Planet Rugby

Take on the Tipster

18th September 2009 14:26

Lachie Turner training for Wellington

Mr Consistent: Lachie Turner

As one nine-week shindig draws to a close, others are either on the home straight or just warming up if one is watching the Northern Hemisphere.

Despite its longevity, the Tri-Nations tournament has largely been a very good watch and even after the trophy was claimed by the Boks, the other two players cannot let up this Saturday.

It will be one final big effort in order to avoid finishing at the foot of the 2009 standings.

Elsewhere and the Guinness Premiership has once again been attempting to attract bigger audiences, with Saracens playing at Twickenham and Wembley Stadium in consecutive rounds. It seems to be working though as the side from Watford sit just behind leaders Wasps.

The Magners League meanwhile has thrown up its fair share of upsets that has left Glasgow and Edinburgh setting the early regular-season pace. The Scottish duo will of course be looking to follow up the latter's second-place finish of 2008/09.

Big-name teams such as the Ospreys and Cardiff Blues are surprisingly two of the strugglers after losing to Ulster and Munster respectively last week, so it should be interesting to see how the star-studded men from Swansea respond against European champions Leinster, who are boosted by the return of some British & Irish Lions.

But enough of past form...what can we expect from the Tipster this week?

Let's take a look at what our anonymous man has for us then as Planet Rugby once again teams up with Sky Bet to pick out the best betting options on offer.

Banker of the week

Events taking place in Durban this Saturday could be vital to Currie Cup play-off matters.

Should the Cheetahs fall to the Sharks without so much as a bonus-point in their pockets then glasses will surely be raised in Pretoria, with the Blue Bulls now playing catch-up.

And that I feel should be the case as even if John Plumtree's starting XV cannot put their visitors away, then he can call on a bench of Du Plessis, Smit, Daniel, Pienaar and Jacobs.

Take the Sharks (-8) to beat the Cheetahs!

Worth a punt

New Zealand have chopped and changed ahead of this Saturday's final 2009 Tri-Nations fixture, but will it prove to be their undoing?

My opinion on playing two number tens alongside each other will never change, as those who have witnessed the Stephen Jones/Jonny Wilkinson or Jonny Wilkinson/Charlie Hodgson axis will no doubt agree.

Isaia Toeava's immediate impact off the bench last week is not something that a contact hungry Stephen Donald could even muster in 50 minutes of action at Waikato Stadium so it will be interesting to see how Dan Carter goes with specialist centres this time around.

However, this Australian team under Robbie Deans can definitely sneak matters in Wellington and they will be refreshed to strike should the Kiwis be off their game...

Get on the Wallabies by 1-5 points!

Hail Mary

A plethora of game to choose from so I've opted for eight that could result in a hefty return.

Cardiff Blues, Glasgow, Ulster, New Zealand, Saracens, London Irish, Wasps, Sharks

Stake - £5.00 = £BIG Return!

Anything take your fancy?

Comments

Be the first to comment on this story..


Character Count : 0/1900

Forthcoming Fixtures
FixtureDetails
All times are local
International Match
Sunday , May 26
England vs Barbarians13:00
More International Match fixtures
Aviva Premiership
Saturday , May 25
Leicester vs Northampton15:00
More Aviva Premiership fixtures
RaboDirect PRO12
Saturday , May 25
Ulster vs Leinster16:45
More RaboDirect PRO12 fixtures
Top 14
Friday , May 24
Toulon vs Toulouse21:00
Saturday , May 25
Clermont Auvergne vs Castres16:30
More Top 14 fixtures
Super Rugby
Friday , May 24
Chiefs vs Crusaders08:35
Melbourne Rebels vs Waratahs10:40
Saturday , May 25
Blues vs Brumbies08:35
Western Force vs Highlanders10:40
Southern Kings vs Cheetahs16:00
Stormers vs Reds16:05
Sharks vs Bulls18:10
More Super Rugby fixtures
Recent Results
FixtureDetails
All times are local
Heineken Cup
Saturday , May 18
Clermont Auvergne 15 - 16 ToulonClermont Auvergne vs Toulon Report
More Heineken Cup results
Super Rugby
Crusaders 23 - 3 BluesCrusaders vs Blues Report
Bulls 35 - 18 HighlandersBulls vs Highlanders Report
Waratahs 28 - 22 BrumbiesWaratahs vs Brumbies Report
Cheetahs 27 - 13 RedsCheetahs vs Reds Report
More Super Rugby results
Amlin Challenge Cup
Friday , May 17
Stade Francais 13 - 34 LeinsterStade Francais vs Leinster Report
More Amlin Challenge Cup results
Super Rugby
Hurricanes 12 - 17 ChiefsHurricanes vs Chiefs Report
Melbourne Rebels 30 - 21 StormersMelbourne Rebels vs Stormers Report
Western Force 13 - 23 SharksWestern Force vs Sharks Report
More Super Rugby results
Aviva Premiership
Sunday , May 12
Saracens 13 - 27 NorthamptonSaracens vs Northampton Report
Saturday , May 11
Leicester 33 - 16 HarlequinsLeicester vs Harlequins Report
More Aviva Premiership results
RaboDirect PRO12
Leinster 17 - 15 GlasgowLeinster vs Glasgow Report
More RaboDirect PRO12 results
Top 14
Castres 25 - 12 MontpellierCastres vs Montpellier Report
More Top 14 results
Super Rugby
Blues 36 - 32 Melbourne RebelsBlues vs Melbourne Rebels Report
Southern Kings 34 - 27 HighlandersSouthern Kings vs Highlanders Report
Waratahs 21 - 15 StormersWaratahs vs Stormers Report
More Super Rugby results
RaboDirect PRO12
Friday , May 10
Ulster 28 - 17 ScarletsUlster vs Scarlets Report
More RaboDirect PRO12 results
Top 14
Stade Francais 19 - 16 Racing Metro Paris
Toulouse 33 - 19 Racing Metro ParisToulouse vs Racing Metro Paris Report
More Top 14 results
Super Rugby
Chiefs 22 - 21 Western ForceChiefs vs Western Force Report
Reds 32 - 17 SharksReds vs Sharks Report
Cheetahs 34 - 39 HurricanesCheetahs vs Hurricanes Report
Sunday , May 5
Brumbies 23 - 30 CrusadersBrumbies vs Crusaders Report
More Super Rugby results
Aviva Premiership
Saturday , May 4
Leicester 32 - 20 London IrishLeicester vs London Irish Report
Exeter 40 - 39 GloucesterExeter vs Gloucester Report
More Aviva Premiership results