The second week of Super Rugby kicks off with a Kiwi derby in Hamilton, followed by an Aussie derby in Melbourne, ends with an all SA affair in Cape Town and, sadly – to my mind, sees only the Hurricanes and Lions playing outside their conference.
And if the first week is anything to go by, this prediction lark is more of a free for all than it normally is … 6 of the 7 games could have gone either way! More of the same this week I would say …
I am just hoping that the referees and players come to terms with that breakdown … It was a bloody dogshow last week, and with defending teams choosing not to commit players to the breakdown, the space for the peacocks out back to shine is shut down considerably … Which shrinks the game badly as a spectacle …
2 out of 7 for me last week, so take these predictions with the mountain of salt they deserve …
Friday 2 March
Chiefs v Blues (Hamilton, 08h35)
R Keith Brown
AR Jonathon White, Richard Kelly
TMO Nick Briant
SBW has half an eye on his league team the Sydney Roosters, and the Chiefs have lost all of Brendan Leonard and props Toby Smith and Ben Afeaki. Blues are prone to blowing hot and cold, but should see this one out.
My prediction: Blues by 12
Head to head: Played 17, Chiefs 7, Blues 10
Last match: Chiefs 16 – 11 Blues @ Auckland
Chiefs: 15 Robbie Robinson, 14 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Tim Nanai-Williams, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Kane Thompson, 7 Tanerau Latimer 6 Liam Messam (captain), 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Mahonri Schwalger , 1 Arizona Taumalolo
Substitutes: 16 Hika Elliot, 17 Shane Cleaver, 18 Fritz Lee, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Augustine Pulu, 21 Andrew Horrell, 22 Declan O’Donnell
Blues: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 David Raikuna, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Michael Hobbs, 9 Alby Mathewson; 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Chris Lowrey, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Anthony Boric, 3 Tevita Mailau, 2 Keven Mealamu (captain), 1 Tom McCartney
Substitutes: 16 Pauliasi Manu, 17 Angus Ta’avao, 18 Brad Mika, 19 Luke Braid, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Gareth Anscombe, 22 Sherwin Stowers
Rebels v Waratahs (Melbourne, 10h40)
R Bryce Lawrence
AR Andrew Lees, Angus Gardner
TMO Matt Goddard
Two words: Danny Cipriani. Only one winner.
My prediction: Tahs by 16
Head to head: Played 2, Waratahs 2, Rebels 0
Last match: Waratahs 28 – 9 Rebels @ Sydney
Rebels: 15. Mark Gerrard, 14. Lachlan Mitchell, 13. Mitch Inman, 12. James O`Connor, 11. Cooper Vuna, 10. Daniel Cipriani, 9. Nick Phipps, 8. Gareth Delve, 7. Tom Chamberlain, 6. Luke Jones, 5. Hugh Pyle, 4. Adam Byrnes, 3. Laurie Weeks, 2. Adam Freier, 1. Nic Henderson
Substitutes: 16. Luke Holmes, 17. Rodney Blake, 18. Alister Campbell, 19. Jarrod Saffy, 20. Richard Kingi, 21. Lloyd Johansson, 22. Julian Huxley
Waratahs: 15. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14. Tom Kingston, 13. Rob Horne, 12. Tom Carter, 11. Brackin Karauria-Henry, 10. Daniel Halangahu (captain), 9. Sarel Pretorius, 8. Wycliff Palu, 7. Chris Alcock, 6. Dave Dennis, 5. Kane Douglas, 4. Dean Mumm, 3. Sekope Kepu, 2. Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1. Benn Robinson
Substitutes: 16. Damian Fitzpatrick, 17. Paddy Ryan, 18. Lopeti Timani, 19. Jono Jenkins, 20. Brendan McKibbin, 21. Bernard Foley, 22. Nathan Trist
Lions v Hurricanes (Johannesburg, 19h10)
R Steve Walsh
AR Lourens VD Merwe, Ben Crouse
TMO Shaun Veldsman
Not sure I have seen a worse Super Rugby side than this Canes lot, yet they still managed to push the Stormers with a few sneaky tries … And do sport two legends in Smith and Jane. I am also yet to be convinced by the Lions at a level above the Currie Cup. Jantjies boot should do it, but an upset would not surprise me …
My prediction: Lions by 5
Head to head: Played 14, Hurricanes 11, Lions 3
Last match: Hurricanes 38 – 27 Lions @ Wellington
Lions: 15. Jaco Taute, 14. Deon van Rensburg, 13. Doppies la Grange, 12. Alwyn Hollenbach, 11. Michael Killian, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Michael Bondesio, 8. Warren Whiteley, 7. Joshua Strauss (captain), 6. Derick Minnie, 5. Franco van der Merwe, 4. Stephan Greeff, 3. Pat Cilliers, 2. Callie Visagie, 1. JC Janse van Rensburg
Substitutes: 16. Martin Bezuidenhout, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Marius Coetzer, 19. Cobus Grobbelaar, 20. Tian Meyer, 21. Butch James, 22. James Kamana
Hurricanes: 15. André Taylor, 14. Cory Jane, 13. Conrad Smith (Captain), 12. Tim Bateman, 11. Alapati Leiua, 10. Beauden Barrett, 9. Chris Eaton, 8. Victor Vito, 7. Jack Lam, 6. Faifili Levave, 5. Jeremy Thrush, 4. Jason Eaton, 3. Ben May, 2. Dane Coles, 1. Tristan Moran
