And then there were four. And then two teams crossed the Indian Ocean! Can one of the away teams pull a rabbit out the hat? Unlikely say both the Bookies and Bru’s, and Tank agrees.
The line-up:
Saturday, July 30
09h35 – Hurricanes v Chiefs (Westpac Stadium)
15h00 – Lions v Highlanders (Emirates Airlines Park)
Just the two games! What the hell are we going to do with ourselves? One does not even need half a pink ticket to get both games in. Especially since the powers that be have seen the light and given us some afternoon rugby again. Perhaps Sky went on a PVR campaign for those poor folk in Otago?
Even space for a little Bishops vs Paul Roos or SACS vs Boys High in between games for those of us in the Cape …
My picks:
HURRICANES to beat Chiefs by 9
LIONS to beat Highlanders by 9
What the Bookies say:
HURRICANES (11/18) to beat Chiefs (13/8)
LIONS (16/19) to beat Highlanders (6/5)
The SuperBru Community picks:
HURRICANES to beat Chiefs by 3
LIONS to beat Highlanders by 6
Only the Crusaders have won a final on foreign soil. One team in 20 years! Travel is a serious factor, hence the Chiefs and Landers being properly on the back foot. It would take a minor miracle for them to pull off a win this weekend.
Check out these jaw dropping travel stats for the Chiefs and Highlanders courtesy of Stuff.co.nz:
CHIEFS
- Travel all up = 76,919km
- Since international break = 35,709km
- So far in the playoffs = 24,049km
- Playoffs travel if they make the final = 26,909km (Dunedin) or = 36,228km (Johannesburg)
HIGHLANDERS
- Travel all up = 73,344km
- Since international break = 46,734km
- So far in the playoffs = 14,520km
- Playoffs travel if they make the final = 28,130km (Dunedin) or = 28,924km (Wellington)
In the past few weeks the Landers have had to play the Hurricanes, Kings, and Jaguares away from home, host the Chiefs, head to Canberra for their quarter final last week, before flying out here for Saturday’s game against the Lions.
Brutal stuff! I am actually quite surprised to see the odds on the Landers that low. That said, with a backline of Ben Smith, Waisake Naholo, Matt Faddes, Malakai Fekitoa, Patrick Osborne, Lima Sopoaga, and Aaron Smith, they are a class outfit, and are not defending champs without reason. They can beat any side on any given day.
This while Lions captain Warren Whiteley has been ruled out of the game due the calf injury he sustained in the Lions’ 42-25 victory over the Crusaders last weekend. It’s a big loss given how key he has been to the Lions campaign, but they have coped without him before. Throw in a more pragmatic approach that we saw from them last week, and they should have enough in their (well rested) tank to get past the Landers.
The Canes are also sweating over the fitness of their skipper Dane Coles, who will be given until the morning of the game to prove he is over a rib injury. Playing in the front row is not for sissies, and definitely not for okes with broken ribs! But he is a magic player and clearly key to an otherwise unchanged team to the one that hammered the Sharks 41-0 last weekend. Having come so close to the silverware last year, I can’t see them stuffing it up this year.
Enjoy!
