SUPER 15 - WEEK BY WEEK

Ou ye of little faith, just think and punt the pink lol

scotia Wrote:

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> Ou ye of little faith, just think and punt the
> pink lol

Scotia, my heart say's yes, but, I cannot see them in the top 6 this year. They building and if you look at the Vodacom team, the u21's & u20's and even their u19 school sides and off course Tukkies......another year or 2. Stormers for SA, Chiefs in NZ with Crusaders chasing and the Brumbies. Hoping for a SA vs NZ final

Ou Ryperd, I can see them beating the Tahs this weekend but will battle against the Canes. The Highlanders game could be who can put 15 fit players on the field.

I am looking forward to the Bulls first match back after their hard trip they play The Stormers at Loftus. Gonna be a cracker. (tu)

Have we had our draw yet? Must be close could do with a 33/1 shot Garrick which one will it be?

Hi Dave, not Garrick but the game I recon that could end in a draw this weekend is the Highlander / Hurricanes game.

Are u sure Shrek? Can I take 33000/1000

If you're looking for a draw, I'd consider the Blues / Lions game - both teams in 'losing mode'.

I'm with the Bulls against the Tahs, the Hurricanes against the Highlanders, the Crusaders to hammer the Rebels, the Sharks and the Stormers should be too good for the Force and the Cheetahs, very close between the Reds and the Chiefs, but imo Reds are on the up and at home, Chiefs due for a bit of an off day, so I'll be with the Reds

scotia Wrote:

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> Are u sure Shrek? Can I take 33000/1000


You playing it safe was talking more about 100000/3000.

Frodo it is very admirable the way you stay loyal to your Lions through thick and thin. I would love to see the Lions get close to the Blues but feel they will come up short.

shrek Wrote:

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> Frodo it is very admirable the way you stay loyal
> to your Lions through thick and thin. I would love
> to see the Lions get close to the Blues but feel
> they will come up short.


Cost me many a point on Superbru and then last week my prediction was that they would lose by 25 points, so they stuffed me again :X

I have been keeping quiet on the draw issue for fear of boring everyone but when you look at some of the historical draws they tend to happen in matches which appear on paper to be mismatches - for example the Crusaders drawing with the Western Force.

BLUES 1/5 vs LIONS 4/1

The weekend kicks off with the clash of the cellar dwellers.

Once again the betting appears to represent a bizarre interpretation of form with the Blues suddenly being labelled virtual ‘good things’.

Unless something that we are all unaware of has happened in the last seven days then the Blues could lose this match as easily as the market simplistically assumes they are going to win it.

Anyone contemplating a bet is certainly likely to get a roller coaster ride as both of these sides can produce highs and lows within the space of 5 minutes.

Clearly you will need counselling if you are planning to tee up a big punt on the Blues at 1/5. But as tempting as the Lions might appear at 4/1 the strike possibly offering the best potential of a favourable outcome is perhaps the Lions with a start of 10,5 points.


WARATAHS vs BULLS

In this match I am going to nail my colours very firmly to the Waratahs mast. I’ll go a step further and speculate that the Bulls will lose their next three matches on the trot.

They were w-a-y below standard last week against the Rebels. Despite a number of defeats the Waratahs are a solid side and not easy to beat at home.

They field a relatively strong pack bolstered by the return of Rocky Elsom. Sarel Pretorius gets a start at scrumhalf so the kicking duties should revert to Berrick Barnes.

As stated in a previous post – the Bulls tend to struggle against Australian sides when they bring a bit of creativity to the game. In my opinion that is all the Waratahs need to do to beat the visitors. Outside of that they possess the necessary grunt to match the visitors up front; which generally exposes the Bulls’ lack of variety.

Even money the Waratahs looks a generous price.


HIGHLANDERS 13/20 vs HURRICANES 13/10

At time of writing the Highlanders had still to announce their lineup. So clearly there are major issues revolving around injuries.

This is most certainly a match the Hurricanes could win.

However – Only the Stormers have managed to down the home side at the Forsyth Barr Stadium this season and one has to question whether the Hurricanes have the strength up front to be the second.

This should be a really good match and I’m giving the nod to the Highlanders against all known facts.


REBELS 6/1 vs CRUSADERS 1/8


The Crusaders have a nasty habit of losing the plot away from home against Australian opposition. But it would be difficult to imagine them returning home with anything less than 5 points against the Rebels.


1/6 SHARKS vs 9/2 WESTERN FORCE

The Sharks are another side that the oddsmakers give more credit than they deserve.

Although it is difficult to see them losing they will run into an altogether different challenge to the one they faced last week. The Highlanders met the Sharks with a seriously under strength loose trio and then quickly lost two replacements. This week the Sharks will need to get around Pocock - who is likely to feast on some of the rubbish ball control the home side have dished up recently.

Backing the Force with a start of 12,5 may not be an act of madness although my concern is more their powder puff attack than their defence.


2/9 STORMERS vs 7/2 CHEETAHS

The Stormers return from a bye. They will be looking for a win although it would not surprise me if the Cheetahs score four tries against them and......lose.

These two sides have produced a number of draws in the past and we are seriously overdue for a draw.

Failing all else the Stormers should scratch out a win but I don’t predict it will star in your seasonal replay highlights.


REDS 21/20 vs CHIEFS 17/20

The Reds were massively improved against the Crusaders last week ( or are the Crusaders just not that good? ).

The Chiefs have hardly put a foot wrong since the season opener loss to the Highlanders.

This time they have to travel but a win will be a massive boost to their ambitions of topping the log after the round robin stage. It would also be a major setback to the chasing NZ pack and, in particular, the Crusaders – who look likely to harvest 5 points from the Rebels over the weekend.

I would have priced up 9/10 the pair for this match so the market believes the Chiefs are the stronger of the two sides.

I disagree and select the Reds to win this.