The two derbies concluding the weekend look to be the SuperBru deciders. Catch the teams, times, odds, SuperBru Community picks and both Tank Lanning and Bob Skinstad’s predictions.
Tank Lanning
A 6 game weekend! Not sure which of this or the Cycle Tour being reduced by a monster 62 km’s I celebrated harder! These 6 game weekends just seem a whole lot more manageable, as does a 47km ride, even after a few beers at Newlands.
In Bloem it is a biggie for ex Cheetah’s Adriaan Strauss and Trevor Nyakane (who keeps Marcel van der Merwe on the bench for the second weekend) as they take on the old foe on Saturday. Pretty sure Trevor would have liked a dip at Coenie, but this weekend they both wear the less comfortable number 3 jersey.
In Cape Town all eyes will be on the players returning from Japan and human wrecking ball Willem Alberts. But it might be up front where things get decided. With Jannie du Plessis expecting a child this weekend, it is Matt Stevens who wears the number 3 jersey. He has looked anything but convincing for the Banana boys in games he has played thus far, especially against Toulon. This while Steven Kitshoff has looked the business with newboy Vincent Koch.
Two bloody tough games to call, though. So together with the odds and SuperBru Community picks this week, I have also included ex Bok skipper and 8th man Bob Skinstad’s picks, just to muddy the waters even further for those yet to make their picks. Bob and I are going head to head in the Legends pool, hence my getting to see his picks each week. He is currently languishing in 12th position out of 17 at the moment though.
To the weekend …
Friday, March 06
08:35 – Chiefs vs Highlanders (Waikato Stadium, Hamilton)
Prediction: CHIEFS to beat Highlanders by 18
Collated odds: CHIEFS (2/7) to beat Highlanders (15/4)
SuperBru Community: CHIEFS (98%) to beat Highlanders by 11
Bob Skinstad: CHIEFS to beat Highlanders by 13
Chiefs: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Hosea Gear, 13 Charlie Ngatai, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Augustine Pulu, 8 Liam Messam/Maama Vaipulu, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Johan Bardoul, 5 Michael Fitzgerald, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Pauliasi Manu
Bench: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Siate Tokolahi, 18 Mitchell Graham, 19 Michael Allardice, 20 Michael Leitch/Maama Vaipulu, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Andrew Horrell
Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (co-captain), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Nasi Manu (co-captain), 7 Elliot Dixon, 6 Gareth Evans, 5 Joe Wheeler, 4 Mark Reddish, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Josh Hohneck
Bench: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Brendon Edmonds, 18 Ross Geldenhuys, 19 Tom Franklin, 20 Dan Pryor, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Marty Banks, 23 Jason Emery
10:40 – Brumbies vs Force (GIO Stadium, Canberra)
Prediction: BRUMBIES to beat Force by 9
Collated odds: BRUMBIES (1/5) to beat Force (19/4)
SuperBru Community: BRUMBIES (98%) to beat Force by 11
Bob Skinstad: BRUMBIES to beat Force by 5
Brumbies: 15 Robbie Coleman, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Christian Leali’ifano, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Nic White, 8 Ita Vaea, 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore (captain), 1 Scott Sio
Bench: 16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 JP Smith, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Jordan Smiler, 20 Blake Enever, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 James Dargaville, 23 Jesse Mogg
Force: 15 Luke Morahan, 14 Marcel Brache, 13 Kyle Godwin, 12 Solomoni Jnr Rasolea, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Zack Holmes, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Chris Alcock, 6 Brynard Stander, 5 Steve Mafi, 4 Sam Wykes (captain), 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pek Cowan
Bench: 16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Oliver Hoskins, 19 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 20 Kane Koteka, 21 Ian Prior, 22 Sias Ebersohn, 23 Luke Burton
Saturday, March 07
08:35 – Blues vs Lions (QBE Stadium, Albany, Auckland)
Prediction: BLUES to beat Lions by 24
Collated odds: BLUES (1/4) to beat Lions (4/1)
SuperBru Community: BLUES (80%) to beat Lions by 7
Bob Skinstad: BLUES to beat Lions by 11
Blues: 15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Charles Piutau, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Melani Nanai, Ihaia West, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Jerome Kaino (captain), 7 Luke Braid, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi
Bench: 16 James Parsons, 17 Sam Prattley, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Hayden Triggs, 20 Brendon O’Connor, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Simon Hickey, 23 Hamish Northcott
