Best Bet 1: British & Irish Lions 1-12 @ $2.88 – Sportsbet
HURRICANES ($2.66) VS BRITISH & IRISH LIONS ($1.50)
The final midweek match of the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand will see the visitors take on a strong Hurricanes outfit at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Tuesday evening. The Hurricanes welcome back a handful of their All Blacks so it is sure to be a real challenge for the tourists. The Lions primary team were outclassed against the All Blacks on the weekend (15 – 30), but this corresponding match last week saw the visitors trounce the Chiefs 34 – 6 in Hamilton.
Prediction:
Hurricanes Chris Boyd has named a strong line-up that features recently capped All Black Vaea Fifita (flanker) and future All Black Brad Shields. In the backline, Te Toirora-Tahuriorangi and Otere Black will have the responsibility of unleashing Ngani Laumape, Vince Aso, Julian Savea, Nehe Milner-Skudder and fullback Jordie Barrett. Lions coach Warren Gatland has entrusted hooker Rory Best with the captaincy and players like Justin Tipuric (Wales) and CJ Stander (Ireland) in the pack could be playing for bench roles on Saturday. In the backline, you’d think winger George North (Wales) or Jonathan Joseph (England) have the best chance of getting some game time in the second Test as well.
Initially, I thought that the Hurricanes would be without the likes of Fifita, Savea, Laumape and J Barrett, which would’ve had me jumping all over the Lions line. However, it appears that All Blacks coach Steve Hansen wants to rub salt into Warren Gatland’s wounds by allowing the aforementioned to play. For many of the Lions, it is potentially their last game of the season, so they will be looking to go out with a bang, whereas, the Hurricanes have a couple rounds of Super Rugby ahead of them before the playoffs commence. The Lions will look to nullify the backline by hitting the Hurricanes hard upfront and then employing the rush defence that they have become known for on this tour. I’d love to see the Hurricanes win here, but I can see the visitors winning this one off the back of forward dominance and accurate goal kicking.
Predicted result: British & Irish Lions to win @ $1.50
Best Bet 1: British & Irish Lions 1-12 @ $2.88 – Sportsbet
