Boks on offer at 15/8 as underdogs for RWC final

While bookmakers are not offering much in terms of the end result, with England entering the Rugby World Cup final as slight favourites over South Africa, some more risky bets could offer hefty rewards.

In comparison to the World Cup final in 2007, when the Springboks faced England for the title, a tighter contest was expected in Japan this weekend.

Going into the ’07 tournament in France, bookies had the Boks as firm favourites, and they lived up to the hype.

With South Africa at 5/1 and England a long shot at 33/1 before the pool stages, the Boks went on to secure a 15-6 victory in the final, lifting the trophy for the second time.

Although pundits evidently put their money behind England this week, they were reluctant to give them too much weight in what was expected to be a hardfought battle.

According to oddschecker.com, the best price given to the English was 1/2, while the Boks had been handed the underdog tag at 15/8.

Despite the likely prospect of a slim margin of victory, some value was placed on a draw, with odds of 25/1 on offer for a tied result.

For those willing to stick their necks out, the biggest odds available at oddschecker.com, which compared offers from various international betting platforms, were on the players who were least expected to score tries.

For example, Spread Ex was offering 1 000/1 for Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi to finish the tournament as the top try scorer.

Although the big forward had already scored three tries at the showpiece, he would need to barge over the line at least three more times on Saturday to upset the odds.

Among the more conservative bets on offer, smartbet.co.za had 10/1 on the table for the Boks to win by 13 points or more, while betway.co.za was offering 21/1 for a winning margin of more than 63 points either way.

Elsewhere, at bet365.com, the Boks were given an 11/10 chance of scoring the first points of the game, and the same website was offering 14/1 for the Boks to score three unanswered tries.

For those willing to consider multiple permutations, more complex bets were also available.

The SA squad scoring the first points of the game, holding the lead at half time and winning the match offered odds of 9/2.

The Boks were aiming to add to their World Cup victories in 1995 and 2007, while England were targeting their second global title after lifting the crown in 2003.

They were set to square off in the final at 11am in Yokohama on Saturday, with New Zealand meeting Wales in the bronze medal play-off at 11am on Friday.

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