Lions: 15. Andries Coetzee, 14. Ruan Combrinck, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Harold Vorster, 11. Sampie Mastriet, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Ross Cronje, 8. Warren Whiteley (captain), 7. Warwick Tecklenburg, 6. Jaco Kriel, 5. Martin Muller, 4. Franco Mostert, 3. Julian Redelinghuys, 2. Robbie Coetzee, 1. Corne Fourie
Bench: 16. Armand van der Merwe, 17. Jacques van Rooyen, 18. Ruan Dreyer, 19. Robert Kruger, 20. Derick Minnie, 21. Faf de Klerk, 22. Jaco van der Walt, 23. Howard Mnisi
10:40 – Reds vs Waratahs (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
Prediction: WARATAHS to beat Reds by 3
Collated odds: WARATAHS (1/2) to beat Reds (21/10)
SuperBru Community: WARATAHS (77%) to beat Reds by 5
Bob Skinstad: WARATAHS to beat Reds by 7
Reds: 15 Lachie Turner, 14 Chris Kuridrani, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Anthony Fainga’a, 11 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Adam Thomson, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Dave McDuling, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Saia Fainga’a, 1 James Slipper
Bench: 16 James Hanson, 17 Ben Daley, 18 Sef Faagase, 19 Marco Kotze, 20 Curtis Browning, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Sam Johnson, 23 Campbell Magnay
Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Peter Betham, 13 Matt Carraro, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Jaques Potgieter, 5 David Dennis (captain), 4 Will Skelton, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson
Bench (one to be omitted): 16 Tolu Latu, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Sam Lousi, 20 Mitchell Chapman, 21 Stephen Hoiles, 22 Brendan McKibbin, 23 Jono Lance, 24 Taqele Naiyaravoro
17:05 – Cheetahs vs Bulls (Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein)
Prediction: BULLS to beat Cheetahs by 7
Collated odds: BULLS (1/1) to beat Cheetahs (20/19)
SuperBru Community: CHEETAHS (55%) to beat Bulls by 0.1
Bob Skinstad: CHEETAHS to beat Bulls by 3
Cheetahs: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Joe Pietersen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Jean Cook, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Boom Prinsloo, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Danie Mienie
Bench: 16 Stephan Coetzee. 17 BG Uys, 18 Maks van Dyk, 19 Tienie Burger, 20 Steven Sykes, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Willie du Plessis, 23 Johann Sadie
Bulls: 15. Jesse Kriel, 14. Bjorn Basson, 13. JJ Engelbrecht, 12. Jan Serfontein, 11. Francois Hougaard, 10. Handre Pollard, 9. Rudy Paige, 8. Pierre Spies (captain), 7. Lappies Labuschagne, 6. Deon Stegmann, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Jacques du Plessis, 3. Trevor Nyakane, 2. Adriaan Strauss, 1. Morne Mellett
Bench: 16. Callie Visagie, 17. Dean Greyling, 18. Marcel van der Merwe, 19. Grant Hattingh, 20. Hanro Liebenberg, 21 Tian Schoeman, 22. Piet van Zyl, 23. Jurgen Visser
19:10 – Stormers vs Sharks (Newlands, Cape Town)
Prediction: SHARKS to beat Stormers by 2
Collated odds: STORMERS (4/6) to beat Sharks (6/4)
SuperBru Community: STORMERS (76%) to beat Sharks by 4
Bob Skinstad: STORMERS to beat Sharks by 7
Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Johnny Kotze, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Bench: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Alistair Vermaak, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Huw Jones
Sharks: 15. SP Marais, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. JP Pietersen, 12. Frans Steyn, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4. Lubabalo Mtyanda, 3. Matt Stevens, 2. Bismarck du Plessis (captain), 1. Thomas du Toit
Bench: 16. Kyle Cooper, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Marco Wentzel, 20. Renaldo Bothma, 21. Conrad Hoffmann, 22. Andre Esterhuizen, 23. Jack Wilson
Two SA games are going to be close affairs.
JP & Frans are excellent palyers, but I can’t help to wonder if their introduction won’t affect the vibe in the team.
Yep, that is the key question!! Hence Stormers playing Schalk from the bench. But if they do fire … But what do I know? I called the Chiefs to beat the Highlanders 🙂
Prediction: BLUES to beat Lions by 24
You really hate the Lions don’t you, even after they were sooo close to beating the beloved Stormers….
Actually LOVE the Lions and all they stand for. Just really crap at predicting game results …
Talking about Steyn affecting the mood of the team, from the start it never looked as if he wanted to play the ball but rather the man. Unfortunately it took the ref 72 min to see that.
The Lions game wasn’t pretty but we as lions supporters will take any win especially abroad. the guys has hart but is just lacking that something extra, Tank maybe you can share some insight?