Bulls take a breather, but the Kings are back. Bru’s and Bookies agree on all 7 results! TANK LANNING says it is again about picking the upset, and he is going yellow again this week.
Tank Lanning
One less game to catch on the goggle box this weekend, but still the equivalent of what would have been a bumper 7 game weekend last year!
The Bulls are tanning chops this week which sees the Kings back in action against a Chiefs side who will be bitter with last week’s reverse against the high riding Lions.
These are the fixtures:
Friday the 11th
08h35 Blues v Hurricanes (Eden Park)
13h05 Force v Brumbies (nib)
Saturday the 12th
08h35 Highlanders v Lions (Forsyth Barr)
10h45 Rebels v Reds (AAMI Park)
12h55 Sunwolves v Cheetahs (Singapore National)
15h05 Kings v Chiefs (Nelson Mandela Bay)
17h15 Stormers v Sharks (Newlands)
For previews of, and match reports on, every single game, head to Vodacom Rugby’s BREAKING NEWS section.
And to see the weekend’s teams, head to their Team Sheets article that will be updated as each side is announced.
Righto, below a look at my predictions, the weekend’s odds and SuperBru Community picks:
My picks:
HURRICANES to beat Blues by 7
BRUMBIES to beat Force by 9
HIGHLANDERS to beat Lions by 8
REBELS to beat Reds by 3
CHEETAHS to beat Sunwolves by 7
CHIEFS to beat Kings by 38
STORMERS to beat Sharks by 5
What the Bookies say:
BLUES (5/6) to beat Hurricanes (11/8)
BRUMBIES (2/7) to beat Force (9/2)
HIGHLANDERS (4/11) to beat Lions (10/3)
REBELS (4/9) to beat Reds (77/29)
CHEETAHS (1/2) to beat Sunwolves (32/13)
CHIEFS (2/17) to beat Kings (7/1)
STORMERS (4/7) to beat Sharks (2/1)
The SuperBru Community picks:
BLUES to beat Hurricanes by 2
BRUMBIES to beat Force by 13
HIGHLANDERS to beat Lions by 0.5
REBELS to beat Reds by 4
CHEETAHS to beat Sunwolves by 5
CHIEFS to beat Kings by 18
STORMERS to beat Sharks by 5
Another week which sees both the bookies and brus in agreement! Next thing we will all be sitting round the camp fire singing Kumbaya! Not a chance this plays out so harmoniously though. Another weekend of trying to pick the upset, which is a perilous occupation given that you take a double hit if you get it wrong. I tried it last week and came a distant second. I cannot remember when I last had such a bad prediction weekend. Apologies to those of you that used them for guidance!!
Potential upsets: Without doubt the first game of the weekend. Tana Umaga has worked some magic with the Blues, but they definitely showed their old “Mixed bag” tendencies last week. This while Beauden Barrett, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Victor Vito and the Savea brothers are ready to pounce!
Write off the Lions at your peril, but one has to wonder if the bru’s are predicting with their hearts? Johan Ackermann has announced a much changed side that sees a new centre pairing doing duty in Dunedin suggesting he might be “Happy” to give this one away. But the players just do not speak that language.
And then those Sunwolves could well have too much in the tank for the Cheetahs, especially given that the latter have travelled, while the home side were making sushi last week instead of smashing into big hulking Stormers players! Bok legends Corne Krige and AJ Venter, both part of the SuperBru Legends pool that I am privileged to play in, reckon the brave blossoms will take it!
Stormers vs Sharks? History suggests a tight contest. Oli Kebble vs Coenie Oosthuizen does not 🙂
CLICK HERE for the weekend’s teams
What about the Reds throwing the upset this weekend?
I don’t trust sides who have just had their coach shunted….those players will have to put up quite a show now to vindicate their treachery.
My upset pick for the weekend will be the Reds to come out and prove a point against a Rebel side who flew to SA and back in less than two weeks