The Road to Riches Weekend of 5th-6th September

Coming up this weekend

• Horse Racing, Over the jumps at Ascot, Haydock and Thirsk, over the jumps as Stratford and on the all-weather at Kempton and Newcastle.
• Football, Premier League fixtures include Arsenal v Chelsea
• Cricket, England v Pakistan test at Edgbaston next week
• Formula One, the Italian Grand Prix
• Golf, the Biltmore Championship on the USPGA Tour and the Irish Open on the DP World Tour.
• Tennis, the US Open continues

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First week one write-up, Patriots at Seahawks out Tuesday

Free Tip

South Africa v New Zealand Third Test, Johannesburg, Saturday 4.10pm

With the series now tied  at 1-1 the four-test “Greatest Rivalry” Series now moves to Soccer city, Soweto after South Africa’s 33-26 win in Cape Town last weekend.

For all the South African team selection shenanigans last week, with a team named on Monday, two changes on Friday with Pollard out and Kolbe in then changing the entire front row an hour before kick-off (in all 5 changes from the original team named at the beginning of the week) perhaps the biggest difference between the two Tests were the bench selections notably the introduction of Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche before half-time as the duo combined with Du Toit to earn the first penalty at scrum time in the game. They re-packed the set-piece, gained dominance and an advantage which ultimately led to Kolisi’s try.

South Africa were leading 24-14 at Half-Time and then 30-14 with 20 minutes to go only for two late New Zealand tries to take them within the +7.5-point spread at the start of the game. New Zealand scored more tries than South Africa for a second game in a row, four, but struggled against the rush defense, in the breakdowns and the lineouts.

This series is a real clash of styles. South Africa are strong attacking between the 15 metre lines and New Zealand are searching for the space outside.

After being ruthless in attack in Johannesburg, New Zealand were far more wasteful in Cape Town, averaging 2.8 points per entry into South Africa’s 22 down from 3.6 points per entry the week before.

All three of South Africa’s tries followed a similar theme: dominance in the set-piece: the first two being the lineout and maul, whilst the third was in the scrum.

It was the lineouts where the All Blacks malfunctioned at critical moments. Three attacking throw-ins by the All Blacks were spoiled by Eben Etzebeth, who made one steal. South Africa’s first two tries were platformed by lineout mauls.

New Zealand also needs to deal more effectively with the South Africa kicking game and the ball in the air in generally.

Faced again this weekend with this clash of styles South Africa are priced up again at -7.5. It’s expected to be a dry day, which helps New Zealand. Deciding which side of the quote to recommend depends on two things. Can New Zealand manage South Africa’s power to restrict their points from a set piece platform and can they be more clinical, as in the first test, when they stretch South Africa wide.

“We lost the battlebut we have not lost the war,” All Blacks captain Ardie Savea said immediately after last week’s game. I tend to agree.

10 points New Zealand +7.5-points at 10/11 generally  

Where next for the England rugby team?

After England’s heavy defeat against South Africa in the first round of the new Nations Championship they had lost five consecutive Tests. Fiji and Argentina

This poor run comes four years and 46 Tests after Steve Borthwick was appointed as the stability candidate, replacing Eddie Jones, as Head Coach, and in the last year there is frustration that Borthwick’s vision has not been realised. England have lurched from a kick-heavy game plan to one on moving the ball wide, often at the tail end of strategies from other teams during the same. There is a clear view that he looks at data and reacts, and doesn’t create his own innovations, a clear echo of South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus’ summation that Borthwick “chases trends”.

 Many watchers contrast watching the Gallagher Prem (particularly the Northampton Saints) with England. It’s as in England training camp that the players are told to leave their creativity behind with game plans that restrict flair.

On a long term perspective this dysfunctionality and disappointment has come as a surprise. Borthwick is clearly a talented coach,his work as an assistant with England and the British & Irish Lions, and his Prem title win with Leicester Tigers suggested as much when he was appointed. Borthwick can take credit credit for appointing Lee Blackett and Kevin Sinfield to make up for his own lack of charisma, but three issues return time and again.

Firstly, the rapid departures of Felix Jones and Aled Walters. The concern being that world-class coaches had to leave because they felt stifled. Many want the RFU to appoint Shaun Edwards, now he has left France, at least for “positive PR”.

