Two tips for the Champions Cup as we reach the halfway stage of the pools
European Rugby’s Premier competition has now (almost) finished half of its pool matches giving us a good idea of who is playing well, who are contenders for the crown and who will be unlikely to be adding their names to the roll of previous esteemed winners. The French teams, as always, look particularly strong and it’s been great to see Italian sides continue their steady improvement and show that it does make sense to invest in smaller Rugby playing nations even if it takes a while for the time and effort put in to yield something significant.
It has been a well organised tournament so far, apart from this weekend’s postponed game between Saracens and Clermont which left the French side pretty angry with both their hosts and the European Professional Club Rugby association.
That game aside it is clear that the recent reorganisation of the competition has left fans with a better and more exciting competition. It has also brought a more level playing field that has made things better for people looking to bet on European Rugby. There are even more markets and close matches to entice people looking to have a flutter. If you are interested in getting involved make sure to get on this 888 Casino review which looks both at 888’s casino and sport offerings. They are one of the biggest names in sports betting and this review looks in depth at why they are a great company to go with. After three rounds of matches it is clear that there are some particularly good value bets to be had, here are two of them you should make sure to consider.
It usually takes teams a long time to adapt to the top level of club Rugby with sides often taking a number of entries to hit top gear and challenge the big boys. La Rochelle have not faced this issue and continue to impress. They brushed aside Wasps this weekend and looked quite a bit better than their more experienced opponents. Wasps have lifted the trophy more than once but looked unable to keep up with the pace of their hosts and it will take a very good side to get closer to them than Wasps. You can get them as far out as 7/1 to win the whole thing and with them in this form that could be excellent value.
Only two English sides to make it through to the knockout stages:
English sides used to dominate the European Cup and have a number of teams with more than one trophy in their cabinet including Wasps, Leicester and reigning champions Saracens. However with La Rochelle sprinting away in Pool A, Exeter lagging behind Leinster in Pool B, Leicester Tigers sitting in a pretty dreadful third place in Pool C, Bath facing an uphill task to catch Toulon and Northampton rock bottom of their pool, it is not impossible that we might see a set of quarter finals with only Saracens and one other English side joining them in the next round. You can get very good odds on that happening and with the English sides playing so poorly it might be worth a flutter.