Just the 8 game Easter weekend, then, with Saturday being a brutal 08h35 to midnight affair that will see eyelids tested all over the world. TANK LANNING makes his picks.
Tank Lanning
One less game to handle on this Easter weekend, but with no derbies at all, even with the Lions taking a breather, we have 5 games involving the SA sides.
The weekend line-up:
Friday the 25th
08h35 – Hurricanes v Kings (Westpac)
Saturday the 26th
08h35 – Chiefs v Force (FMG)
10h45 – Rebels v Highlanders (AAMI Park)
12h55 – Sunwolves v Bulls (Singapore National)
15h05 – Cheetahs v Brumbies (Toyota)
17h15 – Sharks v Crusaders (Kings Park)
23h40 – Jaguares v Stormers (Vélez Sarsfield)
Sunday the 27th
07h05 – Reds v Waratahs (Suncorp)
So it’s clearly braai time at 1 for the Bulls game, with the Stormers game being a “Koffie en beskuit” affair on Sunday morning to replace that unwatchable Aussie derby thanks to the PVR. Splendid!
For fantastic 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 my picks, the match odds, and SuperBru Community picks:
My picks:
HURRICANES to beat Kings by 44
CHIEFS to beat Force by 18
HIGHLANDERS to beat Rebels by 9
BULLS to beat Sunwolves by 11
BRUMBIES to beat Cheetahs by 18
CRUSADERS to beat Sharks by 4
STORMERS to beat Jaguares by 5
WARATAHS to beat Reds by 5
What the Bookies say:
HURRICANES (1/4) to beat Kings (3/1)
CHIEFS (1/7) to beat Force (8/1)
HIGHLANDERS (4/7) to beat Rebels (2/1)
BULLS (1/7) to beat Sunwolves (7/1)
BRUMBIES (4/11) to beat Cheetahs (19/5)
SHARKS (8/11) to beat Crusaders (22/15)
JAGUARES (8/13) to beat Stormers (6/4)
WARATAHS (4/9) to beat Reds (23/10)
The SuperBru Community picks:
HURRICANES to beat Kings by 23
CHIEFS to beat Force by 14
HIGHLANDERS to beat Rebels by 7
BULLS to beat Sunwolves by 11
BRUMBIES to beat Cheetahs by 10
SHARKS to beat Crusaders by 1
STORMERS to beat Jaguares by 6
WARATAHS to beat Reds by 8
Bookies and Brus disagreeing on just the Stormers game. If the Stormers try and take the home side on at their own game, I reckon it could get very messy for them. But Rob Fleck showed his pragmatic side against the Brumbies, and I am betting on him trying to turn the Jaguares with astute kicks and then aiming to tackle them into an irritated frenzy that could deliver a plethora of yellow cards.
Anything could happen in Durban. Kieran Read as back as captain, along with Joe Moody, Codie Taylor and Andy Ellis. The Sharks have been happy toplay without the ball against the Stormers and Bulls, but against the Crusaders, they may well have to play a little rugby, and I am not sure Andre Esterhuizen is built for that at inside centre.
Sadly the Kings provide us with a dead cert this weekend, while the Bulls should have too much in the tank for the Japanese newcomers, although one never knows how the men from Pretoria will tour. The Cheetahs have been turnstiles on defence this year, and against a top side smarting from last week’s pasting by the Stormers, they may well take some heat in Bloemfontein.
As usual, it’s a bit of a lottery …
