The 2023 Rugby World Cup hits the quarter-final stage this weekend and now there are no more second chances, simply in or out when 80 minutes is up. The two cracker quarters are between the qualifiers from Pools A and B and TAB has two carryover pools that are going to make a riveting weekend of rugby even more exciting.

R25,978 BOOST FOR RUGBY 8 WIN MARGIN

The first of the carryover bets is the Rugby 8 Win Margin, which kicked off earlier this week with R25,978 in carryover monies. The pool total is already climbing steadily and there should be a pile of cash to be won when the bet closes at 14:30 on Saturday. The eight matches comprise the RWC quarter-finals and four first-round matches in this season’s Gallagher Premiership. To win Rugby 8 you need to predict the winning team and margin of victory in each of eight games. There are five winning margins for each team plus the draw.

The other carryover bet is a Super 6 on the Springboks in their showdown with France at 21:00 on Sunday. There’s a R5,000 carryover and this clash between the reigning champs and the hosts has South Africa buzzing, especially after the Springbok starting XV and bench was announced today.

The half-back pairing of Manie Libbok and Cobus Reinach has raised a few eyebrows, as have a couple of other choices, but there’s no doubting it’s a vastly experienced side. The good news for France is that captain and scrum-half Antoine Dupont is back after suffering a cheek fracture against Namibia and it should be a sizzling contest that you can make even more entertaining by playing a Super 6. There are six legs to the bet and to win you need to predict elements like the jersey numbers of the first and last try-scorers for the Boks, how many points they will score with the boot and so on. Get the full details under Rugby at www.tab4racing.com

The other quarter-finals are all tough to call, but the All Blacks are gathering steam and it will be no surprise to see them bring Ireland’s long winning sequence to an abrupt halt. England should eliminate Fiji, while Argentina could beat Wales if they continue to improve after a slow start to the tournament.

The Gallagher Premiership games are tricky by virtue of being the first round, but last year’s winners and runners-up, Saracens and Sale Sharks, should both get off to winning starts.