Heineken Cup: Week 4 Betting Preview

Details

Last Updated on Friday, 18th Dec 2009, 

Written by jameshipwell

Hits: 16117

Rugby Union: Heineken Cup Week Four Betting Preview
By www.BetRepublic.com

Friday, 18 December 2009
Newport-Gwent Dragons v Biarritz, P2, 20:00

Saturday, 19 December 2009
Edinburgh v Bath, P4, 13:35
Leicester v Clermont Auvergne, P3, 18:00
Leinster v Scarlets, P6, 15:45
London Irish v Brive, P6, 15:00
Ospreys v Viadana, P3, 14:30
Stade Francais v Ulster, P4, 15:45
Toulouse v Cardiff Blues, P5, 13:35
Treviso v Northampton, P1, 13:30

Sunday, 20 December 2009
Gloucester v Glasgow, P2, 12:45
Perpignan v Munster, P1, 15:00
Sale v Harlequins, P5, 15:00

Quite why Stade Francais have conceded home advantage this weekend in their Heineken Cup re-match against Ulster is beyond me. Eccentric billionaire owner of the Parisian outfit Max Guazzini has seen fit to rent out the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels to pursue his off-field fantasies. Last year against Harlequins he had jousting knights and Can Can girls. What’s it to be this year? The 50,024-seater stadium will become the 89th ground to host Heineken Cup action, but the French side are trying to make amends for their 23-13 defeat to the Irish side last week and will need every bit of help they can get.

Ulster were 23-6 ahead last week in the final quarter, and seemingly were cruising for an easy victory. Stade’s 74th minute try was something of a consolation, and both Ulster’s manager, Brain McLaughlin, and Stade player James Haskell both agreed in the post-match interviews that Ulster had slacked off. The fixture has been given added spice because all hell broke loose when the referee, Dave Pearson, gave only yellow cards to Stade duo David Attoub and Julien Dupuy for making contact with the eye of Ulster flanker Stephen Ferris. Ulster are naturally travelling to Brussels to avenge their fallen flanker, and with the Irish side pumped up to the max, it is not going to be a pleasant afternoon for the Parisian dandies. Although there are no prices up as yet, if you can get anything like Ulster with a five-point start, you would have to consider that value.

The Heineken Cup double-header format allows revenge missions aplenty, and Perpignan will be desperate to get Munster back into their Catalan lair on Sunday. The French side fell 24-23 to Munster last Friday, and have had a long wait to stew on the result. Although Munster have had some notable victories on the Continent in European rugby, Perpignan are unbeaten in 16 consecutive European ties at the Stade Aime Giral, and this looks a step too far for the Munstermen.

Another team who will fancy their chances of redemption will be the Dragons, the Welsh franchise who were thrashed out of sight by Biarritz on Sunday. A short turnaround for both teams means that if anything, the home advantage this time around for the Dragons has a greater impact. The Dragons have proved unbeatable at Rodney Parade this season, winning all eight of their fixtures there at both half-time and at full-time. The Dragons at odds-against is probably the bet of the weekend.

Edinburgh fell foul of South African flanker Luke Watson last week when they went down 16-9 to Bath at the Recreation Ground. Although Watson didn’t force any turnovers himself, he led the charge, inspiring his team to turn over Edinburgh’s ball twice as many times as Bath took off the Scottish side. As such, Edinburgh’s attacks faltered, and although they made more clean breaks than Bath, they couldn’t quite finish the game off. Back at Murrayfield, their chances of winning increase dramatically, and with the bookmakers likely to make Bath single-figure underdogs, you’ve got to go with the home side, who really should win by more than 12 points.

BetRepublic Betting Recommendations (1-5pt staking plan):

Friday 8pm (Kick-off times are local):
1pt Dragons to beat Biarritz by 1-12pts (Bet365)
1pt Dragons +5 v Biarritz (Bet365)

Saturday 1.35pm:
Edinburgh to beat Bath by 12+ points

Saturday 4.45pm:
1pt Ulster on the handicap v Stade Francais

Sunday 4pm:
1pt Perpignan to beat Munster by 1-12points.