Secondly, and this is a problem that goes beyond Borthwick, many are desperate to see Jack Willis, and his brother Tom, in an England shirt, and want the RFU to change its eligibility criteria. Jack I n particular is probably the pre-eminent loose forward in the Northern Hemisphere, now Toulouse captain, and would walk into the team if he didn’t play abroad.

Thirdly there is a clear lack of depth at key positions notably 1-2-3,12 and 13 and 15 that saw England take the field in Johannesburg with a Lilliputian back three of Smith, Murley and Feyi-Waboso with Steward, Furbank injured and Freeman pushed inside. No wonder they were comprehensively beaten in the aerial game.

Commentators do not believe Borthwick knows his best team, but are happy that he has handed debuts to young players like Henry Pollock, Fin Smith and Guy Pepper but the English pathway and club-country Professional Game Partnership seems deficient.

We’ve got a favourable World Cup draw in 20276 but the fear is that it will be wasted with this squad and coach, and it could well be that the RFU pulls the pin on Borthwick with a year to go

Betting Emporium results

The Road to Riches Weekend of 29th-30th August

Coming up this weekend

• Horse Racing, Over the jumps at Beverley, Carlisle, Haydock, Leicester, Nottingham and Sandown.
• Football, Premier League fixtures include Aston Villa v Arsenal
• Rugby Union, South Africa v New Zealand in Cape Town  
• Golf, the European Masters on the DP World Tour.
• Tennis,  the US Open.

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Free Tip

South Africa v New Zealand Rugby Second Test, Cape Town 4.10pm Saturday

At 13-12 at half-time in Johannesburg last weekend predictions of a tight contest looked correct. Against all expectations New Zealand then won the second half 21-3 to win the match 33-16 scoring five tries to one and give South Africa their first home defeat since 2005. 

Winning in South Africa is one thing, but winning with a relatively new setup makes this doubly impressive and of course it sets up the remainder of this four-test series nicely.

It was a victory achieved despite South Africa’s huge set piece domination. During the second and third Quarters it was carnage at scrum-time, though it stabilised late on.

However, New Zealand offered constant threat out-wide and were competitive at the breakdown. South Africa meanwhile had a series of handling errors and lacked any cohesion in attack. For all their domination up front, they didn’t do much with their front foot ball.

South Africa had 13 entries into the New Zealand 22 and scored just 0.9 points per entry. New Zealand had 9 entries and had 3.6 points per entry which represented a huge different in strike-power.

South Africa looked rusty, they conceded 23 turnovers, their second most ever in a match.

The series now moves from altitude in Johannesburg to sea level in Cape Town. Despite last weekend’s result the handicap quote is unmoved at South Africa -7.5 points. Last week’s line moved slightly through the week and New Zealkand went off +6.5 and won by 17 points.

I do expect South Africa to be a lot better and make a conscious effort to use their set-piece advantage to stretch New Zealand in defence something they didn’t do at all last week where brute force alone wasn’t enough due to New Zealand’s ability to convert their attacking chances.

They’ve made 4 changes, with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu dropped at 10 replaced by Pollard potentially the most significant, opting for experience to minimise mistakes. Kolbe at 14 and Grant Williams at 9 are out through injury.

I expect South Africa to rebound and win, potentially convincingly.

10 points South Africa -7.5 points at 10/11 generally   

IPL Changes?

The IPL governing body the BCCI is considering a two-split window and also moving one of the phases to September-October looking to increase the number of IPL matches from the current 74 to 94 to allow the teams to play against each other twice which hasn’t happened since 2022.

Since then teams have been playing twice against five teams and once against the other four after being divided into two virtual groups. The IPL is considering beginning its expansion from 2028.

However there are conflicting reports that instead administrative focus has shifted entirely toward countering unpredictable weather and extreme climate challenges protecting players and fans from intense summer conditions. The late-May stretch of the 2026 season proved difficult, with various host cities dealing with blistering heatwaves, while other venues faced disruptive pre-monsoon showers.

In practice this will mean exploring ways to bring IPL forward by 15 days with the opening match closer to mid-March and an ultimate goal to wrap up the entire competition by mid-May.

