It’s been four years since the British and Irish Lions beat Australia 2-1 in the 2013 Test series down under. That was the first time that the top players from the British Isles had won a tour in the Southern Hemisphere since 1997 and it was all the sweeter for coming against their Aussie rivals. However, whatever amount of pride lingering in the minds and hearts of British Rugby fans is in quickly diminishing stock as the team prepare for three test matches against New Zealand in the summer of 2017.
You don’t have to be an avid follower of rugby union to know that the Lions have a very slim chance of winning the upcoming series against the All Blacks. Pessimistic fans (AKA those who want to save their blushes early on) might even predict a 3-0 whitewash for Warren Gatland and his squad – a repeat of the result that came to pass in the last Lions tour to New Zealand in 2005.
Record Breaking All Blacks
The odds on offer in the series win markets are predictably humdrum, with not much value on show for punters who want to back the Lions or the All Blacks to take victory over the three games. The home side and heavy favourites can be found with odds of 1/6 to return a pitiful profit of £1.67 from a £10 bet while 11/2 for the British and Irish Lions will return a profit of £55 from the same stake.
The way we see it, there isn’t much value in backing the underdogs for those kind of returns and here are a few reasons why:
– All Blacks record at Eden Park: two of the test matches in the three game series will be played at Eden Park. This is very bad news for the British challengers for one very portentous statistic – the All Blacks have not lost a game at their national stadium since 1994. That’s 38 matches unbeaten and the Lions will have to overturn the fortunes of visiting teams at Eden Park at least once if they are to claim the two victories they need to win the series.
– All Blacks record on home soil: the All Blacks aren’t just formidable at Eden Park, they’re also pretty decent when they play at home. In fact, the New Zealand rugby union team are currently on a 46-game winning streak in matches played on home soil, so it’s not as if the Lions are going to have an easier time of it when they come up against the All Blacks at the Westpac Stadium on the 1st of July.
– All Blacks record in the world: Let’s face it, New Zealand are pretty solid no matter where they play. The team is ranked world number 1 and they finished 2016 with a record 18 consecutive wins, 10 of which came away from home.
Irish and English pivotal
The kind of imperious form shown by the All Blacks at home and away over the past few years and even decades is nothing new; they are rightly regarded as being a cut above the rest in international rugby union and they have been so for some time. But they haven’t been untouchable as Irish and English fans will proudly point out and if The Lions are going to have any chance of causing an upset, the green and white contingent of the British squad will be pivotal in the process.
– Famous Irish Victory in Chicago: the 18-game winning streak record clocked by the All Blacks last year could have been so much more impressive if it wasn’t for Ireland’s emphatic 40-29 victory over New Zealand at Soldier Field on Nov 5 2016. The fly half, scrum half link up between Jonathan Sextion and Connor Murray could be the focal point of the Lions team and it would be interesting to see if Robbie Henshaw at centre plays into Gatland’s selection.
– England also unbeaten for 18 games: anything the All Blacks can do, England can do too but not necessarily better. The England rugby union team matched the 18-game win streak record with a victory over Scotland in the 2017 six nations tournament (ironically, it was also Ireland who stopped England from winning any more games in the final Six Nations match). However, pundits of the New Zealand persuasion are quick to point out that England never faced the All Blacks AKA the best team in the world during that winning run.
As you can see, the All Blacks aren’t completely invincible and, if there is any team that could potentially cause an upset then it is one that is made up from the best players from very good England and Ireland rugby union teams while there are also some very talented names from Wales and Scotland too. However, while a win for the Lions can never be totally written off, the two that are needed to take a series win would be nothing short of a miracle.
Other bets
In lieu of any value in the series win markets, what other betting options are on offer for punters who will be following the series? We mean, getting up early on a Saturday morning is always easier when there’s the potential to win some money! Here are some of the other ways to bet on the British Lions in 2017 without having to back an unlikely series win.
– Series Correct Score: Backing New Zealand to win this test series isn’t going to return a lot of profit, that is unless you attempt to call the correct score of the three match tour. The most likely result in the eyes of the bookies is a 3-0 trouncing at odds of 4/6 while punters can find a 2-1 win for the All Blacks at 3/1. The most likely score if the British and Irish Lions were to win would be a 2-1 series victory at odds of 8/1 but very optimistic (and crazy) fans can get the Lions to win 3-0 at 40/1.
– Series Handicap: Even optimistic Lions fans will recognise the challenge that their team face in this Southern Hemisphere tour. So why not level the betting field with a series handicap bet. Bet365 are offering to give the British and Irish Lions a +2.5 games advantage at odds of 13/10 for £13 profit from a £10 bet. This would mean that Gatland’s team will need to win or draw just one game to win the bet.
– Top Team Tryscorer: No matter who wins the series, there will be plenty of tries scored over the three weeks of rugby action. Most online sports betting sites are giving gamblers to chance to place stakes on which player will score the most tries for either team. George North (11/4), Elliot Daly (9/2) and Anthony Watson (9/2) are the frontrunners for the Lions while Julian Savea (2/1), Waisake Noholo (3/1) and Israel Dagg (3/1) are the favourites for New Zealand.
– Match Markets: While we have looked at the series as a whole in this article of betting tips for the British Lions tour to New Zealand, there are plenty of opportunities to make some winnings from individual games. Typical bookmakers offer bets on everything from which team will score first, which team with score last, the exact winning margin and whether the total number of points scored will be odd or even. Some of these bets are easier to predict than others but punters won’t be able to complain that there isn’t enough choice on show!
