Kick-off: 1700, 07/08/2021
Stadium: Cape Town Stadium
TV: Sky Sports
South Africa appear to be in a strong position ahead of Saturday’s series decider against the Lions after last week’s dominant display.
The Springboks bounced back from an opening 22-17 defeat to run away with the second Test, completely outplaying the tourists in a 27-9 triumph.
It is hard to forgive or forget how sluggish Warren Gatland’s side were, so 4/6 for another home win is our initial South Africa vs Lions prediction for game three.
A Look At South Africa’s Betting Odds
South Africa went into the first Test undercooked following Covid-19 issues and had a couple of marginal TMO decisions go against them.
However, the reigning world champions were back up to full speed for game two and left nothing to chance.
A powerful performance from the forward pack laid the platform for an emphatic victory, which featured tries from Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am.
Scrum-half Faf de Klerk and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit have been lost to injuries, but the replacements are strong.
Cobus Reinach will provide more of a running threat than de Klerk, while Lood de Jager’s promotion into the pack will offer superior mauling clout.
Coach Jacques Nienaber believes the Springboks’ 2019 World Cup success could give his players the edge.
“Big games like this take a lot of energy out of you in the build-up, a lot of emotional energy – it’s draining because there is so much at stake,” he said.
“Luckily for us in our group, they’ve been there before. It doesn’t make it easier but it helps you having that experience.”
This should be closer, but 27/20 for the hosts to win by 1-12 points appeals from the South Africa vs Lions odds.
A Look At British & Irish Lions’ Betting Odds
The Lions managed to win the aerial battle up front in the first Test but were suffocated by South Africa’s trench warfare tactics last Saturday.
Wyn Jones and Ken Owens come in to provide more ballast in the scrum, while new centre Bundee Aki will supply muscle on both sides of the ball.
However, Gatland has rolled the dice with his other changes, clearly hoping to inject more pace and tempo into the deciding clash.
Welsh duo Liam Williams and Josh Adams love to run from deep, Ali Price brings energy at scrum-half and substitutes Finn Russell and Sam Simmonds could offer late excitement.
Gatland has urged the match officials not to let South Africa constantly slow things down, as they did a week ago.
He commented: “We definitely want to play more rugby and we just didn’t get that opportunity in the second half.
“At every scrum there was an injury slowing the game down and there were something like 14 minutes of TMO time in the game.
“That will be one of the things I will talk to the referees about this week. It’s important we keep the flow of the game. We want to see some pretty good rugby.”
Getting the Springboks to play ball will be tough, but let’s have a saver on flying winger Adams to score the first try at 11/1 to complete our South Africa vs Lions betting tips.
Additional stats
Previous results:
SOUTH AFRICA 27-9 LIONS
SOUTH AFRICA 17-22 LIONS
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