Can't make my bloody mind up this week!!!

So what I've tipped for is...

Hurricanes vs. Cats:
Hurricanes to over tip the milk saucer with a florish. 

Force vs. Chiefs
God alone knows why, but I'm tipping the Chiefs just. Both teams have had to travel a similar distance in the week building up to the game, and neither team has a clue what to do with ball in hand. Chiefs by virtue of greater experience and the Force having more injury worries. There you have it, kiss of death to the Chiefs. Why can't I tip against my own team... 

Stormers vs. Brumbies
Brumbies by a whisker.

Crusaders vs Sardines
Crusaders by a drift net.

Red vs. Blues.
Blues just. Shirely they can't play like a bunch of muppets forever, and the Reds must be running out of adrenaline by now.

Bulls vs Warratahs.
Bulls in a close one - the Tah's seem to be a bit distracted this week.

Cheetahs vs Highlanders.
Highlanders by about 10. Cheetahs might give them a fright but the Highlanders will finish stronger. 

 

 
 The South African teams have begun their dreaded traveling schedule with the Sharks and the Cats heading off down under to take on some of the toughest teams in the competition in their backyards. The Bulls, Stormers and the Cheetahs continue their quests to get provide their fans with their first home win, each having won away but not yet at home…
 
 The Chiefs and the Blues are away from home to weaker opposition and I predict both to bounce back strongly and grab their first win of the season.
 
Hurricanes v Cats – Wellington (Christians v Lions I)
 Not a lot needs to be said about this game. For the first time in the history of the tournament, the Canes have a hard edge to back up their showmanship and look like tournament contenders. However, a very average passage of play against the weakest team in the competition last week has raised some questions about their ability to maintain concentration for the 80 minutes, required from a championship team. The Cats won last weekend but due to the Chiefs losing the plot rather than playing anything like decent rugby, are yet to show us that they can mould their heavy pack and Springbok laden backline into anything resembling a rugby team.
 Hurricanes by 17+.
 
Force v  Chiefs -  Perth
 The Chiefs have it all to do. Traveling back from SA where there were 0/2 and playing the Force in Perth, you would think that they would have their backs to the wall and that a Force victory would be on the cards. The Chiefs, however, are too good a team and the Force too weak. 40000 Screaming fans at Subiaco are going to see their new team get torn to ribbons as the Chiefs throw off the shackles of a nightmare trip to SA and begin to show signs of why they were pre-season contenders.
 Chiefs by 17+
 
Stormers v Brumbies – Cape Town
 The Stormers played a good first 40 to lead the Tahs at the turn last weekend and then fell asleep to give the Tahs a great win away from home. Will the Stormers be able to put it together for the full 80 this weekend v the Brumbies? Will the return of Jean de Villiers give the Stormers the edge they need? I don’t think it will make a difference. There will be no advantage for either side upfront, and whether the Stormers play for 40 or 80, or whether de Villiers is in or out, the Brumbies will carve out a narrow victory in the shadow of the mountain.
 Brumbies by 1-8.
 
Crusaders v Sharks  - Timaru
 Tony Brown has arrived back from Japan to take up the 10 berth for the Sharks and it will be interesting to see what he can come up with in terms of defensive organisation and go-forward for the Sharks three quarters. Perhaps this wont be a great game to rejoin the big-time from Brown’s perspective as I am sure that McCaw, Tuiali’i and Thorne will be out to turn him inside out and upside down. Aside from that, It will be one-way traffic from the kick-off and the Crusaders will bag another 5 log-points.
 Crusaders by 17+
 
Reds v Blues – Brisbane
 The Blues were among the pre-season favourites to win the tournament but have leaked a home loss to the showboating ‘Canes and an away loss to a solid, hardworking and honest Highlanders team and are 0/2 in the bottom four of the log. Against weaker opposition on the road this weekend, the Blues will gel on the back of a dominant forward effort and plentiful phase-ball for the backs and bury the Reds in a pile of tries.
 Blues by 17+
 
Bulls v Waratahs – Pretoria
 The Bulls game is built around forward dominance plain and simple. There is no plan B. Never was, never will be. While this had worked for them over the past two season to some extent, the relics of the Jurassic age that scared the living daylights out of oppo forward packs are either injured or absent for other reasons. The Waratahs, on the other hand, are displaying distinctly un-Aussie like forward proficiency and will be more than a match for the Bulls up front, and their backline will carve the Bulls defensive patterns into thin slices. Hougaard’s boot will keep the deficit down.
 Waratahs by 1-8.
 
