Gary Lemke’s looks ahead to a seismic sporting weekend as the Boks prepare to face France in a World Cup quarter-final, Brad Binder looks to end his drought, Cameron Saaiman looks to stay unbeaten and more!
ALL TO PLAY FOR IN FRANCE
There are so many cliches in sport, like “it’s now or never” and “do or die”, that I find them old and boring, but you’ll hear, and see, plenty of that kind of talk heading into the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
Both the France versus South Africa and Ireland versus New Zealand games should be semi-finals, but that’s not how the draw works. But still, the eventual champion should come from one of these two quarter-finals.
The others see England taking on Fiji and Wales against Argentina. The France vs Boks match is a real flip-a-coin affair – Hollywoodbets have them joint favourites – while Ireland are marginal betting fancies to beat the All Blacks.
England and Wales have been tipped to get the job done for the northern hemisphere in the other two, although Fiji and Argentina will have something to say about that.
Jacques Nienaber has named the second most experienced #Springboks team ever for Sunday's #RWC2023 quarter-final against France - more here: https://t.co/HDWQWcHJDD 🇿🇦🏉#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/3Q20WMGIMp
— Springboks (@Springboks) October 13, 2023
PROTEAS APPEAR FROM UNDER THE RADAR
Three more matches are on the weekend calendar at the Cricket World Cup, with New Zealand favourites to beat Bangladesh, India expected to get past Pakistan and England very short-priced to do the job against Afghanistan.
If you agree, and it’s hard to see things going anything other than their way, then you can take the bet on the three favourites as an all-to-come. You’ll double your money in return.
In terms of the overall tournament so far – played in front of sparse crowds (apart from when the hosts are involved), which provides further evidence that if it’s not T20 it’s not real cricket to the current generation – South Africa have come from under the radar to be 5-1 second favourites. Their demolition of Australia was particularly impressive.
🇿🇦 PROTEAS WIN 2️⃣ ON THE TROT
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 12, 2023
An incredible showing with both bat & ball to dominate the Aussies with a second victory in the #CWC23
Congratulations to the team 🙌 #AusvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/qExHILNttQ
TENSE WEEKS AHEAD FOR SA FANS
No country has ever won the Rugby and Cricket World Cups in the same year and already there are only three nations left with a chance of doing both over the next month.
In terms of the betting, South Africa are best placed for the double. It’s 26/1 SA (7/2 RWC, 5/1 CWC), 33/1 New Zealand (7/2 RWC 13/2 CWC), 90/1 England (13/1 RWC 11/2 CWC).
In 2003 Australia won the CWC and were beaten in extra-time in the RWC final. In 2015 NZ won the RWC and were runners-up in the CWC. In 2019 England won the CWC and were beaten in the RWC final.
SA have never featured in both finals in the same year. Can this be different, or will history repeat? It’s going to be a nervy few weeks ahead.
South Africans watching the Proteas and Springboks doing well in both World Cups pic.twitter.com/MbPYL2raHC
— Sed Pillay (@sedpillay) October 13, 2023
SAAIMAN LOOKING TO STAY UNBEATEN
South Africa has two representatives in the UFC, the highest level of MMA, and while Drikus du Plessis awaits his opportunity to challenge for the middleweight title, Cameron Saaiman is making waves in the bantamweights.
The all-action 22-year-old, unbeaten in nine MMA fights – three of which have been in the UFC – comes up against potentially his toughest opponent to date in Christian Rodriguez (9 wins, 1 defeat).
Saaiman is a fighter who constantly switches his stance, and he’s aggressive. He has vowed to win this bout inside two rounds, although Rodriguez is the slight betting favourite.
Looking for his FIFTH consecutive win! 👀@Cameron_Saaiman steps back into the Octagon at #UFCVegas81 this Saturday!
— UFC (@ufc) October 12, 2023
Watch LIVE on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/pewELQJVvC
CAN BINDER BREAK HIS DROUGHT?
For some unfathomable reason, Brad Binder, South Africa’s flag bearer in MotoGP tends to be a “poor qualifier” on the Saturday ahead of a Sunday MotoGP.
Often he leaves himself so much work to do in the race itself, but he remains one of the most exciting riders in any race. This weekend the MotoGP roadshow is in Indonesia, where the street circuit Pertamina MotoGP will be contested.
Binder, on his KTM, is fourth in the overall standings for the season, with only Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi in front of him. The South African is the only rider in the top five on the season’s rankings to have not won a race in 2023, but he has been ultra-consistent.
The practice sessions have already begun for the Indonesian GP, and things haven’t gone well for Binder, who was taken out by his teammate Augusto Fernández. Check it out below:
A slightly embarrassing moment for the KTM and GASGAS teammates! 😮@Afernandez37 desperately tried to save it but couldn't avoid @BradBinder_33! 💥#IndonesianGP 🇮🇩 pic.twitter.com/upUmz0szTc
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 13, 2023
FULL ROUND OF EURO 2024 QUALIFIERS
There is yet another international football break this weekend, which is extremely frustrating if you’re an avid follower of the Premier League and find tipping correct outcomes are easier when there’s continuity.
This weekend sees a raft of Euro 2024 qualifiers. I think I counted 44 in total, starting on Thursday night and going through to Tuesday. We have to wait for the best for last, when England take on Italy next Tuesday.
The Netherlands against France, on Friday night, should also be juicy. For the punter it’s an ideal opportunity to stack up the accumulator and dream of that island in the sun.
𝐿𝑒𝑠 𝐵𝑙𝑒𝑢𝑠 🔵 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑨𝒎𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒎 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 '𝑂𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑗𝑒' 🟠
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) October 13, 2023
⚽️ Euro 2024 qualifying
🆚 The Netherlands 🇳🇱
🏟 Johan Cruijff ArenA#NEDFRA | #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/sgHjQjK50w
