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The price of this one hinges on the unknown Jonny Sexton factor.

Will the new 10 improve Ireland or will he – at 24 years of age and with one cap under his belt – flounder under the pressure of lining out against the World Champions?

All the indications – for anyone who has been watching a reasonable amount of Irish provincial rugby of late at least – are that Sexton will more than adequately fill in for O’Gara.

Add in the rumoured loss of Bakkies Botha from the Boks starting line-up and the even money or better available about Ireland looks even tastier.

The breakdown battle and the SA scrum – albeit possibly weakened by Botha’s absence – are the sole caveats for Ireland but the men in green still look to have the weapons to score good tries and restrict South Africa to penalties and possibly an opportunistic five pointer.

It’s tight, but Ireland have several key edges – not least the pace and passing of their back division - and can be backed with confidence.

Almost as fascinating is the clash of France and New Zealand later on Saturday evening.

France won a belting game against South Africa a couple of weeks ago, but just how sound is that form? Not very, in my view, as the Boks folded relatively tamely up front in the end and lacked the weapons to probe the French weak areas. The loss of Imanol Harinorduquy also damages the French outlook.

It is unlikely Les Bleus’ pack will steamroller the All Blacks and out-half Francois Trinh-Duc does not look up to steering his men to an attritional win either.

New Zealand are value at anywhere from 8/11 or better.

Recommended: 3 points Ireland to beat South Africa (11/10); 2 points New Zealand to beat France (8/11)

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Getting a handle on the result of Ireland v Australia is a very tough call but there is some value to be had in the tryscorer/anytime lists.

Gut instinct says that Ireland are capable of a medium margin victory – between five and 10 points – but Australia have played much more rugby together in recent months and that could skew things their way.

It’s hard to back a result either way with much confidence.

Looking at those try-scorer/anytime lists, Brian O’Driscoll on the Irish side and Adam Ashley-Cooper, Matt Giteau and Will Genia for the Aussies are the names worthy of closer examination.

O’Driscoll’s price looks slightly on the tight side but the match is set up for him with a good distributor in Paddy Wallace at 12 and an inexperienced Australian centre pairing directly opposite. Add in the fact that he can score from a huge variety of situations and despite the fact that the Aussies will no doubt look to focus on shutting him down, he is value. Keeping him quiet is easier said than done and the 7/2 is the best price by far of any of those at the head of the market.

Leading the next rank in price terms, Ashley-Cooper is also an eye-catcher at 5/1 as his sheer running power makes him a serious try-scoring threat in any game. He is simply a very difficult man to bring down and generally gets a few big yardage gains in every game. One of those could well take him over the Irish line. Should Australia start getting on top, the prices about the half-back pair of Will Genia and Matt Giteau will also look very generous as they play with their heads up – Giteau is small and nimble enough to lie nice and flat – and always have one eye on a gap.

On the other hand, Ireland boast a superb defensive system that  looked very solid through the Grand Slam. They may not find suffocating Australia quite as easy as the Northern Hemisphere sides but neither will the Wallabies find it as easy to penetrate as they did last week against England.

On balance, a small wager on Ireland’s captain to take responsibility is the best value.

Recommended: Two points on Brian O’Driscoll to score a try at any time at 7/2.