Weekend teams and predictions

All a little strange as the final weekend of Super Rugby ends up being a bit of a damp squib! Catch all the teams, times, venues, odds and both Tank Lanning and Andrew Mehrtens’ predictions.

Tank Lanning

So the top 6 have been decided and it’s just the order that gets decided this weekend. The Stormers are guaranteed third spot on the log (and a home quarter-final), but have an outside chance of finishing second (and getting themselves a home semi-final) if both Aussie results go their way. And in the unlikely event of that happening, they may well regret their experimental team selection!

The final league fixtures of 2015:

Friday, June 12

09:35 – Blues vs Highlanders (Eden Park, Auckland)

11:40 – Rebels vs Force (AAMI Park, Melbourne)

Saturday, June 13

07:30 – Brumbies vs Crusaders (GIO Stadium, Canberra)

09:35 – Chiefs vs Hurricanes (Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth)

11:40 – Waratahs vs Reds (Allianz Stadium, Sydney)

17:05 – Bulls vs Cheetahs (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)

19:10 – Sharks vs Stormers (Kings Park, Durban)

The Log going into the weekend:

Hurricanes – 62 points

Waratahs – 47

Stormers – 45

Chiefs – 48

Highlanders – 48

Brumbies – 47

So it’s a properly experimental Stormers side to take on a Sharks side seriously grumpy at how the season has turned out, and fired up to give all of Jannie and Bismarck du Plessis, and Willem Alberts, a proper send-off. This being their last ever game for the franchise before they head to France to earn Euros. Kebble and Koch vs Jannie and Beast will be fun to watch, as will a fetcher free loose trio vs Marcel Coetzee. It makes that final game of the season a pretty tricky bugger to pick!

The Canes have top spot sewn up, and no matter how many times they talk up continuity, building confidence and stuff like “Every game is a tough game”, those players will definitely have eyes on their guaranteed home semi-final in two weeks’ time. This while both the Chiefs and the Highlanders have it all to play for in terms of making up those last three qualifying spots in the finals series. As do the Tahs, who will be out to defend their second spot, no matter how experimental that side coming out of Cape Town is. Same in Canberra, where the Brumbies (playing before the Chiefs) will be playing for that all important 4th spot on the log as they would give them a home quarter final.

All this activity as the Bulls and Cheetahs go through the motions at a no doubt empty Loftus in a meaningless game. A little sad, that!

The Bookies and the Brus disagree on 3 fixtures this weekend! And while the Brus are a little undecided on that Brumbies vs Saders game, they are pretty convinced re the Canes and Stormers coming good. This in games that are likely to be dead rubbers? Unlike ex All Black flyhalf, Andrew Mehrtens, my poolmate in the SuperBru legends pool, I am backing the money men this week. Mehrts, a mere 0.3 points ahead of me in third place on our leaderboard, seems to have pushed the boat out a little this week in an attempt to reign in our leader AJ Venter.

 

My predictions:

HIGHLANDERS to beat Blues by 8

REBELS to beat Force by 9

BRUMBIES to beat Crusaders by 4

CHIEFS to beat Hurricanes by 7

WARATAHS to beat Reds by 9

BULLS to beat Cheetahs by 13

SHARKS to beat Stormers by 9

 

Andrew Mehrtens’ predictions:

HIGHLANDERS to beat Blues by 26

REBELS to beat Force by 11

CRUSADERS to beat Brumbies by 21

HURRICANES to beat Chiefs by 8

WARATAHS to beat Reds by 14

BULLS to beat Cheetahs by 18

STORMERS to beat Sharks by 13

 

The SuperBru Community picks:

HIGHLANDERS (93%) to beat Blues by 10

REBELS (97%) to beat Force by 9

CRUSADERS (46%) to beat Brumbies by 0.19

HURRICANES (60%) to beat Chiefs by 2

WARATAHS (97%) to beat Reds by 12

BULLS (93%) to beat Cheetahs by 11

STORMERS (71%) to beat Sharks by 4

 

The Collated odds:

HIGHLANDERS (1/4) to beat Blues (7/2)

REBELS (2/7) to beat Force (10/3)

BRUMBIES (8/13) to beat Crusaders (13/8)

CHIEFS (4/7) to beat Hurricanes (7/4)

WARATAHS (1/6) to beat Reds (5/1)

BULLS (1/10) to beat Cheetahs (15/2)

SHARKS (8/13) to beat Stormers (2/1)

 

Weekend’s teams:

Friday, June 12

09:35 – Blues vs Highlanders (Eden Park, Auckland)

Blues: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Ben Lam, 13 Hamish Northcott, 12 George Moala, 11 Melani Nanai, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Joe Edwards, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Chris Vui, 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Hayden Triggs, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Keven Mealamu (c), 1 Sam Prattley.

Bench: 16. James Parsons, 17 Nic Mayhew, 18 Sione Mafileo, 19 Will Lloyd, 20 Jack Ram, 21 Jimmy Cowan, 22 Matt McGahan, 23 Lolagi Visinia.

Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (c), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Richard Buckman, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Dan Pryor, 7 John Hardie, 6 Elliot Dixon, 5 Joe Latta, 4 Alex Ainley, 3 Josh Hohneck, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown.