For English cricket this comes against a backdrop of what Mike Atherton called the ECB’s “complete subservience” to India where “self-preservation is a natural mode for players”. For example Jofra Archer’s two-month IPL contract is worth more than his 12-month ECB one.

It wasn’t today’s players who devised ECB central contracts and then decided they would be enforced for only nine months a year. It wasn’t the players who built an ecology in which India generates an estimated 80% of the game’s global revenues or sells the IPL TV and streaming rights for $6.2bn but with the IPL having plans to a) move and b) potentially expand its season, reach and wealth the prospect of multi-format star players missing England Test/s as happened this year with Archer is a taste of where this might be heading.

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Betting Emporium results

The detailed results page was updated on 1^st July 2026. They can be found by clicking RESULTS

If you bet £10 per point on every recommended bet since launch you would be winning + £81,889. All bets have an ROI +2.86%

A £4000 bank (see FAQ re bank-roll requirements) betting £10 a point on all selections would now be worth £85,889 a 2047% increase 

 

The Road to Riches Weekend of 22nd-23rd August

Coming up this weekend

• Horse Racing, Over the jumps at Chester, Lingfield, Newmarket, Redcar and York and over the jumps at Newton Abbot.
• Football, the start of the new Premier League season including Newcastle United v Liverpool
• Formula One, the Dutch Grand Prix
• Rugby Union, South Africa play New Zealand “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Game 1” in Johannesburg.
• Cricket, the second test between England and Pakistan at Lords next week.
• Golf, the Tour Championship on the USPGA Tour and the British Masters on the DP World Tour.
• Tennis, ATP Winston-Salem Open and US Open Qualification​

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Free Tip

Rugby Union: South Africa v New Zealand First Test, Johannesburg Saturday 4.10pm.

The 2026 New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa is branded “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” and runs until 12 September and features eight matches, including four Tests against the Springboks including this game at Ellis Park then DHL Stadium, FNB Stadium, and a final neutral‑venue Test in Baltimore. The tour revives a traditional long-form bilateral tour that was common before the professional era and the establishment of SANZAR’s Tri Nations (now Rugby Championship).

This much anticipated series sees the world’s two top ranked sides meet, and World Champions South Africa have won 12 tests in a row coming into this series.

Meanwhile David Rennie was appointed as New Zealand’s new coach in March on a contract through to the 2027 World Cup replacing Scott Robertson, who was sacked in January after two years in the job following high-profile losses to South Africa, Argentina and England as well as reports of tension between senior players and All Blacks staff.

In the recent Southern Hemisphere component of the 2026 Nations championship both teams won 3 out of 3 games at home against Northern Hemisphere opponents. South Africa warmed up for the series with a 17-10 win in Argentina whilst the All Blacks have won all three warm-up games against South African franchises.

South Africa have huge strength in depth and captain Siya Kolisi was was among a core group of Springbok stalwarts given match time in Buenos Aires after missing the Nations Championship in July because of injuries. Sadly Kolisi injured his hamstring in that game. Caps record-holder Eben Etzebeth and fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu played every minute and lock Lood de Jager, coming back from a hip injury, lasted until the third quarter of that game.

New Zealand under Rennie have been a work in progress with errors under pressure and new combinations in play. In the Nations Championship they conceded nine tries to France, Italy and Ireland. More positively there was a clear resolve to always play with ball in hand and a high tempo of play. They scored 18 tries in those three games.

To beat the Springboks this weekend New Zealand will need to have attacking opportunism with sufficient set-piece solidity and sheer grunt to resist up front and in defence. There are signs that they can land enough punches for the Test matches to be back-and-forth blockbusters. Something close to parity up front would give New Zealand a chance in each game.

A clue to the All Blacks strategy can be seen on the bench where the All Blacks have selected two back row forwards and no lock in a five-three split. This potentially gives them speed for late in the game but leaves them vulnerable if they are under pressure at the set-piece 

Prices for the game have South Africa -7.5 on the handicap. I expect them to win but consider the value New Zealand w.ith the points, hoping they’ll land enough blows with their back-line attacking ability to score enough points to keep it close.

10 points New Zealand +7.5 points at 10/11 generally

Challengers

The PGA Tour has announced its plan to split into two tiers, with expanded fields and guaranteed pots of at least $20m for the new “Championship Series” and prize money cut in half for the new lower “Challenger Series”.

