Bookies and Brus agree on all 8! Not going to happen, Bru. TANK LANNING takes a stab at two upsets, both very early in the round. See also the odds and community picks.
Tank Lanning
A little bit of 2015 for us Saffer fans this weekend as the Kings take a breather. Just the single derby up in Bloemfontein sees the Sharks, Bulls and Lions all taking on overseas opposition.
The weekend’s fixtures:
Friday the 4th
08h35 – Crusaders v Blues (AMI Stadium)
10h45 – Brumbies v Waratahs (GIO Stadium)
Saturday the 5th
06h15 – Chiefs v Lions (FMG Stadium)
08h35 – Highlanders v Hurricanes (Forsyth Barr)
10h45 – Reds v Force (Suncorp)
15h00 – Bulls v Rebels (Loftus Versfeld)
17h10 – Cheetahs v Stormers (Toyota Stadium)
19h20 – Sharks v Jaguares (Kings Park)
A look at the weekend’s odds and SuperBru Community picks, then:
My picks:
BLUES to beat Crusaders by 5
WARATAHS to beat Brumbies by 5
CHIEFS to beat Lions by 9
HIGHLANDERS to beat Hurricanes by 9
REDS to beat Force by 5
BULLS to beat Rebels by 11
STORMERS to beat Cheetahs by 7
SHARKS to beat Jaguares by 7
What the Bookies say:
CRUSADERS (11/17) to beat Blues (28/17)
BRUMBIES (2/5) to beat Waratahs (13/5)
CHIEFS (1/6) to beat Lions (6/1)
HIGHLANDERS (4/7) to beat Hurricanes (19/11)
REDS (1/2) to beat Force (2/1)
BULLS (5/11) to beat Rebels (2/1)
STORMERS (1/2) to beat Cheetahs (2/1)
SHARKS (4/6) to beat Jaguares (8/5)
The SuperBru Community picks:
CRUSADERS to beat Blues by 4
BRUMBIES to beat Waratahs by 5
CHIEFS to beat Lions by 8
HIGHLANDERS to beat Hurricanes by 5
REDS to beat Force by 4
BULLS to beat Rebels by 6
STORMERS to beat Cheetahs by 10
SHARKS to beat Jaguares by 8
Results are given and it’s all about the margins according the Bookies and Brus? Not a chance this plays out so harmoniously.
Blues coach Tana Umaga knows his oats, and while making so many changes to the side that beat the Highlanders last week may look strange, the first game of the weekend could very well throw up an upset. Hence my pick.
Those Aussie derbies are not only brutal on the optics (basically unwatchable in the avalanche of rugby this year), but also tricky to pick. Both are contenders, but I look the like of the Tahs side with Folau, Guildford, Hooper and Ryan in the mix!
Mils Muliaina, the man who leads the SuperBru Legends pool, agrees!
Bit nervous about those Lions, though!
CLICK HERE for the weekend’s team sheets.
Should have gone with bookies and community so far…