It’s an industrial rugby weekend, mense! All 6 SA sides hit the turf, and all 6 play overseas teams! Yep, not a single Currie Cup game or Aussie derby in sight!
Tank Lanning
The fixtures:
Friday the 29th
09h35 – Chiefs v Sharks (Yarrow)
13h05 – Force v Bulls (nib)
Saturday the 30th
07h15 – Blues v Rebels (Eden Park)
09h35 – Highlanders v Brumbies (Rugby Park)
11h45 – Reds v Cheetahs (Suncorp)
17h05 – Lions v Hurricanes (Emirates Airlines Park)
19h15 – Stormers v Waratahs (Newlands)
23h40 – Jaguares v Kings (Estadio Jose Amalfitani)
Exactly what Super Rugby was meant to be about! Well, barring the fact that the SA sides play either the Aussies or the Kiwis, and not both …
Two Friday day games that are going to require some creativity on your side. Cheetahs over the shoulder of your aunty at a family lunch so you can get the pink tickets needed to catch the Lions and Stormers with your foot on a coolerbox and your hand clutching a set of tongs.
No chance the 23h30 game after that, so instead PVR those gutsy Kings for a little head clearing koffie en beskuit rugby on Sunday morning …
For the weekend’s player rosters, head to Vodacom Rugby’s Team Sheets.
My picks:
CHIEFS to beat Sharks by 2
BULLS to beat Force by 7
BLUES to beat Rebels by 9
HIGHLANDERS to beat Brumbies by 11
REDS to beat Cheetahs by 6
HURRICANES to beat Lions by 5
STORMERS to beat Waratahs by 2
JAGUARES to beat Kings by 7
What the Bookies say:
CHIEFS (3/16) to beat Sharks (11/2)
BULLS (8/15) to beat Force (23/10)
BLUES (4/9) to beat Rebels (32/13)
HIGHLANDERS (8/15) to beat Brumbies (11/5)
REDS (8/15) to beat Cheetahs (2/1)
LIONS (5/6) to beat Hurricanes (7/5)
STORMERS (4/9) to beat Waratahs (9/4)
JAGUARES (1/9) to beat Kings (33/1)
The SuperBru Community picks:
CHIEFS to beat Sharks by 10
BULLS to beat Force by 7
BLUES to beat Rebels by 3
HIGHLANDERS to beat Brumbies by 4
REDS to beat Cheetahs by 3
LIONS to beat Hurricanes by 3
STORMERS to beat Waratahs by 8
JAGUARES to beat Kings by 8
Mils Muliaina’s picks:
CHIEFS to beat Sharks by 15
BULLS to beat Force by 7
BLUES to beat Rebels by 10
HIGHLANDERS to beat Brumbies by 9
REDS to beat Cheetahs by 12
HURRICANES to beat Lions by 13
STORMERS to beat Waratahs by 10
JAGUARES to beat Kings by 19
Not sure it gets more brain-dead than betting against the form team in South Africa right now, but those three regular readers of this blog will be aware of my soft spot for the Canes. The Elton Jantjies vs Beauden Barrett showdown is going to be sensational. Much talk about the latter’s missed tackles this week, and it will be interesting to see if Barrett and his fellow entertainers will take on that flyhalf channel a bit more than usual. Interesting to see ex All Black legend, and SuperBru Legend picking the Canes to beat the Lions by a whopping 13!
All eyes on another rising star that wears the number 10 jersey in Cape Town. Jean-Luc Du Plessis’ battle with Tahs and Aussie flyhalf Bernard Foley will go a long way to deciding that game at Newlands. The Tahs are on the up, whereas the Stormers have been stuttering a bit. De Jongh and Malherbe should provide cool heads (and a good right shoulder), though.
Too tough for the Sharks, Cheetahs and Kings overseas I reckon, although wins for the Sharks and Cheetahs would not surprise me too massively. The Bulls seem to be enjoying their stay in Aus, and despite a few late changes to the team, should get past the Peter Grant free Force in Perth.