Bench: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Brendon Edmonds, 18 Ross Geldenhuys, 19 Jackson Hemopo, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Marty Banks, 23 Kurt Baker.

11:40 – Rebels vs Force (AAMI Park, Melbourne)

Rebels: 15 Mike Harris, 14 Bryce Hegarty, 13 Dom Shipperley, 12 Mitch Inman, 11 Cam Crawford, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Nic Stirzaker, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Colby Fainga’a, 6 Sean McMahon, 5 Lopeti Timani, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Pat Leafa, 1 Toby Smith.

Bench: 16 Tom Sexton, 17 Cruze Ah-Nau, 18 Tim Metcher, 19 Sam Jeffries, 20 Scott Fuglistaller, 21 Jordy Reid, 22 Ben Meehan, 23 Tom English.

Force: 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Marcel Brache, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Zack Holmes, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Angus Cottrell, 7 Matt Hodgson (c), 6 Chris Alcock, 5 Steve Mafi, 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pek Cowan.

Bench (from): 16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Guy Millar, 19 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 20 Brynard Stander, 21 Ryan Louwrens, 22 Luke Burton, 23 Patrick Dellit, 24 Oliver Hoskins.

 

Saturday, June 13

07:30 – Brumbies vs Crusaders (GIO Stadium, Canberra)

Brumbies: 15 Jesse Mogg, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Robbie Coleman, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Nic White, 8 Ita Vaea, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Blake Enever, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 Scott Sio.

Bench: 16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Allan Alaalatoa, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Jordan Smiler, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 James Dargaville.

Crusaders: 15 Tom Taylor, 14 Jone Macilai, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 David Havili, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Matt Todd, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Wyatt Crockett.

Bench: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Alex Hodgman, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Jimmy Tupou, 20 Jordan Taufua, 21 Billy Guyton, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Nafi Tuitavake.

09:35 – Chiefs vs Hurricanes (Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth)

Chiefs: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Charlie Ngatai, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 James Lowe/Hosea Gear, 10 Marty McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Maama Vaipulu, 7 Michael Leitch, 6 Liam Messam (c), 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Quentin MacDonald, 1 Pauliasi Manu.

Bench: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Siate Tokolahi, 18 Jamie Mackintosh, 19 Michael Fitzgerald, 20 Mitchell Crosswell, 21 Augustine Pulu, 22 Andrew Horrell, 23 Damian McKenzie.

Hurricanes: 15 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Julian Savea, 10 James Marshall, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Callum Gibbins, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Mark Abbott, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Reggie Goodes.

Bench: 16 Brayden Mitchell, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 19 James Broadhurst, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 Frae Wilson, 22 Willis Halaholo, 23 Sam McNicol.

11:40 – Waratahs vs Reds (Allianz Stadium, Sydney)

Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Matt Carraro, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Jacques Potgieter, 5 David Dennis (captain), 4 Will Skelton, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.

Bench: 16 Hugh Roach, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Mitchell Chapman, 20 Dean Mumm, 21 Stephen Hoiles, 22 Brendan McKibbin, 23 Peter Betham

Reds: 15 James O’Connor, 14 Chris Kuridrani, 13 Karmichael Hunt, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Lachie Turner, 10 Quade Cooper, 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 (from): 16 Saia Fainga’a, 17 Pettowa Paraka, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Ed O’Donoghue, 20 Beau Robinson, 21 Hendrik Tui, 22 Nick Frisby, 23 Jake McIntyre, 24 Ben Tapuai, 25 Jamie-Jerry Taulagi

17:05 – Bulls vs Cheetahs (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)

Bulls: 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Travis Ismaiel, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Arno Botha, 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Morné Mellett

Bench: 16 Callie Visagie, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 19 Roelof Smit, 20 Bjorn Basson, 21 Tian Schoeman, 22 Jurgen Visser, 23 Werner Kruger

Cheetahs: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Clayton Blommetjies, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Boom Prinsloo, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 BG Uys

Bench: 16 Elandré Huggett, 17 Danie Mienie, 18 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 19 Steven Sykes, 20 Gerhard Olivier, 21 Oupa Mohoje, 22 Renier Botha, 23 Coenie van Wyk

19:10 – Sharks vs Stormers (Kings Park, Durban)

Sharks: 15. Lwazi Mvovo, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. JP Pietersen, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. S’bura Sithole, 10. Lionel Cronje, 9. Stefan Ungerer, 8. Renaldo Bothma, 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Marco Wentzel (captain), 4. Etienne Oosthuizen, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. Tendai Mtawarira

Bench: 16. Franco Marais, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20. Khaya Majola, 21. Conrad Hoffmann, 22. Fred Zeilinga, 23. Heimar Williams

Stormers: 15 Robert du Preez, 14 Johnny Kotze, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Jaco Taute, 11 Pat Howard, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Nizaam Carr (c), 7 Michael Rhodes, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Michael Willemse, 1 Oli Kebble.

Bench: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Jan de Klerk, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Seabelo Senatla, 23 Kobus van Wyk.