United Rugby Championship predictions: best bets for the new season

Preview and best bets for the United Rugby Championship season, which starts on September 24.

Best bet

Bulls to win the regular season
1pt each-way 25-1 Paddy Power

Season preview

The four Irish provinces dominated last season's Pro14 and Leinster were the best of the lot, and although the tournament has been restructured and renamed, bookmakers don't see the destination of the trophy changing.

Last term's champions are odds-on to top the table again and to win the final, while defeated finalists Munster are next in the betting, while Ulster are the only other team at a single-figure price.

Ulster and Connacht face more of a challenge this year as the pool format means they have to face their fellow Irish sides twice while their rivals from other nations have only one fixture against the biggest guns.

But no other side in the Pro14 has yet shown the consistency of Leinster and Munster, and their squad depth is such that they can cope with their emphasis on European competition plus international absences.

The big change this year is the introduction of four South African sides now cut off from Super Rugby. They won't be as strong as the teams that took part in that tournament but they also look unlikely to be the kind of makeweights the Southern Kings and Cheetahs were when they appeared in the Pro14.

And of the four South African sides, the Bulls might be worth chancing to finish in the top two.

There are a lot of question marks over all four teams and they may fall well short but there are enough potential positives to merit a bet at a big price.

The Bulls topped the South Africa group in the Pro14 Rainbow Cup and were worthy winners of the Currie Cup so look the strongest of the new contenders. That tournament finished just this month so the Bulls arrive in Europe to face teams running out for the first time.

A starting run of four away fixtures at Leinster, Connacht, Cardiff and Edinburgh is tough but at least there will be some continuity in their side for those early outings and they then have a far more comfortable schedule.

As well as some respite in November when the tournament takes a break for the internationals, the South African sides will also benefit in December and January, when the European pool matches take place.

The Bulls will surely be strong at altitude at their Pretoria base and at a big price they are worth chancing.

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