Bordeaux Bègles vs Racing 92
The strength of the French teams have certainly shown in the Champions Cup as 5 of the last 8 eight teams are from France, with so many French teams there were bound to be all French matches and this match between Bordeaux Bègles and Racing 92 promises to be an absolute cracker. The Bordeaux team revolved around star French flyhalf Mathieu Jalibert who’s just 22 but was the form flyhalf during the 6 Nations. Racing 92 are missing their international flyhalf Finn Russell because of suspension; it’s unfortunate as the battle between the 2 would be mouthwatering. Racing 92 absolutely steamrolled Edinburgh in the last match and the destroyer in chief was hooker Camille Chat who was unstoppable. Bordeaux had a much tougher test in their match against Bristol and it was their talisman Jalibert who expertly controlled the match especially on attack. Racing 92 used their big forwards and dominated the Edinburgh pack but they won’t have it easy against a strong Bordeaux pack. The Racing 92 team is blessed to have game breakers like Teddy Thomas and Virimi Vakatawa to create something from nothing and Bordeaux will need to stop them early if they are to have any chance in this match. Racing 92 have been in two of the last 3 finals so they have the experience and the players to progress through to the next round although Bordeaux do have home ground advantage.
TIP: The French teams all have great strength in the forwards and these two certainly possess that and I would have said a comfortable victory for Racing 92 but with no Finn Russell this game will be much closer. Racing will need to stop go forward ball to Jalibert otherwise he will pull the strings and control the game but the experience in the Racing team will tell and they will show their expertise at managing the game. The bookies see this as a tight match and so do I but I feel Racing will be the victors at the end of the 80 minutes. The best odds on a Racing victory are at Worldsportsbetting 1.70, Sportingbet 1.60 and Sunbet 1.58
HEAD TO HEAD STATS
Bordeaux Bègles vs Racing 92
- The last 6 meetings between the 2 are evenly matched with 3 wins apiece.
- The away team has won the last 3 meetings
- This is the first meeting of these teams in the European Champions Cup.
Latest results for both teams
Bordeaux won their last match against Bristol 36-17 while Racing won their match against Edinburgh 57-3.
PREDICTION
Racing although playing away from home have a good record on the road against Bordeaux and not having fans in the stadium will make it that much easier. You cannot discount the European experience that Racing has and they know how to win those close games while Bordeaux are newbies in the Champions Cup. This match will be a bridge too far for Bordeaux and I expect Racing 92 to win this match by less 7 points
- Probable Starting XVs
Bordeaux Begles
15 Romain Buros, 14 Yoram Moefana, 13 Pablo Uberti, 12 Rémi Lamerat, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Guido Petti, 6 Cameron Woki, 5 Jandré Marais, 4 Cyril Cazeaux, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Clement Maynadier, 1 Jefferson Poirot (c)
Racing 92
15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Henry Chavancy (c), 11 Louis Dupichot, 10 Antoine Gibert, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Jordan Joseph, 7 Baptiste Chouzenoux, 6 Ibrahim Diallo, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Bernard Le Roux, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Eddy Ben Arous
Odds for this bet
The best odds on the Racing 92 victory are:
Worldsportsbetting 1.70
Sportingbet 1.60
Sunbet 1.58
Odds comparison on a Racing 92 handicap victory
The complete odds on the Racing 92 handicaps are as follows:
Sportingbet (-3.5) 1.91
Worldsportsbetting (-2.5) 1.90
Sunbet (-2.5) 1.80
Playabets (-2.5) 1.81
Predictions and Odds in details
The player of the last match for Racing was undoubtedly Camille Chat as he ran around the field like a back and his work at the scrums and mauls were brilliant. His uncanny ability at popping up at the right places always puts him in try scoring positions. The Bordeaux team relies on Jalibert for everything good about them but they also have dangerous strike runners like Ben Lam. Racing will hold the edge In this encounter and expect Maxime Machenaud to control the game with his kicking from hand and at the posts. Bordeaux’s great run in the competition will end on Sunday as the agony of losing in the final will spur Racing 92 to victory. The victory will be more than 3 points so here are the Racing 92 handicap odds: Sportingbet (-3.5) 1.91, Worldsportsbetting (-2.5) 1.90 and Sunbet (-2.5) 1.80
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.
