Springbok Coach Meyer Backs New Players

June 8 - For South African rugby fans, the event of the week is the first South Africa versus England test at Durban tomorrow (Saturday, June 9) at 5pm. On the same day New Zealand will play Ireland while Australia will play Wales.

South Africa is using this opportunity to cap three new players. The Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has named Juandre Kruger (26), Eben Etzebeth (20) and Marcell Coetzee (21) in his starting XV. Kruger and Etzebeth replace former captain Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha as locks.

Meyer admitted that it was unusual for South Africa to have two uncapped locks starting. He added, “It will be a huge step up for them and they need to prove that they can play at this level.” Commenting on the inclusion of Coetzee, Meyer said that the debutant has played great rugby the whole year and is a future superstar. All three were chosen based on their performances in the Super 15 Rugby.

Meyer has some knowledge of England’s players, because he had coached club side Leicester in late 2008 and early 2009. He said that England had shown a lot of mental toughness to finish second in this year’s Six Nations. The second test of the series is in Johannesburg on June 16 with the third and final test in Port Elizabeth on June 23.

South Africa vs England Rugby Odds at Sportingbet

All three southern hemisphere teams are strongly favoured over their northern hemisphere counterparts. Sportingbet SA is a favourite online betting site for South African punters, which has posted the latest odds for the South Africa versus England rugby match as follows:

South Africa 2/5

Draw 20/1

England 9/4

Punters who like more excitement and challenge in their wagers can go for the handicap prices, which are as follows.

South Africa (-6) 10/11

Draw (-6) 14/1

England(+6) 10/11

Halftime England vs South Africa Handicaps

The half time handicaps based on the score after 40 minutes are as follows.

South Africa(-3.5) 1/1

England(+3.5) 3/4

Sportingbet online also offers odds on the winning margins. The shortest odds of 9/2 are for South Africa winning by a margin of up to 5. An interesting bet is to name the winner after half time and full time. It is no surprise that the shortest odds of 7/10 are for South Africa/ South Africa.

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