Trading Talk - British and Irish Lions Tour of South Africa

The British and Irish Lions arrived safely in South Africa and have been training at their camp in Sandton all week. Rugby union spread bettors will have noted Ian McGeechan’s first match line-up and will be eagerly anticipating the action. With a long wait before the First Test spread punters will have a chance to form their opinions on the likely outcome of the Test series. The Lions’ preparations have been hindered by a number of injured players and with this in mind the Sporting Index traders have made South Africa outright spread favourites for the series at 9-12 (10pts for series winner, 5pts per Test won).

Perhaps the biggest worry for buyers of the supremacy spread is that history seems to be against them. They will be hoping the Springboks can avenge their two previous series defeats in Africa when the Lions were led by Willie John McBride in 1974 and Martin Johnson in 1997. The Series Correct Score spread markets give spread punters the chance to challenge the traders’ predictions on the outcome of the Test series – a South Africa 2-1 victory is favourite with a spread of 36-39 (25pts if series winner is correct, 50pts bonus if series score is correct).

Sporting Index offer a host of spread markets to keep the summer tour interesting in its entirety including the tour win index spread, at 78-84, where 25pts are awarded per Test win and 10pts for any other win. Sellers might remember the last Lions tour to New Zealand in 2005 where the tourists won seven matches (without winning a single test) for an equivalent make-up of 70pts while spread buyers might take more confidence from the last time the Lions visited South Africa in 1997 – the equivalent make-up then was a hefty 120pts from 11 matches.

Spread bettors will be able to wager on Sporting Index’s Total Points 50-up spread (a prediction on the aggregate total of points over 50 in an individual match), currently at 50-56. It may surprise a few spread punters that during the last Lions tour only four of the eleven matches totalled more than 50 points. However, punters will remember the match versus Manawatu which the visitors won 109-6, or even the 116-10 demolishing of Western Australia four years previously. Buyers of the spread will be salivating at the thought of a repeat in South Africa. The 1997 tour in South Africa saw six matches produce more than 50 points, the largest being a total of 88 against Mpumalanga.

Buyers of the Total Lions Points spread at 280pts should be aware that during the tour to New Zealand the Lions scored 328pts, whilst the last tour in South Africa saw them manage to rack up 361 points. The Lions/Opposition supremacy spread at 90-100pts will attract plenty of attention from rugby spread bettors, but it should be approached with caution – the overall Lions supremacy in 2005 was 108, but buyers should remember that 103 points of that supremacy were earned in just one match.