Toulouse vs Bulls
France’s most successful rugby club welcome South Africa’s historically most successful club as Toulouse take on the Bulls in this Champions Cup round of 16 match. The home team have recalled all their French national stars so the Bulls will be in for the toughest of matches.The visitors can take confidence from last season when they beat Leinster at home in the URC semi-final. This however will be an entirely different ball game as the Bulls are playing their poorest rugby since the URC started. Toulouse will want to flex their muscles early and come out firing from the first whistle.
TIP: The French side have class throughout their side but the undoubted star is Captain Anton Dupont and this was underlined when he was voted Player of the Tournament in the recently concluded Six Nations. It was the second consecutive year that he won the award and the third time overall. If the Bulls want to have any chance of winning they will need to keep Dupont quite which is almost impossible. The bookies have Toulouse as favourites and I’m also tipping them for the win. The best odds on this bet are as follows: Betway 1.07, Gbets 1.08 and Hollywoodbets 1.08
HEAD TO HEAD STATS
Toulouse vs Bulls
- This is the first ever meeting between these teams.
Latest results for both teams
Toulouse lost their last match 27-17 to Castres while the Bulls lost 32-23 to Ulster in their last match.
PREDICTION
The Bulls have looked awful in recent matches, struggling to find any cohesion in attack and porous in defence. Toulouse will be licking their lips if they saw these recent media clips as they are a team full of attacking superstars. The Bulls so often feared for their forward pack, have instead been bullied by the smaller teams since the sabbatical of skipper Marcell Coetzee. Toulouse have power packed front rowers with Dorian Aldegheri, Julien Marchand and Cyril Baille and they will be looking to destroy the Bulls scrum that has been shaky all season. The home team has too much firepower and I predict they will win by more than 20 points
Probable Starting XVs
Toulouse
15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Juan Cruz Mallía, 13 Santiago Chocobares, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Francois Cros, 6 Jack Willis, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Richie Arnold, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille
Bulls
15 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 David Jacobus Kriel, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortjé (c), 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp
Odds for this bet
The best odds on the Toulouse victory are as follows:
Betway 1.07
Gbets 1.08
Hollywoodbets 1.08
Odds comparison on the Toulouse handicap:
The complete odds on the Toulouse handicap:
Betway 1.90 (-17.5)
Gbets 1.90 (-17.5)
Hollywoodbets 1.89 (-17.5)
Predictions and Odds in details
There are decent returns on the Harlequins outright win but if you looking for better odds then we suggest the home team on the handicap. The best odds on this bet are as follows: Betway 1.90 (-17.5), Gbets 1.90 (-17.5) and Hollywoodbets 1.89 (-17.5)
Other tips for the weekend (Predicted winners are in BOLD text)
Moana Pasifika vs Highlanders
Reds vs Crusaders
Lions vs Sharks
Fijian Drua vs Rebels
Brumbies vs Waratahs
Sports crazy fan that follows all major sport but the game with the oval ball is my real passion. Was an age level rugby coach and a huge supporter of the Springboks and diehard Liverpool man. I’m an experienced punter and sports writer whose predictions/tips are sure to stir up the emotions. I love the occasional wager on the underdog.
