Rugby League Challenge Cup Preview

The Challenge Cup reaches the semi-final stage this weekend and with four of the top seven sides in the League remaining it promises to be an exciting weekend.

The first game, on Saturday, sees Leeds fifth (Leeds) face the Super League Leaders (Wigan). Wigan are 2/7 (general) to book their place in the final, while Leeds are 100/30 (ladbrokes). The Rhinos enter this game on the back of a four game winning streak and will hope that they can keep the momentum going here. Wigan for their part will be full of confidence as they have won 14 of their last 15 games and hammered Leeds 50-8 in the League on June 1st. Wigan also beat Leeds 28-18 in the Challenge Cup final last season. If you prefer you can play the Handicap markets on this game with BetVictor offering evens both teams. The point margin is 12 and if you think Leeds can stay close then this is the one for you. Leeds are a big game team who have won the play-off final four of the last five years and might just find a way to raise their game for this occassion. The First Tryscorer market is another option to play in this game with the top tryscorer this season Josh Charnley 7/1 and Sam Tomkins, who grabbed a hat-trick in his last game, 9/1 (Both Coral). Both players are also available on the anytime tryscorer market with Charnley 1/2 and Tomkins 4/7. Leeds Rhinos fans can get 8/11 on Ryan Hall to score anytime.

The second semi-final takes place on Sunday and sees Warrington take on Huddersfield. Warrington are second in the league and have won three of their last four games including a victory over Catalan Dragons on Monday night. Huddersfield Giants meanwhile are on a bad run of six losses from seven games and sit in seventh place in the league. These two sides met way back in February with Warrington running out 32-22 winners. Warrington are deserved favourites are 2/9 (general), while Huddersfield to produce the shock is priced at 4/1 (BetVictor/paddy Power/Stan James). BetVictor are once again offering Evens on the handicap, which benefits if you fancy the outsider to keep it close, but not if you fancy the favourite as they have a bigger margin to cover. The line on this game with BetVictor is 14 points.

Those who want a bet on the outrights at this stage can get 6/5 (Bodog/188bet) on a Wigan Challenge Cup victory, while Warrington are 2/1 (sportingbet). Leeds are 7/1 (sportingbet/BetVictor) while Huddersfield are the outsiders at 12/1 (general). Also available is a chance to name the finalists with sportingbet who offer 1/2 that is a Wigan v Warrington final, 4/1 Wigan v Huddersfield, 5/1 Leeds and Warrington or 16/1 that the two outsiders Leeds and Huddersfield make the final.

Also this weekend one Super League match will be taking place which pitches Catalan Dragons against Hull. Bookmakers think the Dragons will be too strong and have them priced at 1/8 (Skybet) while Hull are 13/2 (bet365). bet365 set the handicap line at 18 points while Skybet make it 16. Both firms are offering 10/11 the pair.

It promises to be a big weekend of Rugby action so make sure sure you scrum down on the early value.

Go To bet365

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13/07/2012     © Frixo 2024