Test Final - Escath XV vs. Thunder RFC (vBookie)

Thanks for noticing

I try and bookmake appropriately, steer people towards having a punt on the Thunder and 8k gets placed on Escath at $1.10 despite me having said there's no value in it. Bizarre.

 

Making a profit either way, baby

 

Overall, yes. But on a single book, it's not that easy to make a profit on both outcomes as generally the bookmaker has an expectation of a particular outcome and will manoeuver the book in order to maximise profit on that outcome rather than on balancing the book as a whole. Right now, I'd be happy to have an exposure on the Thunder (assuming it didn't get too big) in order to maximise my profit on Escath. Of course, once I've got the book where I want it, I'd change the odds again to divert people away from adding any more exposure than I can handle on the Thunder.

 

Just getting some dinner and this will start. Gimme 15 minutes.

 

Simming now. Added Scrum Metres whilst eating, but we're about to begin here.

 

The two squads line up for this eagerly anticipated final. The Escath XV have looked unstoppable throughout the tournament, but the Thunder have an enviable defensive record. Can they withstand the inevitable Escath attack and break on the counter?

The ground here is looking damp and greasy. Could be a bit of a leveller?

Thunder have the kick off. Scoble kicks deep, but Morgan takes the catch easily.

 

6:30: Thunder with the ball, 10m on their own side of the halfway line. Michael Chung with the ball, but he's superbly tackled by James McDougal, and Chung tries to dispose, but he's fumbled it.

Ben Jacobs steams through and collects the ball off the ground, as the Escath team surge forward. Jacobs is tackled by Adam Vago, but offloads to David Dafter who is in turn tackled by Tom Delonge. A ruck forms, but there's plenty of Escath bodies around and the ball is secured.

Jake Loughman spins the ball out to Bobby Blunder but that's poor vision, Blunder has no support out there and Michael Chung comes in and makes amends for his earlier mistake with a solid tackle. Support comes in from Wilkinson and Callum Laing and we've got a turnover here.

The Thunder extinguish what looked like a promising attack.

 

12:00: This has turned into a bit of a kicking contest in these damp conditions. The Thunder are deep inside Escath territory; 20m away from the line. They secure good ball from that scrum, but gained little from it. Logan kicks the ball for a chip 'n' chase, but that's secured by Ben Jacobs who clears downfield.

Back to the half way line...