Bulls and Sharks to strike back on tour? Tahs to pip the Saders in Sydney? Some say yes, Tank Lanning says no. Catch all the weekend’s teams, times, collated odds and SuperBru community picks.
Tank Lanning
If you thought last weekend was tough, wait until you see the collated odds and Bru community picks for this weekend! And it’s a full on seven game weekend with all five SA sides in action. This is what we have to wade through:
Friday, May 22
09:35 – Chiefs vs Bulls (Rotorua International Stadium)
11:40 – Reds vs Sharks (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
Saturday, May 23
09:35 – Blues vs Hurricanes (Eden Park, Auckand)
11:40 – Waratahs vs Crusaders (ANZ Stadium, Sydney)
13:45 – Force vs Highlanders (NIB Stadium, Perth)
17:05 – Cheetahs vs Lions (Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein)
19:10 – Stormers vs Rebels (Newlands, Cape Town)
It’s going to take some fancy footwork to get both those Friday games onto the viewing schedule. It’s not even about pink tickets for those, but about some serious “Client schmoozing” that your boss buys into! Tahs vs Saders will be worth a gander on Saturday, perhaps at your local after buying the missus a bunch of flowers that you will have to hand over before settling in for a grid and coolerbox denting session from 17h00 till 21h00!
Tough ask for the Bulls to get their tour back on track in Rotorua, but the Chiefs are again without Sonny Bill and for most of their game against the Canes last week, they looked a bit plan free. A physical Bulls pack and some astute kicking from Pollard might reveal the rabbit! While in Brisbane the Sharks, who have been at the rough end of a few horrific calls from the officials, will be up against a resurgent Reds side. Question is, was that a one off, or the start of something special? Losses for both sides last week makes the Currie Cup type derby in Bloem a little bit of a non-entity in terms of the log, but one presumes nothing of the sort between the white lines. A last harrah for outgoing coach Naka Drotske from the men in orange, or the Lions to bounce back and reveal the character we know they have in spades? All three tough to call, but perhaps less so in Cape Town, where the Stormers should have way too much in the tank for the travelling Rebels, fresh off that hammering from the Reds. Fantastic to see Seabelo Senatla back in the 15’s game. Special player that.
So to those picks! The Bru’s and the Bookies agree on every single game, but never in my life have I seen a Bru community pick that has less than 50% of the community picking a winner. Throw in the fact that there are two predictions in the 100ths and it is safe to say that the GSP will be a tad scarce on Monday morning! This weekend’s guest predictor from the SuperBru Legends pool is none other than The General (aka Andy Wood), the man who actually started SuperBru! A dyed in the wool Sharks fan (read into that what you will re his prediction for Friday morning’s game), Andy has his ups and downs on the prediction front, thus finding himself mid table on the pool leaderboard.
My predictions:
CHIEFS to beat Bulls by 5
REDS to beat Sharks by 4
HURRICANES to beat Blues by 9
CRUSADERS to beat Waratahs by 7
HIGHLANDERS to beat Force by 11
LIONS to beat Cheetahs by 9
STORMERS to beat Rebels by 16
The General’s predictions:
CHIEFS to beat Bulls by 12
SHARKS to beat Reds by 3
HURRICANES to beat Blues by 10
WARATAHS to beat Crusaders by 6
HIGHLANDERS to beat Force by 10
LIONS to beat Cheetahs by 7
STORMERS to beat Rebels by 14
The SuperBru Community picks:
CHIEFS (83%) to beat Bulls by 7
REDS (49%) to beat Sharks by 0.07
HURRICANES (93%) to beat Blues by 10
WARATAHS (54%) to beat Crusaders by 0.02
HIGHLANDERS (88%) to beat Force by 8
LIONS (83%) to beat Cheetahs by 6
STORMERS (96%) to beat Rebels by 9
The Collated odds:
CHIEFS (4/9) to beat Bulls (2/1)
REDS (10/11) to beat Sharks (11/10)
HURRICANES (7/17) to beat Blues (23/10)
WARATAHS (7/10) to beat Crusaders (6/4)
HIGHLANDERS (8/15) to beat Force (24/13)
LIONS (5/6) to beat Cheetahs (11/8)
STORMERS (2/7) to beat Rebels (4/1)
The weekend’s teams:
Friday, May 22
09:35 – Chiefs vs Bulls (Rotorua International Stadium)
Chiefs: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Hosea Gear, 13 Charlie Ngatai, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Bryce Heem, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Augustine Pulu, 8 Michael Leitch, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam (captain), 5 Johan Bardoul, 4 Michael Fitzgerald/Ross Filipo, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Mitchell Graham
Bench: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Siate Tokolahi, 18 Pauliasi Manu, 19 Brian Alainu’uese, 20 Maama Vaipulu, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Andrew Horrell, 23 Tim Nanai-Williams
Bulls: 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip van de Merwe, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Trevor Nyakane
Bench: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Dean Greyling, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Lappies Labuschagne, 21 Burger Odendaal, 22 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 23 Travis Ismaiel
11:40 – Reds vs Sharks (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
Reds: 15 James O’Connor, 14 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 13 Karmichael Hunt, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Chris Kuridrani, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Adam Thomson, 5 James Horwill, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 James Hanson, 1 James Slipper (captain)
Bench: 16 Andrew Ready, 17 Pettowa Paraka, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Ed O’Donoghue, 20 Lolo Fakaosilea, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Sam Greene, 23 Ben Tapuai
Sharks: 15. Lwazi Mvovo, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. JP Pietersen, 12. Frans Steyn, 11. S’bura Sithole, 10. Lionel Cronje, 9. Stefan Ungerer, 8. Renaldo Bothma, 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Marco Wentzel (captain), 4. Stephan Lewies, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Bench: 16. Franco Marais, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Mouritz Botha, 20. Etienne Oosthuizen, 21. Conrad Hoffmann, 22. Fred Zeilinga, 23. Andre Esterhuizen
Saturday, May 23
09:35 – Blues vs Hurricanes (Eden Park, Auckand)
Blues – 15 Lolagi Visinia, 14 Ben Lam, 13 Francis Saili, 12 George Moala, 11 Melani Nanai, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Akira Ioane, 7 Blake Gibson, 6 Brendon O’Connor, 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Culum Retallick, 3 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 2 James Parsons (c), 1 Sam Prattley.