In a significant shake-up to the structure of golf’s most prestigious tour, which is due to take effect in 2028, the top tier will feature about 15 tournaments, with the second tier containing roughly 20. There will be about 130 players in the Championship Series, with at least 20 relegated at the end of the season and replaced by the best performers in the Challenger Series.

The PGA Tour boards approved the recommendations from the Future Competition Committee, which has been working on a new plan since it was formed last August. 

In the new structure, the PGA Tour season will be shorter: approximately February until August, with some scheduled weeks off. The $20m signature events for 72 players will be expanded to 120 players on average. They will not have sponsor invitations or an alternate list and there will be a 36-hole cut.

The Challenger Series will be a path for players to earn their way to the top level. Those fields will be about 144 players, with purses of at least $4m. This year all but three regular non-signature events had prize funds of at least $9m.

Each series will have separate points standings and there is no plan for players to move up to the Championship Series during the season unless they win twice.

The Championship Series eligibility will be determined by the top 90 players from the previous year, the top 20 players from the Challenger Series and other exemption categories for tournament winners, injuries or career milestones.

The other big change is the “introduction of match play” in the post-season and a Tour Championship that will move around prestigious courses instead of returning to East Lake in Atlanta each year, as it has done since 2004.

 

Betting Emporium results

 

The Road to Riches Weekend of 15th-16th August

 

Coming up this weekend

• Horse Racing, Over the jumps at Goodwood, Hamilton, Lingfield, Newmarket and Thirsk.
• Football, the Community Shield between Arsenal and Manchester City
• Cricket, the first Test match between England and Pakistan at Headingley next week and the Hundred final on Sunday
• Golf, the BMW Championship on the USPGA Tour and Nexo Championship on the DP World Tour.
• Tennis, ATP Cincinnati Open continues

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The Hundred Eliminator: Manchester Super Giants v Sunrisers Leeds Friday 6pm

The Hundred Eliminator at The Oval where the second and third placed teams from the round-robin leagfue play, the winner meets the winner of the league, the Trent Rockets, in the final at Lords on Sunday.

These two teams played on Tuesday and the very successful Sunrisers Leeds batting line-up failed, dismissed for 127, a total which was chased down with no wickets lost in 67 balls. Four days later they meet at a neutral venue in a semi-final.

Through this tournament Sunrisers Leeds have been the most prolific batting team. Marsh opening the batting is the Hundred’s top run scorer and he, Brook and Lawrence are top of the strike rates.

Their eight games included batting scores of 186,187, 201 and a tournament record 241.

For Sunrisers here are the batting stats:

Marsh 8 innings, 406 runs, average of 50, strike rate of 169.

Marsh has top scored in 5 of the 8 innings, including the last two games. 11/4 in the top batsman market seems more than fair.

Rickelton: 8-291-41-176

Brook: 8-206-29-187

Manchester Super Giants meanwhile have only scored over 180 twice in their 8 games

Their run-making is more concentrated:

Buttler 7 innings, 278 runs at an average of 69 and a strike rate of 174

Tim Seifert 8-322-53-165 including a 40-ball 80 including seven sixes against Sunrisers Leeds on Tuesday. As stated in previous reports, the most boom-bust batsman in the competition, he’ll thrash from the start and either comes off or doesn’t!

Aside from the “big two” the top run scorers are Walter 145 and Klaasen 103 (Walter came in when Markram withdrew from the competition a few matches ago).

In this market it’s Buttler 5/2 Seifert 16/5.

What Manchester probably have over Leeds is more depth in the bowling line up.

They have four bowlers who have taken 5+ wickets (38 total) with Atkinson 11 and Tongue 10 leading the way. Leeds have three players with 5+ (27 total) with Carse 11 and Ellis 10 leading. Probably correctly given this, despite Sunrisers Leeds batting firepower, the Super Giants are odds-on favourites for the game.

10 points Mitch Marsh Top Sunrisers Leeds batsman at 11/4 Betfred, 27/10 William Hill, 13/5 Star Sports, 12/5 Bet365

Fallow

The 2027 World Test Championship final will be played at the Oval amid concerns over the quality of the Lords pitch.

