Dean Etheridge
The 2022 European Champions Cup semi-finals take place this weekend, and we’re previewing the matches and bringing you our free Rugby Union betting picks on the upcoming action.
In the betting to land the most prestigious club Rugby competition in the northern hemisphere, the best rugby betting sites make Irish provincial side Leinster their betting favorites.
It's LEINSTER leaving Welford Road with the win! 💪
The four-time European champions beat Leicester 14-23 to advance to the @ChampionsCup semi-finals.
Leo Cullen's side will host defending champions Toulouse in the last four.#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/x6U8oQYLdI
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) May 7, 2022
Leinster is the only non-French team left in the competition, with Racing 92, La Rochelle, and Toulouse making up the quartet.
And it’s the Irish team who lead the way with the top sportsbooks, Leo Cullen’s team is +100 to win their fifth title. Full winners betting odds are below….
| 2022 European Champions Cup Betting |  |  |
| Leinster | +100 | +100 |
| Racing 92 | +250 | +250 |
| La Rochelle | +400 | +400 |
| Toulouse | +600 | +600 |
This year’s quartet is a stellar line-up. If proof were needed, take a brief look at the history books, and you will see that these four teams have all been in finals over the past four seasons.
Toulouse is the defending champions, having beaten French rivals, La Rochelle, 22-17 in a closely fought battle at Twickenham.
The draw has kept last year’s finalists apart, making a rematch possible. But with both teams the outsiders in their respective semi-finals, the chances are, we won’t be treated to a rerun of last year’s match-up.
Leinster v Toulouse
The first semi-final of the weekend comes from the happy city of Dublin. The city’s bars and restaurants will no doubt be busy this weekend, in what is effectively a home match for the Irish champions.
- Where; Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
- When; Saturday, May 14th, 2022
- Time; 10 am ET
It’s just the luck of the Irish to get a semi-final in their very own stadium, and this is probably why the latest match betting odds are stacked in Leinster’s favor.
Leinster is -450 on the Moneyline, and on the Handicap, they are giving the defending champions a +9.5 points start.
These odds are not just down to home advantage though. Toulouse doesn’t look like the team they did last season. A mixture of players leaving over the past couple of seasons, along with injuries this season, has led to a downturn in form.
There is still some quality in this team though, and they shouldn’t be written off too quickly.
As for Leinster, they were already proven, performers. But they have also grown in stature throughout the season and inherited the favorites tag earlier in the campaign after a string of solid performances.
Playing the semi-final at the Aviva Stadium should be a major advantage for them. That is unless home advantage adds additional pressure through expectation.
Match Odds
Moneyline
- Leinster -450
- Toulouse +310
Handicap
- Leinster (-9.5) -110
- Toulouse (+9.5) -110
It’s going to take a massive turnaround in fortunes for Toulouse to travel to Ireland and leave with the win. It’s not impossible, but highly unlikely.
But even so, it would take a very brave – or foolish – punter to back against the Irish provincial side.
I’m neither, I can’t go with anything other than a Leinster win.
At odds of -450 on the Moneyline, I’m not going near that. So even though it’s a slightly riskier bet, I’m making Leinster to win on the Handicap my betting pick to win the first Champions Cup semi-final.
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Racing 92 v La Rochelle
The second semi-final is an all-French affair held in the predominantly football city of Lens, in northern France.
Given the foot skills on show from Racing’s Finn Russell and Teddy Thomas last weekend, maybe this is a good omen for the Parisian team.
Racing beat Sale Sharks 41-22 in their quarter-final on Sunday, in what was a comfortable enough victory at the Paris La Defense Arena.
- Where; Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France
- When; Sunday, May 15th, 2022
- Time; 10 am ET
La Rochelle was victorious over Montpellier on Saturday. They beat their compatriots 31-19, thanks in the main to 16 points off the boot of Ihaia West.
The win shouldn’t be underestimated as Montpellier is one of the dominant sides in this season’s Top 14. They currently sit second and will go top again if they win their game in hand on Bordeaux.
Match Odds
Moneyline
- Racing -120
- La Rochelle +110
Handicap
- Racing (-1.5) -110
- La Rochelle (+1.5) -110
Both these teams had excellent wins in the last eight, and this is probably the most attractive of the two matches taking place this weekend.
Racing was too skillful for Sale, while La Rochelle won a tough domestic affair.
Matches like this can often be decided by the smallest of margins and looking at the way Finn Russell (in particular) and Teddy Thomas performed last weekend, my heart is telling me to go with Racing 92.
Finn Russell was feeling left out on the amazing try front so he rustled a little sumthin sumthin 😎#R92vSAL | Credit: @ChampionsCup_FRpic.twitter.com/f3EZFT619U
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 8, 2022
With this match a closer call on paper, there is decent value on the Moneyline. Meaning, that there’s not a huge amount of difference between Racing’s odds on the Moneyline or the Handicap.
So the common sense pick on Racing has to be for them to win on Moneyline.
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