Australia vs South Africa Rugby Tips & Predictions

Australia vs South Africa play for the second time during the Rugby Championship, and it was a one-sided game last week.

The World Cup champions put on a clinic when winning 33-7, so pressure is on the struggling Australians to at least make it competitive at Optus Stadium.

We have Rugby betting tips for every major test of the international season, and there is good value available with the best betting sites in Australia!

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Australia vs South Africa Tips

Saturday 17/8/24

7:45pm Australia vs South Africa @ Optus Stadium

We were prepared to give Australia the benefit of the doubt before last week’s game, but after losing by 26 points as a +8.5 underdog, it’s tough.

South Africa was dominant in the opening game of the Rugby Championship, and the Springboks are the much better team and have been for many years. However, they are only the –11.5 favourites for the second game.

There has been support for Australia, but we think that’s because most punters think they can’t be that bad again. The Wallabies have been awful for years, and we hoped they would start their campaign with some energy.

We saw nothing to suggest they’ll play well at Optus Stadium on Saturday night, so we’re going with the Springboks to win and cover the spread.

Australia +11.5 has been backed into $1.85, so it has been hammered in betting markets. However, we’re comfortable backing South Africa to score another comfortable win.

It’s the much better team, and it has too much speed for Australia to handle. Cheslin Kolbe is one of the fastest players in world rugby, and Australia doesn’t have anyone who can keep up.

The forward pack is also dominant, and although we expect Australia to improve, we don’t think it will improve enough to cover the spread.

Take South Africa –11.5 at the generous price of $1.96.

Betting tip: South Africa –11.5 @ $1.96

South Africa by 14

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Australia vs South Africa Exotic Tips

We’re taking the short odds for Kolbe to score a try at any time, which pays $1.80.

That’s a fair price for a proven try scorer, and it should be an open contest where plenty of tries are scored.

He’s one of the best players in the world, and he only needs a half-step to get around defenders and score five points for the Springboks.

He’s also $8.25 to score first, and although there are more risks with this bet, the payoff is better.

Australia could get amongst the try scorers, including Tom Wright. He is good enough to score a try against South Africa if the forwards get some go-forward ball.

Wright is a $3.30 chance to score a try at any time, and he could be the shining light for a beaten team on Saturday.

We expect South Africa to come out humming, so we’re backing it to cover the first half spread of –6.5. The Springboks often make a good start, and their physicality will be too much for Australia to handle.

Betting tip: Cheslin Koble to score first try @ $8.25

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Daryl Curnow

After graduating from the University of Auckland (BA - English), Daryl was thrown into the world of sports and horse racing journalism.

Having worked as a racing journalist for two years, he decided to move into the online world of horse racing and sports writing. After years of honing his craft, Daryl became a professional punter in 2009 - with a focus on horse racing, NRL, AFL, NBA, Rugby, NFL, and US college sports.

Daryl's tips have been featured on various websites around the world before joining the GoBet team. When he's not working, Daryl tries to avoid making bogeys on the golf course.