This Week's Rugby League

By The Man

There is a feast of rugby in store for the rugby punter over the Easter period and it starts tonight with a double header on TV. Firstly Whitehaven v Barrow from the Championship followed by Leeds and Bradford from the Super League.

Despite so much rugby to savour I confess I am struggling to find a bet for the first round of fixtures and I again agree pretty much with all the Super League lines. However, the spread companies and the Championship have provided a wager.

Whitehaven v Barrow



1st April 18:00 GMT
Sky Sports 1 (18:00-19:55), Sky Sports HD1 (18:00-19:55)

Whitehaven have put in two woeful displays on the road at Leigh and Featherstone and I fully expect their troubles to continue this season however, their home form has always stood up to scrutiny. They also hope to welcome back Kyle Amor, Spencer Miller and Marc Jackson to bolster the pack that has had serious problems with go forward. Add in that Greg McNally has joined on a dual registration from Huddersfield and Craig Calvert is set to return and you have a much stronger, competitive Haven outfit.

Barrow, the Champions, will provide a stern test but they have their own injury problems with James Nixon, Rob Roberts, Ned Catic and Richard Fletcher missing out. They have a fair depth to their squad though and they are rightly holding favouritism. They got their season back on track in Toulouse at the weekend after a shock home defeat to Featherstone. I have watched most of this season's Barrow fixtures and they do have a strong defence. Even in defeats at Widnes and the aforementioned Featherstone game it held up but the attack has seemed a little rusty at times.

Tonight I envisage a competitive fixture with Barrow coming away with the victory but I can't argue with the supremacy/handicap lines on offer. Around the 10pt mark seems about right to me. My angle comes from the total point’s line. The weather has been atrocious in West Cumbria this week. There has been heavy rain and snowfall and the Rec' has been flooded. The local fire brigade have been employed to try to pump away the standing water in order that the game goes ahead. If it wasn't for the Sky cameras I suspect the game would have been postponed.

So with a much stronger 'Haven pack ensuring a competitive game and the conditions tempting a muddy forward battle it perhaps comes as no surprise that I want to go low on points. Sporting Index are currently offering the sell at 44pts and that's high enough for me in a game where I see limited downside.
 
Pick: Sell Whitehaven v Barrow Total Points @ 44 for 0.3pts at Sportingindex
 
The Man