TAB: The punter's guide to round five of the Mitre 10 Cup

Last week's Ranfurly Shield clash which saw Waikato take hold of the Log o' Wood. Photo / Supplied

The TAB run through the upcoming round of the Mitre 10 Cup and provide some tips for the games ahead.

Best bet

Counties Manukau v Wellington
Points Start: Wellington -9.5 ($1.87)

Wellington deserved to win by at least 20 points against North Harbour last week given how much ball and good field position they had. While they are on the road this week, Counties Manukau shouldn't present much of a challenge to this strong Lions side.

Counties have failed to cover both games they've played at home this season while the Lions have covered all three games in which they were favoured by more than seven points. Wellington -9.5 looks like a great bet.

Next best

Southland v Otago
Points Start: Otago -18.5 ($1.87)

Southland got off to a hot start last week but fizzled out very quickly, regressing back to the below-average team that they are, late in the first half. Otago won't make the mistake of easing into the game and will be able to pile on the points in Invercargill.

Best roughie

Northland v Manawatu
Head to Head: Manawatu ($2.30)

Neither side has been all that flash this season, both coming into the game with 1-3 records, but Northland's sole win has an asterisk next to it due to the severely weakened Taranaki side that they defeated. Manawatu's Rob Thompson and Junior Laloifi are genuine game-breakers and could cause an upset in Whangarei.

Best real wide

Otago v Southland
Winning Team & Margin (10pt): Otago 21-30 ($3.75)

As mentioned above, Otago are a good chance of blowing out the Stags at Rugby Park. They showed how well they can operate when they really click a couple of weeks ago versus Manawatu and it wouldn't be a surprise to see the score really balloon on Saturday afternoon.

Multi

Manawatu +3.5/Wellington -9.5/Otago -18.5