It is almost time. After a year of speculation, six months of selection and five weeks of preparation, the history books are open for the 2013 British and Irish Lions.
Superb
So I'm going to back the Lions in a fast start (
4/5 to win the race to 10 points) and the Lions in the
match result at 7/4 on. Having not seen either side at full steam, picking the margin is always more of a lottery so I would perhaps look at the alternative margin of the
Lions by 1-12 at 11/8, though the price boost of
Lions by 6-10 is appealing at 11/2.
In terms of individual battles, at the team announcement Gatland paid special mention to the George North-Israel Folau duel. North has been superb on tour, Folau is the AFL and rugby league superstar making his rugby union debut. Individually, they're priced both at 5/2 for a try, but if you fancy
both to score it's available at a juicy 14/1.
Elsewhere, O'Driscoll blew the Wallabies apart in the first Test 12 years ago, he's
100/30 to cross on Saturday. Interest is bound to come in behind both
Phillips (4/1) and Tom Croft (5/1) who scored Test tries in South Africa four years ago and have looked in good touch this time around. If you like a last try scorer - then how about Kurtley Beale off the bench for the Wallabies to dot down (for a consolation!) towards the end? If so, it is
16/1 for the man with a point to prove.
It is all set to be one of the sporting events of this summer, and the atmosphere is building as thousands of Lions supporters arrive on the Gold Coast. I'm sure pulses will be racing anyway on Saturday morning, but hopefully a few winning bets will add to the drama. Good luck
