The Longshot: Even team names have their price as Sharks get a taste
IS THERE much interest in rugby out there this week? When we could have been celebrating overcoming our World Cup quarter-final hoodoo?
Many less-than-hardcore fans will not even realise our local team’s campaign to defend their URC campaign gets underway tomorrow evening at Thomond Park.
Graham Rowntree’s men are 5/1 to retain the crown they captured after a 12-year silverware hiatus last May in South Africa when they beat the Stormers. Leinster, who begin their campaign on Sunday in Glasgow are the 4/6 outright favourites. The Stormers are third in the running at 6/1, followed by Munster’s visitors tomorrow, the Sharks on 12/1.
Munster have played the South African side three times, with a win, loss and a draw (the latter saw Munster come from 22-3 down to secure a vital 22-22 draw in April in Durban to clinch fifth-place in the URC and guarantee a place in this season’s Champions’ Cup). That game came just three weeks after Munster were rolled over by the Sharks side that boasts Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and star forward Eben Etzebeth (otherwise engaged now). A four-try blast in the first 21 minutes of the second half of a 12-try game saw the Africans win the first Champions’ Cup knockout tie not held on European soil.
Those were the Cell C Sharks of course, and it is the ‘Hollywoodbets’ Sharks who arrive in Limerick tomorrow. It is actually the first time we have come across a betting firm sponsoring an actual team name.
Last week we discussed how annoying it is to have your stadium named after an insurance firm, but it must be even more difficult to stomach your team getting the same treatment, and then changing from one season to the next. It might end up being the only way English Premiership rugby teams get through this present period of financial volatility.
One European rugby team who have become so associated with their sponsor is Benetton Treviso, which is so ingrained it is easy to forget it is named after the clothing company, which was once more familiarly associated with a Formula One team. Motor racing has never shown any qualms about letting its engines (and chassis) be taken over by sponsors, Red Bull being the glaring example in recent years.
The Austrian beverage firm has become an extreme sports behemoth since the turn of the century, and has also become synonymous with football clubs in Salzburg, Leipzig and New York. In Mozart’s home town, Red Bull instituted policies that discouraged fans from showing their former violet and white colours and prohibited fans from displaying banners criticising the new ownership. Some fans who wore the old colours were harassed and even assaulted with beer bottles.
Leipzig, despite being founded by the same ‘energy drink’, isn’t actually called Red Bull, but rather RB. Statutes in the German Football Association meant Red Bull couldn’t use its own name when establishing the club in 2009. The soft drink purveyor instead went for ‘RasenBallsport’, which means ‘Lawn Ball Sports’.
A sponsor being incorporated into the name of a team is one thing but in the case of the Welsh outfit Total Network Solutions (remember them), the sponsor became the entire name. Formerly known as Llansantffraid FC, after winning the Welsh Cup in 1997, a local computer company called Total Network Solutions offered £250,000 for the club to change their name to TNS. In 2006 TNS were bought out by British Telecom, signalling the end of the sponsorship arrangement and eventually the club settled on being renamed ‘The New Saints’ as it would allow it to keep its abbreviation.
Despite what many may think, this sort of thing has been going on for a long time, with two of the more storied European clubs being named for benefactors.
Many may assume that Bayer Levurkusen is similar to Munich’s Bayern, but the latter is essentially the German name for Bavaria. Unlike Bayer, which was the first major “sponsored team name” after receiving backing from the pharmaceutical company who have brought us aspirin and Alka-seltzer, and less fortunately, heorin and Zyklon B. While the pharmaceutical giants did provide funding to the new team way back in 1904, it was simply seen as a way of keeping their employees fit and happy, rather than boosting the company’s profile.
And PSV Eindhoven of Holland is named for Philips Electronics. In that ‘light’, it could be argued there is a longstanding tradition of naming soccer organisations after corporate sponsors. That bookies are doing it now, though, seems a real shame.