Cheetahs v Highlanders – Bloemfontein
 Having watched their match against my beloved Sharks last weekend at the Sharktank,  I was left with the feeling that the Cheetahs really love the fact that they get to play S14 rugger every weekend. They have a certain infectious enthusiasm for whatever they do, be it contesting on the deck or tossing a ball down their backline. The Highlanders are going to arrive in Bloem travel weary and the despite their forward strength and super-organized defense, the Cheetahs are going to pull one off for their fans.
 Cheetahs by 1-8.
 

Secret Squirrel, if he told you, he'd have to kill you...

 

3 weeks into it and I'm doing alright. Sure a lot of games have been easy picks but a few upsets have me level with Ming of all people so here's to a better performance this week eh?

Canes v Cats in Wellywood
Canes, even without Jerry the Slightly Aggressive Bear, are going to clean up here - Canes by 15

Force v Chiefs in Perth
This is a bit tougher to pick now that the Force are fielding a light midfield and possibly no Ioane. The Chiefs are no doubt about to start their charge towards the top which will, as any Chiefs fan will tell you, end up with them one win out of the 4.... See-sawing but I'll say Force by 3 in front of the home crowd against a traveling Chiefs unit.

Stormers v Brumbies in Cape Town
If the Stormers play like last week's second half the Brumbies will cut them to pieces. Stormers' forwards are better than the Brumbies and will look forward to the return of deVilliers and putting Burglar and Watson up against Smith and Heenan. I'll still go Brumbies by 8 as their back line is getting better each week and love running at Safrican back lines more than anyone.

Crusaders v Sharks in Timaru
Pffft. Crusaders by 40 unless the Sharks get a rain dance going in which case Crusaders by 30

Reds v Blues in Brisvegas
Just like the Chiefs, the Blues have talent but are just waiting for the right alignment of the moon and planets before they decide to click... The Reds are thin on the team sheet but with an injection of youth and decent forwards coaching have taken two of the better teams to task in a lot of areas over the past week... Argh alright Red Bull I'll go with the Reds by 5...

Bulls v Tahs in Preboringa
No Matfield and Aussie Dan Vickerman would prefer it if he'd played. Sorry Dan but I'm not with you on that one. Tahs are rumoured to drop Lyons to the bench and put the slightly faster and more skill-oriented Hoiles in at 8 which should prove interesting against a herd of stampeding elephants such as the Bulls' pack. Meyer has put both Wasserman and Wannenburg on the park to counter Waugh but obviously haven't taken Elsom into account in those calculations. I'll go Tahs by 4 on the fact that they can score tries and SNK has a big boot.

Cheetahs v Clan in Bloem
Clan don't usually travel that badly and the Cheetahs will enjoy the tussle up front - the battle between old Os and young Carl should be a treat for the aerobically challenged. That said the Clan locks are good, the back rows are about even overall from what I've seen so far, but the backlines of both sides are largely unknown to me besides Evans and and Gaffie. This is a bit controversial without seeing the Clan team yet, but I'm going Cheetahs by 3.

 

Hurricanes $1.08 v Cats $7.00
Yeah, fair enoguh, but still waiting for the Hurricanes to fall at the lowest hurdle - and until they play the Chiefs, this could be it!!

Force $2.65 v Chiefs $1.35
I am genuinely surprised the odds are that far apart.  Force at home against the Chiefs side that have looked decidedly terrible on tour in Boerland thus far.  I think the Force just might grab their first win of the season in this one.

Stormers $2.35 v Brumbies $1.55
Brumbies business as usual in South Africa thus far, and there is no reason this should change.  TAB have got this one right.

Crusaders $1.05 v Sharks $8.00
Unbackable odds for the champions.  Wouldn't waste your money on this one,

Reds $2.15 v Blues $1.65
Again, would have to tip against the TAB on this one.  Blues going to pull finger.  They've been training with John Hopoate...

Bulls $1.75 v Waratahs $2.00
Hmmm, again, I think the TAB may have it a little wrong with their favorite here - Waratahs to be too skilled across the park for the Bulls mighty pack.

Cheetahs $2.15 v Highlanders $1.65
The Clan, hot off their win last week against the Blues are favourite to tame the Cheetahs.  Think that is spot on, not much between the teams, and the odds show that nicely.