It would have been easy to travel down the much-ventured path to Temptation Island on Saturday morning after the Brumbies blindsided every punter with money on what seemed a certain Chiefs victory. But as is the nature of this game of betting, nothing is certain, and who am I if I can’t follow my own advice and not chase bets, writes the Money Man.

I was vocal in the week about my Chiefs vs Brumbies bet, with the form guide suggesting easy pickings for the Chiefs and reports that the Brumbies camp had been plagued with mumps supporting an educated guess that the Australians didn’t stand much of a chance. Unfortunately, teams always stand a chance, no matter how slim, and the Brumbies (or the Chiefs I suppose) cost me R3,000 this past weekend. I’ve reinforced it countless times on my shows, in my columns and in my chats with the Money Boy, chasing bets turns you from an investor into a gambler. As frustrating as this Brumbies hiccup was, I wasn’t about to go searching for value in a market that during the week I didn’t see offering much.

My only other Super Rugby bet for round four was that the Stormers at home would be too good for the travelling Jaguares, and this proved fruitful, returning me R1,200. The Stormers keep proving to be good value, and I’m enjoying backing them and seeing returns.

While I still haven’t bet too much on Super Rugby, I’m happy with my Superbru progression, sitting 20th out of 7,500 people after calling 5/6 this past weekend.

Outside Super Rugby, I took a smaller wager on the much-speculated Wilder vs Fury fight. The odds were deadlocked on the outright win for most of the week and while it was a tough one to call, considering Fury’s change of approach and Wilder’s powerful previous knocks to him, my underlying feeling was always that Fury just couldn’t get knocked out. I felt by betting against him I’d be jinxing myself, and I’m glad I didn’t. Fury returned me R900.

There will always be unforeseen goodbyes to money you thought was guaranteed – like when an average, mumps-ridden Aussie side knocks over some of New Zealand’s strongest – but one must always take comfort in having placed the right bets, done the research and won on other fronts.

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