Lions, Stormers and Sharks have their spots sewn up reckons Tank, but it’s all to play for in the Aus and Kiwi conferences, which makes for some bloody tough predicting.
Tank Lanning
The line-up:
Friday, July 15
09h35 – Blues v Waratahs (Auckland)
11h45 – Reds v Rebels (Brisbane)
19h00 – Sharks v Sunwolves (Durban)
Saturday, July 16
07h15 – Crusaders v Hurricanes (Christchurch)
09h35 – Highlanders v Chiefs (Dunedin)
11h45 – Brumbies v Force (Canberra)
17h05 – Stormers v Kings (Cape Town)
19h15 – Cheetahs v Bulls (Bloemfontein)
23h40 – Jaguares v Lions (Buenos Aires)
Blues vs Tahs is watchable if you can get away, Reds vs Rebels on live scoring while pretending to work – your SuperBru weekend may well hang on that result! Sharks hammering the howling wolves at the pub after work on Friday evening. Saturday morning and it’s Saders vs Canes with as many porkies as you can get into your gob, before taking in Landers vs Chiefs on a spin bike trying to work off those porkies. Brumbies vs Force is unwatchable – perfect time to collect some pink tickets with the better half. And then it’s braai and coolerbox central for the two Currie Cup games before waking up to the Lions on PVR with a lekker strong koffiie to go with your Ouma. Nie te sleg nie, ne?
CLICK HERE to see the Team Sheets.
Righto, to the last pool matches of 2016 …
My picks:
BLUES to beat Waratahs by 16
REDS to beat Rebels by 3
SHARKS to beat Sunwolves by 32
CRUSADERS to beat Hurricanes by 5
HIGHLANDERS to beat Chiefs by 7
BRUMBIES to beat Force by 16
STORMERS to beat Kings by 26
BULLS to beat Cheetahs by 9
JAGUARES to beat Lions by 12
What the Bookies say:
BLUES (1/1) to beat Waratahs (6/5)
REDS (5/6) to beat Rebels (9/7)
SHARKS (1/100) to beat Sunwolves (35/1)
CRUSADERS (8/13) to beat Hurricanes (2/1)
HIGHLANDERS (14/19) to beat Chiefs (11/8)
BRUMBIES (1/16) to beat Force (12/1)
STORMERS (1/41) to beat Kings (25/1)
BULLS (8/15) to beat Cheetahs (9/4)
JAGUARES (2/7) to beat Lions (4/1)
The SuperBru Community picks:
BLUES to beat Waratahs by 4
REBELS to beat Reds by 1
SHARKS to beat Sunwolves by 24
CRUSADERS to beat Hurricanes by 6
CHIEFS to beat Highlanders by 0.25
BRUMBIES to beat Force by 16
STORMERS to beat Kings by 24
BULLS to beat Cheetahs by 7
LIONS to beat Jaguares by 14
Reckon lots of the Bru’s made their picks before seeing the Lions side? That said, it would not be that surprising to see them get past the Jaguares, even that far away from home, and with the second string side they have picked!
The Sharks, Stormers and Bulls seem to have their weekend’s sorted – at the expense of the Cheetahs and Kings, which would see the Sharks established as the third side to qualify for the quarters from the African group. Where they will have to travel to is anyone’s guess, though.
Hence the two perilous picks on Saturday morning. That Kiwi conference is up for a grabs for a reason – because any side can beat the other on any given day! I was properly tempted to pick the Canes and definitely see that as a potential upset. The Bookies and Bru’s are rightfully undecided on the Chiefs vs Landers – it could go either way, but I am backing Lima Sopoaga to edge Aaron Cruden from the kicking tee.
In the Aussie conference, the Brumbies seem to have things sorted against a Force side that has had a horrible year, which means the Tahs will have to beat the Blues in Auckland in order to put any top of the log pressure on the men from Canberra. Tough ask given the Blues form last week! It’s without doubt a banana peel, though – those Blues still blow hot and cold, and the Tahs have plenty to play for!
Reds vs Rebels means absolutely nothing with regard to the log and playoffs, but our SuperBru weekend may very well hinge on it. I am going with the Bookies, but the Bru’s see things slightly differently for a reason!
Enjoy!
Looking at your predictions so far Tank………..eish ne!!!!!