Coenie vs Crockett might see us opening that coolerbox VERY early on Saturday. Check out the weekend’s teams, times, odds, Bru community picks and Tank Lanning’s predictions.
Tank Lanning
Not a single derby and six games spread over three days. Just add afternoon kickoff’s and you would have the perfect weekend of rugby. Instead it’s a “Dentist appointment” to see if the Lions can bounce back against the Rabble on Friday morning, an early-ish start on Saturday start to see if Coenie can go where Redelinghuys could not last weekend, and then a case of trying to keep the powder dry for the Saturday evening extravaganza which sees the Bulls and Sharks hosting our antipodean cousins.
It’s a complete horror show on the prediction front with the Brus and Bookies differing on 3 of the 6 games! Tell me this is rocket science and I will show you anorexic! So too muddy the waters even further, I bring in ex referee and SuperBru Legend poolmate Jonathan Kapalan’s picks this week.
Friday, March 20
08:35 – Highlanders vs Hurricanes (Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin)
Tank’s prediction: HURRICANES to beat Highlanders by 5
Collated odds: HIGHLANDERS (1/1) to beat Hurricanes (11/10)
SuperBru community: HURRICANES (53%) to beat Highlanders by 1
Kaplan’s pick: HIGHLANDERS to beat Hurricanes by 3
Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (c), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Nasi Manu (c), 7 Dan Pryor, 6 Elliot Dixon, 5 Joe Wheeler, 4 Tom Franklin, 3 Josh Hohneck, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Brendon Edmonds.
Bench: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Daniel Leniert-Brown, 18 Pingi Tala’apitaga, 19 Mark Reddish, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Marty Banks, 23 Jason Emery.
Hurricanes: 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith (c), 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Blade Thomson, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Reggie Goodes.
Bench: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Ben May, 18 Chris Eves, 19 Mark Abbott, 20 Callum Gibbins, 21 Chris Smylie, 22 Rey Lee-Lo, 23 James Marshall.
10:40 – Rebels vs Lions (AAMI Park, Melbourne)
Tank’s prediction: REBELS to beat Lions by 5
Collated odds: REBELS (4/9) to beat Lions (11/4)
SuperBru community: REBELS (70%) to beat Lions by 4
Kaplan’s pick: REBELS to beat Lions by 7
Rebels: 15 Jonah Placid, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Tamati Ellison, 12 Mitch Inman, 11 Tom English, 10 Mike Harris, 9 Nic Stirzaker, 8 Scott Higginbotham (captain), 7 Scott Fuglistaller, 6 Sean McMahon, 5 Lopeti Timani, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Pat Leafa, 1 Toby Smith
Bench: 16 Tom Sexton, 17 Cruze Ah-Nau, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Steve Cummins, 20 Colby Fainga’a, 21 Luke Burgess, 22 Bryce Hegarty, 23 Sefanaia Naivalu
Lions: 15 Jaco van der Walt, 14 Sampie Mastriet, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Elton Jantjies, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Robert Kruger, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Armand van der Merwe, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Bench: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Corné Fourie, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Andries Ferreira, 20 Jaco Kriel, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Harold Vorster, 23 Andries Coetzee.
Saturday, March 21
08:35 – Crusaders vs Cheetahs (AMI Stadium, Christchurch)
Tank’s prediction: CRUSADERS to beat Cheetahs by 16
Collated odds: CRUSADERS (1/9) to beat Cheetahs (9/1)
SuperBru community: CRUSADERS (94%) to beat Cheetahs by 13
Kaplan’s pick: CRUSADERS to beat Cheetahs by 17
Crusaders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Kieron Fonotia, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Dan Carter, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (captain), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Wyatt Crockett
Bench: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Luke Whitelock, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Tom Taylor, 23 David Havili
Cheetahs: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Clayton Blommetjies, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Joe Pietersen, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Jean Cook, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 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 Steven Sykes, 20 Boom Prinsloo, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Willie du Plessis, 23 Rayno Benjamin
17:05 – Bulls vs Force (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Tank’s prediction: BULLS to beat Force by 9
Collated odds: BULLS (2/11) to beat Force (13/2)
SuperBru community: BULLS (97%) to beat Force by 11
Kaplan’s pick: BULLS to beat Force by 14
Bulls: 15. Jesse Kriel, 14. Francois Hougaard, 13. JJ Engelbrecht, 12. Jan Serfontein, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Handre Pollard, 9. Rudy Paige, 8. Pierre Spies (captain), 7. Lappies Labuschagne, 6. Deon Stegmann, 5. Grant Hattingh, 4. Jacques du Plessis, 3. Marcel van der Merwe, 2. Adriaan Strauss, 1. Dean Greyling
Bench: 16. Jaco Visagie, 17. Morne Mellett, 18. Trevor Nyakane, 19. Victor Matfield, 20. Arno Botha, 21. Piet van Zyl, 22. Tian Schoeman, 23. Jurgen Visser
Force: 15 Luke Morahan, 14 Marcel Brache, 13 Kyle Godwin, 12 Luke Burton, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Kane Koteka, 6 Steve Mafi, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Sam Wykes (captain), 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pekahou Cowan
Bench: 16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Oliver Hoskins/Guy Millar, 19 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 20 Angus Cottrell, 21 Ian Prior, 22 Zack Holmes, 23 Solomoni Jnr Rasolea
19:10 – Sharks vs Chiefs (KINGS PARK, Durban)
Tank’s prediction: CHIEFS to beat Sharks by 5
Collated odds: SHARKS (1/1) to beat Chiefs (11/10)
SuperBru community: CHIEFS (62%) to beat Sharks by 3
Kaplan’s pick: SHARKS to beat Chiefs by 1
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. Renaldo Bothma, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Marco Wentzel, 4. Mouritz Botha, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Bismarck du Plessis (captain), 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Bench: 16. Kyle Cooper, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20. Daniel du Preez, 21. Conrad Hoffmann, 22. Andre Esterhuizen, 23. Waylon Murray
Chiefs: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Seta Tamanivalu, 12 Andrew Horrell, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Michael Leitch, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam (captain), 5 Michael Fitzgerald, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Siate Tokolahi, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Jamie Mackintosh
Bench: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Ben Tameifuna, 18 Mitchell Graham, 19 Michael Allardice, 20 Johan Bardoul, 21 Augustine Pulu, 22 Tom Marshall, 23 Hosea Gear
Sunday, March 22
07:05 – Waratahs vs Brumbies (Allianz Stadium, Sydney)
Tank’s prediction: WARATAHS to beat Brumbies by 3
Collated odds: WARATAHS (5/6) to beat Brumbies (6/5)
SuperBru community: BRUMBIES (72%) to beat Waratahs by 4
Kaplan’s pick: BRUMBIES to beat Waratahs by 3
Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Matt Carraro, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Jacques Potgieter, 5 David Dennis (c), 4 Will Skelton, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Benn Robinson
Bench (from): 16 Hugh Roach, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Sam Lousi, 20 Mitchell Chapman, 21 Stephen Hoiles, 22 Brendan McKibbin, 23 Jono Lance, 24 Peter Betham
Brumbies: 15. Robbie Coleman, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Christian Lealiifano, 11. Joseph 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, 1. Scott Sio.
Bench: 16. Josh Mann-Rea, 17. Ruan Smith, 18. Jean-Pierre Smith, 19. David Pocock, 20. Jordan Smiler, 21. Michael Dowsett, 22. Lausii Taliauli, 23. James Dargaville
