacht +11.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Bets:
Tips, more news and betting angles for Round 16 of the URC will be available on Brent Graham's betting blog which is available here.
Plays for Round 11 of Super Rugby will be available here.
Finally, all this week's rugby tips from members of the Goodforthegame community can be found on the weekly rugby thread on our brand new discussion forum. If you haven't done so already, register a forum account here.