England will host the showpiece final for the fourth time next year. Lords hosted it in 2025, when South Africa beat Australia, and had been expected to become its regular venue.

The International Cricket Council has awarded England hosting rights for the next three finals until 2031, and has specified that it wants the match to be hosted in London. There have been three previous finals: at Southampton’s Utilita Bowl in 2021,at the Oval in 2023 and then at Lord’s in 2025.

In June Lords hosted the first Test between England and New Zealand. While the game reached day four because of rain, the Test lasted just 166 overs, which is less than two full days’ play. There was variable bounce and 24 of the 40 dismissals were bowled or LBW.

The match referee officially rated the pitch “unsatisfactory”, which meant Lord’s received its first demerit point under the ICC’s grading system.  The MCC chairman, described the pitch as “substandard”. 

The MCC Cricket Strategy, launched earlier this year, introduced a number of initiatives to alleviate the pressure on the square, including moving fixtures to Wormsley and developing drop-in pitches that could be used in international cricket by 2029.

With the WTC final moved to the Oval, Lord’s would still host two Tests next summer, as per the staging agreement with the ECB. It could take an early-summer one-off Test. This match, possibly against Pakistan, had been slated for Old Trafford, which does not have an Ashes Test. However, ECB sources have indicated that Manchester is interested in taking a “fallow payment” from the governing body, rather than hosting the match. A fallow payment is a one-off fee paid to Test grounds which do not host a men’s Test in a certain season.

The Road to Riches Weekend of 8th-9th August

Coming up this weekend

• Horse Racing, Over the jumps at Goodwood, Hamilton, Lingfield, Newmarket and Thirsk.
• Cricket, the Hundred continues
• Golf, the FedEx St Jude Championship on the USPGA Tour and the Danish Championship on the DP World Tour.
• Tennis, ATP Cincinnati Open

 

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NFL 2026 

2026 Regular season package now available for £125 here 

Last year the package won 313 points with a ROI of 10% on the regular season..

Here is the publishing Schedule for the next six weeks:

• Friday August 14th: What to expect from this column this season

• Friday August 21st: Ante-Post Team Markets

• Friday August 28th: Ante-Post Player markets

• Tuesday September 8th:Opening game Patriots at Seahawks (on Wednesday Sept 9^th)

• Wednesday September 9th: Thursday Night Football Rams versus 49ers, Melbourne (in the early hours of Friday Sept 11th)

• Friday September 11th: Sunday week 1 Matches

• Weekend of September 12-13th: Monday Night Football Week 1 Broncos at Chiefs

Free Tip

The Hundred Sunrisers Leeds v Welsh Fire Sunday 9th August 2.30pm

Statistics as at Thursday 6th August These are the penultimate matches of the group stages for both teams

Their records after six games each, Sunrisers Leeds are fifth with 3 wins, Welsh Fire third with four wins going into the weekend.

A reminder of the format for the Hundred, and why this looms as a crucial game. Each team plays four matches at home and four away. After the league stage, the top three teams progress to the knockout stage next weekend. The second- and third-placed teams will face each other in the eliminator at The Oval. The winner of the eliminator then met the league-topping team in the final at Lord's. Currently the Trent Rockets are top of the table.

Sunrisers Leeds, in line with their IPL team within the same franchise have the most batting firepower in the competition as shown on Tuesday night when they smashed a tournament-high 241-2 against London Spirit with the top three scoring 76, 94 and 55.

Leeds have the three highest batting strike rates in The Hundred this season (minimum 50 runs): Dan Lawrence, Harry Brook and Mitchell Marsh.

In the top Sunrisers Leeds batsman market for this game prices are as follows:

Marsh 13/5

Rickelton 11/4

Brook 3/1

Crawley 5/1

Lawrence 6/1

First things first Lawrence bats at 5 and has a strike rate of 192 but has only batted in four innings so far with 77 runs off just 40 balls, such has been the form of the top four above him.

Marsh opens with Rickelton with Crawley batting 3. He is the top scorer in this year’s competition with 290 runs off 158 balls faced with a 182 strike rate, 50 runs ahead of Ben Duckett with 240 runs. Marsh has scored three fifties in his five innings so far.