Bench: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Angus Ta’avao, 18 Nic Mayhew, 19 Will Lloyd/Hayden Triggs, 20 Joe Edwards, 21 Jimmy Cowan, 22 Simon Hickey, 23 Matt Vaega.
Hurricanes – 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 James Marshall, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Blade Thomson, 5 James Broadhurst, 4 Jeremy Thrush (c ), 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Chris Eves.
Bench: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Ben May, 18 Tolu Fahamokioa, 19 Mark Abbott/Callum Gibbins, 20 Brad Shields, 21 Chris Smylie, 22 Otere Black, 23 Willis Halaholo.
11:40 – Waratahs vs Crusaders (ANZ Stadium, Sydney)
Waratahs – 15 Israel Folau, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Stephan Hoiles, 5 Dave 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 Mitchell Chapman, 20 Tala Gray, 21 Pat McCutcheon, 22 Brendan McKibbin, 23 Matt Carraro, 24 Peter Betham.
Crusaders – 15 Tom Taylor, 14 Nafi Tuitavake, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Dan Carter, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Ben Funnell, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Bench: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Jimmy Tupou, 20 Matt Todd, 21 Andy Ellis, 22 Israel Dagg, 23 Jone Macilai.13:45 – Force vs Highlanders (NIB Stadium, Perth)
13:45 – Force vs Highlanders (NIB Stadium, Perth)
Force – 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Marcel Brache, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Ryan Louwrens, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Matt Hodgson (c), 6 Angus Cottrell, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Steve Mafi, 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pekahou Cowan.
Bench: 16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Guy Millar, 19 Sam Wykes, 20 Kane Koteka, 21 Alby Mathewson, 22 Luke Burton, 23 Brad Lacey
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 John Hardie, 6 Gareth Evans, 5 Mark Reddish, 4 Alex Ainley, 3 Josh Hohneck, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Brendon Edmonds.
Bench: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18 Ross Geldenhuys, 19 Tom Franklin, 20 Dan Pryor, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Richard Buckman, 23 Marty Banks.
17:05 – Cheetahs vs Lions (Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein)
Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Boom Prinsloo, 6 Carel Greeff, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Danie Minnie
Bench: 16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 BG Uys, 18 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 19 Steven Sykes, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Coenie van Wyk, 23 Rayno Benjamin
Lions: 15. Andries Coetzee, 14. Ruan Combrinck, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Howard Mnisi, 11. Courtnall Skosan , 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Faf de Klerk, 8. Warren Whiteley (captain), 7. Warwick Tecklenburg, 6. Jaco Kriel, 5. Martin Muller, 4. Andries Ferreira, 3. Ruan Dreyer, 2. Robbie Coetzee, 1. Jacques van Rooyen
Bench: 16. Armand van der Merwe, 17. Schalk van der Merwe, 18. Julian Redelinghuys, 19. Franco Mostert, 20. Robert Kruger, 21. Ross Cronje, 22. Jaco van der Walt, 23. Harold Vorster
19:10 – Stormers vs Rebels (Newlands, Cape Town)
Stormers: 15. Cheslin Kolbe, 14. Seabelo Senatla, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Dillyn Leyds, 10. Demetri Catrakilis, 9. Louis Schreuder, 8. Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7. Siya Kolisi, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Manuel Carizza, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Bench: 16. Bongi Mbonambi, 17. Ali Vermaak, 18. Vincent Koch, 19. Jean Kleyn, 20. Nizaam Carr, 21. Nic Groom, 22. Kurt Coleman, 23. Huw Jones
Rebels: 15. Mike Harris, 14. Cam Crawford, 13. Dom Shipperley, 12. Mitch Inman, 11. Tom English, 10. Jack Debreczeni, 9. Nic Stirzaker, 8. Scott Higginbotham (captain), 7. Scott Fuglistaller, 6. Sean McMahon, 5. Lopeti Timani, 4. Luke Jones, 3. Paul Alo-Emile, 2. Pat Leafa, 1. Cruze Ah-Nau
Bench: 16. Tom Sexton, 17. Keita Inagaki, 18. Laurie Weeks, 19. Cadeyrn Neville, 20. Jordy Reid, 21. Colby Fainga’a, 22. Luke Burgess, 23. Bryce Hegarty
