South Africa vs. Ireland Location: Loftus Versfeld Stadium
South Africa vs. Ireland Date: Saturday, July 6
BetXchange South Africa vs. Ireland Odds:
History
Ireland and South Africa will meet on the rugby pitch again this July. The two nations clash with a pair of Tests in South Africa. The first is this Saturday, July 6, with the second the following weekend.
Ireland has been a problem for the SPringboks in recent years. They famously beat South Africa 13-8 in their World Cup Pool B encounter last year, though South Africa had the last laugh as they won the tournament while the Irish were dumped out in the quarters by New Zealand.
This was Ireland’s third win in a row over the Boks. That run includes a 38-3 drubbing of South Africa in Dublin in 2017, which sparked an inquest into the state of the game in South Africa.
Despite their recent success, Ireland has never won a Test series in South Africa. They have won just one of their last 10 matches in the country, a 26-20 win in 2016 under Joe Schmidt’s leadership.
Could this be Ireland’s time? They finally claimed a series win in New Zealand two years ago, memorably beating the All Blacks 2-1 on their home turf. Winning a series is much more difficult, with only two Tests being played, but many strange things have happened in sports this year.
South Africa
Big names are missing from the Springboks lineup as they look to take down the tourists in the first Test. Prop Steven Kishoff, as are locks Jean Kleyn and Lood de Jager, are out. Issues exist in the backline, too, with Makazole Mapimpi, Edwill van der Merwe, and Canan Moodie unavailable for selection.
Ireland
Ireland will also be without several key names for this season that comes at the end of a long, grueling season. Usual fullback Hugo Keenan is out as he is preparing with the Ireland Sevens squad, while scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park and wing Mack Hansen are injured. Add in missing pack players Iain Henderson and Jack Conan, and this is not a full-strength Ireland team.
This means that new players will make their debuts, with Jamie Osbourne being thrown in at fullback for his first national duty.
Best Bets
In their warm-up for these Tests, South Africa looked great against Wales, but the Irish present a major step up. The war of words between the two squads has been surprisingly fierce for what feels like an end of season event, so expect these two matches to be played at a higher intensity than some July tours.
I like South Africa to win, but Ireland will keep this close. That is just the way that Andy Farrell’s side likes to play. That means some handicap props with BetXcange are interesting as bets. Ireland +3.5 at 31/20 is something I especially like.
