Stormers v Lions betting tips: Test places up for grabs

Gatland’s side coped well for large parts of the game but started terribly, allowing their hosts to stretch out to a 17-3 lead in the first half.

He admitted: “We felt we learned a lot from the runout. We were disappointed with our turnover rate.

“But we got over that and finished strong. We need to start better and deal with their kicking game.

“They came hard at us from the start and I think it took us time to get to speed with that. We showed some of our own armour with our scrum and ability to pick and go.

“There’s no doubt they were very aggressive and that took some time to adjust. For us, we’re pretty happy with that hit out and knowing what’s going to come next week.”

England international Maro Itoje had an excellent game against South Africa ‘A’ – he did not stop working in tight exchanges and exerted a presence at the lineout. He looks a certainty to make the Test side.

Tom Curry has presented Gatland with a selection headache. While Hamish Watson has been excellent on this tour, Curry missed nothing in defence and made major gains in attack.

Places are still up for grabs, although Courtney Lawes and Dan Bigger will be freshened up and are missing from the final warm-up game before the Test series.

The Lions scored 54 points or more in their first three games against provincial teams and the handicap on DHL Stormers v Lions betting tips sees the tourists asked to concede 39.0 points at odds of 10/11.

The Stormers beat the Cell C Sharks 25-22 in PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA action in May and recorded a 39-37 win over the Sigma Lions prior to that. The British and Irish Lions beat those opponents 71-31 and 56-14 respectively.

The Lions are 11/2 to win by 36-40 points and 6/1 to win between 41-45 points, with the Stormers priced at 40/1 to win the match.

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All odds and markets correct as of date of publication