Top 10
IS IT time to bring back our irregular feature of top 10s? Yes it is. Here are some possibly suitable sponsor names for sports teams, the first nodding at the Blues’ recruitment drive.
Indeed Pensioners (Chelsea)
Lockheed Martin Arsenal
Waterford Crystal Palace
Choco Hoops (Celtic) Intersport Elverys Milan
Ajax (Ajax)
Radox Bath Rugby
Gillette Blades (Sheffield Utd)
Nice Biscuits
Dolmio Bologna
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NEVER have two World Cup semi-finals been imagined to be so one-sided. If by the end of the weekend we are not left with just the second ever decider between the two most storied nations in rugby it will be an astounding upset that will have scuppered it.
The Boks are 4/5 to retain their crown, while the all Blacks are 11/10. If either lifts the trophy they will take over at the top of the pecking order on four crowns. The first semi-final sees Argentina take on New Zealand and Michael Cheika’s side enter the contest as 10/1 underdogs. In meetings up until now, the All Blacks have won 33 times, with the Pumas winning two.
Argentina claimed their first ever win over the All Blacks with a 25-15 victory in Sydney in 2020 (adding another in Christchurch last year). However, since that breakout win they have lost five games to the men in black in which they have shipped more than 30 points. New Zealand — 18.5 points at even money looks good value considering this. Despite making it to the final four, Argentina has failed to meet expectations, especially given their dispiriting loss to England in the opening match of the tournament.
The Kiwis lost their opener too, but to a far more intense force in the hosts France. Mark Telea was dropped for the quarter-final victory over Ireland, but is back in the starting 15 and has immediately been installed as the 8/1 favourite to be the first try scorer.
In the other semi-final, England are set to face South Africa. They are the only side unbeaten in the tournament but their journey to the final four was bumpy, and they are considered underdogs with odds of 5/1.
They will likely rely on a pragmatic style, aiming to score points whenever possible, and they are 5/4 in the ‘First to Score’ market.
In terms of head-to-head records, South Africa leads the series, having won 27 test matches to England’s 16, with two matches drawn. The most recent meeting was in the 2022 Autumn Internationals, which South Africa won 27-13, but England have won three of the last five encounters.
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ARSENAL made a bit of a statement in their last game before the international break by beating the reigning champs.
They travel to Chelsea tomorrow evening, a side who have shown some recent signs of progress under former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino.
However, in three away league games, the Gunners emerged victorious without conceding a single goal.
Despite being away, Arsenal are 27/20, while Chelsea are 21/10, and the draw is 12/5.
The Gunners achieved a double victory over Chelsea last season, including a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge and remain unbeaten in their last four visits to West London.
Chelsea have won three consecutive matches for the first time since March but are 11th in the Premier League, nine points behind Arsenal.
A 1-0 victory again for Arsenal, a result they’ve achieved in half of their eight league games this season, is offered at 8/1.
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LIVERPOOL and Everton meet for the 243rd time tomorrow.
The Merseyside derby has been dominated by Liverpool as they’ve won 98 times compared to Everton’s 67.
February 2021 was the last time Everton beat Liverpool at Anfield and before that it was 1999.
Three of the last five Merseyside derbies have ended 2-0 — two of which were in favour of Liverpool and the other being that win for Everton and it is 17/2 that the Reds win by this score and 60/1 on the Blues.
Klopp’s men are priced at 1/3 to do the business again, while it is 8/1 on the Toffees to win and the draw is 5/1.
I think this one could be a bit of a blowout and the 15/2 on 4.5+ goals for the home side looks like decent odds to me.
The Bet
THE rugby results are fairly cut and dried and predicting scorelines for handicap purposes can be a bit too precarious.
We haven’t had much luck with our football accumulators in the past 12 months but it might be time to chance our arm again.
Man City to beat Brighton, Arsenal to see off Chelsea, Luton to win away to Nottingham Forest and Liverpool to beat Everton by over 2.5 goals will net you 36/1.