Rickelton with 169 runs and Crawley 95 runs have been far less successful than Marsh whilst batting at 4 Harry Brook has 154 runs off just 81 balls at a strike rate of 190 including a 15-ball fifty in midweek.

Whilst Marsh is obviously the favourite with Crawley so far not in form at 3 and Brook not needing many balls to compile a score backing Brook at 3/1 is the value option in this market here.

10 points Harry Brook top Sunrisers Leeds batsman at 3/1 Bet365 more firms to follow over the weekend.

A case of Mistaken Identity

This season during the first ten days of the competition The Hundred's crowds fell by 30% compared to 2025. This may have nothing to do with the cricket itself.

The competition entered a new era this year. Several teams gained new owners. Many franchises introduced fresh branding. Better overseas players also arrived. Those changes were expected to generate even more interest. Instead, the opposite appears to have happened. One example stands out. Around 4,000 tickets were reportedly given away for the opening match at The Oval. Even then, the official attendance was 20,540. That immediately raises an important question.

If free tickets were needed for the opening fixture, why has interest fallen instead of growing?

I think there are several reasons.

The first is pricing. Many supporters who may have attended in previous years now face noticeably higher ticket costs. Adult tickets for several matches have been priced between £35 and £55. For many families, that turns a simple day at the cricket into a costly outing once travel, food and drinks are included. That is a significant increase from previous seasons. Cricket has always competed with other forms of entertainment. Higher prices make that competition even harder.

But I do not think ticket prices are the only reason. The rebranding has probably had an even bigger impact. The original Hundred identities were never perfect. Names such as Oval Invincibles, Northern Superchargers and Trent Rockets at least became familiar after four seasons. Supporters had begun to recognise those brands. Then many of them suddenly disappeared. Oval Invincibles became MI London. Northern Superchargers became Leeds Sunrisers. Several other franchises also changed their identities after private investment arrived. I think that removed much of the connection people had gradually built with the competition. Supporters usually become attached to teams over time. Changing names, colours and identities resets that process.

That is especially important in England. County cricket already has loyal followings built over more than a century. Many supporters identify with Yorkshire, Lancashire, Kent or Somerset. A supporter from Sheffield may not feel represented by a team carrying the Leeds name. Someone from Kent may have little interest in supporting a franchise based around Surrey. Regional loyalty matters in English cricket. Changing established identities can weaken that connection rather than strengthen it.

Another issue is player identity. In previous seasons, many franchises had strong links with local county players. That connection now feels weaker. Several high-profile players have changed franchises. Others now represent teams with completely different branding. When local identity disappears, it becomes harder for casual supporters to feel attached to a team.

I also think the timing of the competition remains a problem. The Hundred occupies almost an entire month of the English summer. During that period, county cricket is pushed into the background. The Vitality Blast loses much of its attention. The Metro Bank One-Day Cup is heavily affected. Many county squads are also weakened because players and coaches move across to Hundred franchises. That creates the impression that traditional domestic cricket has become secondary.

There is another interesting point. Very few criticisms are actually aimed at the standard of cricket. The quality of players remains high. International stars are still involved. The cricket itself is not the biggest issue. The concerns are mainly about identity, pricing and direction. As an aside though whether on BBC or Sky the television coverage has reverted to the cricketing norm. What was promoted as “fun for the family” and people new to cricket, the commentary is now more serious and technical.

Perhaps the biggest lesson is this. Creating a successful sporting competition is not only about attracting investors or introducing new branding. Supporters also need familiarity. They need local identity. They need affordable access. Those factors often matter just as much as what happens on the field.

The Hundred may still recover. It still has strong television exposure. It has helped introduce new audiences to cricket.The women's competition has also benefited from greater visibility. But if attendances continue falling despite new investment, then English cricket may have to accept that branding alone cannot build long-term loyalty.

In sport, people usually support teams because they feel they belong to them. That connection takes years to build. It can disappear much faster than it was created.

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Betting Emporium results

The detailed results page was updated on 1^st July 2026. They can be found by clicking RESULTS

If you bet £10 per point on every recommended bet since launch you would be winning + £81,889. All bets have an ROI +2.86%

A £4000 bank (see FAQ re bank-roll requirements) betting £10 a point on all selections would now be worth £85,889 a 2047% increase