Substitutes: 16. Motu Motu’u, 17. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 18. James Broadhurst, 19. Brad Shields, 20. TJ Perenara, 21. Dan Kirkpatrick, 22. Charlie Ngatai
Saturday 3 March
Highlanders v Crusaders (Dunedin, 08h35)
R Jaco Peyper
AR Vinny Munro, Kane McBride
TMO Keith Brown
My prediction: Crusaders by 7
Head to head: Played 20, Highlanders 7, Crusaders 13
Last match: Highlanders 26 – 18 Crusaders @ Nelson
Highlanders: TBA
Crusaders: 15. Tom Marshall, 14. Sean Maitland, 13. Robert Fruean, 12. Ryan Crotty, 11. Israel Dagg, 10. Tyler Bleyendaal, 9. Andy Ellis, 8. Kieran Read (Captain), 7. Matt Todd, 6. George Whitelock, 5. Sam Whitelock, 4. Tom Donnelly, 3. Ben Franks, 2. Quentin MacDonald, 1. Wyatt Crockett
Substitutes: 16. Corey Flynn, 17. Owen Franks, 18. Luke Romano, 19. Luke Whitelock, 20. Willi Heinz, 21. Adam Whitelock, 22. Zac Guildford
Reds v Force (Brisbane, 10h40)
R Glen Jackson
AR Ian Smith, Simon Moore
TMO Steve Leszczynski
My prediction: Reds by 14
Head to head: Played 7, Reds 5, Force 2
Last match: Force 21 – 24 Reds @ Perth
Reds: 15. Luke Morahan, 14. Dom Shipperley, 13. Ben Tapuai, 12. Jonathan Lance, 11. Digby Ioane, 10. Mike Harris, 9. Will Genia, 8. Radike Samo, 7. Beau Robinson, 6. Jake Schatz, 5. James Horwill (Captain), 4. Rob Simmons, 3. James Slipper, 2. Albert Anae, 1. Ben Daley
Substitutes: 16. James Hanson, 17. Greg Holmes, 18. Van Humphries, 19. Ed Quirk, 20. Liam Gill, 21. Ben Lucas, 22. Rod Davies
Force: 15. Alifeleti (Alfi) Mafi, 14. Nick Cummins, 13. Patrick Dellit, 12. Winston Stanley, 11. Napolioni Nalaga, 10. James Stannard, 9. Brett Sheehan, 8. Ben McCalman, 7. David Pocock (Captain), 6. Matthew Hodgson, 5. Nathan Sharpe, 4. Toby Lynn, 3. Salesi Ma’afu, 2. Nathan Charles, 1. Pekahou Cowan
Substitutes: 16. Ben Whittaker, 17. Kieran Longbottom, 18. Phoenix Battye, 19. Angus Cottrell, 20. Ben Seymour, 21. Rory Sidey, 22. Samu Wera
Cheetahs v Bulls (Bloemfontein, 17h05)
R Craig Joubert
AR Marius Jonker, Reuben Roussouw
TMO Johann Meuwesen
Goosen vs Steyn worth a ticket, but think the game will be decided by the players passing to them … And have a feeling that Hougaard will be getting the easier ride given that dominance of the Bulls pack. Brussow vs Stegmann should make for the odd black eye and broken finger …
My prediction: Bulls by 8
Head to head: Played 7, Bulls 7, Cheetahs 0
Last match: Bulls 32 – 21 Cheetahs @ Pretoria
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Rocco Jansen, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Philip Snyman, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Davon Raubenheimer, 7 Philip van der Walt, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Trevor Nyakane
Substitutes: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Lourens Adriaanse, 18 Waltie Vermeulen, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Cameron Jacobs
Bulls: 15. Zane Kirchner, 14. Akona Ndungane, 13. Wynand Olivier, 12. Francois Venter, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Pierre Spies (captain), 7. Jacques Potgieter, 6. Deon Stegmann, 5. Juandre Kruger, 4. Flip van der Merwe, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1. Dean Greyling
Substitutes: 16. Willie Wepener, 17. Frik Kirsten, 18. Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19. CJ Stander, 20. Jano Vermaak, 21. Louis Fouche, 22. JJ Engelbrecht
Stormers v Sharks (Cape Town, 19h10)
R Mark Lawrence
AR Jason Jatha, Christie Du Preez
TMO Gerrie Coetzee
Fetcher central in Sharks loose trio of Keegan Daniel, Marcell Coetzee and Jacques Botes against fetcher free Koster, Vermeulen and Kolisi … They are sans man mountain Willem Alberts and spicy new recruit Tim Whitehead though, so going with home side, but would not bet my house on this one …
My prediction: Stormers by 7
Head to head: Played 15, Stormers 8, Sharks 7
Last match: Stormers 32 – 12 Sharks @ Cape Town
Stormers: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Gary van Aswegen, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nick Koster, 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Louis Schrueder, 21 Peter Grant, 22 Gerhard van den Heever
Sharks: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Louis Ludik, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Frederic Michalak, 8 Keegan Daniel (c), 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Wiehan Herbst, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Substitutes: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Anton Bresler, 19 Lubabalo Mtembu, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Marius Joubert, 22 Paul Jordaan.
What bothers me is that I made the same picks as you, except I picked cheetahs out of sheer patriotism.
No offence Tank.