TAB has two great bets for rugby fans as the 2023 Rugby World Cup heads towards a thrilling finale and the new club-rugby season gets going in the UK this weekend. A carryover Rugby 8 Win Margin is set to generate a bumper pool and there’s also a Super 6 bet on the Springboks in their big clash with England on Saturday.

CARRYOVER COULD SPARK R50,000 RUGBY 8 POOL

The Rugby 8 pool could total as much as R50,000 and closes at 19:00 this Friday, when the Gallagher Premiership clash between Newcastle Falcons and Gloucester kicks off. Look for a tight contest between the two basement teams in the Premiership last season, but preference is for Gloucester who made a winning start to the new campaign with a narrow win over Harlequins last weekend.

That match is followed by the first Rugby World Cup semi-final in which Argentina and the All Blacks go head to head. New Zealand are currently 1-10 favourites to triumph and it’s hard to argue with the betting. After a rocky start, Argentina have improved as the tournament has progressed and will not go down without a fight. The All Blacks, however, have got slicker and slicker after losing to France in the opener and were full value for their 28-24 victory over Ireland in a memorable quarter-final encounter. Their confidence will have grown in the wake of that success and they should be too sharp for Argentina when it matters.

This Rugby 8 will be easier to win than normal because the third match is cancelled in the wake of Jersey Reds going into liquidation and any choice in the game will qualify as a winning selection. Four of the other five matches in the pool are Gallagher Premiership clashes. All look likely to be closely contested, but the home teams should have the edge especially Northampton Saints who entertain Bristol on Saturday afternoon.

The other match in the pool is, of course, the other RWC semi in which the Boks go head to head with England in a repeat of the 2007 and 2019 finals, both won by South Africa who look set to complete a mighty hat trick on Saturday night. With good cause the Bok team is unchanged from the side that shaded France in the quarter-finals in one of the best rugby matches in history and they should only have to hold form to put England to the sword. There’s a Super 6 bet on the Boks and this is a grand wager comprising six legs with elements like select the jersey numbers of the players to score the first and last tries for South Africa. The full details are under Rugby @ www.tab4racing.com - play it and you can bet it will make the match all the more exciting.