And the season rolls on - round 3 of the Super 14 already, the middle of
February. Teams already shaking down into their routines, and we can now
start tarring them with the appropriate brushes.
The Chiefs for example, as has been mentioned numerous times by many
different luminaries, 'business as usual', promise the world, but deliver one of
those tiny little globe shaped pencil sharpeners. Injuries, lack of form,
and Stephen Donald all contributing to their inability to win a rigged raffle
draw, let alone a Super 14 match.
The best of the other Kiwi teams is certainly the Blues, who are playing
winning rugby. Not the best rugby yet, but winning rugby, and that is what
it is all about - no points for style, just for winning. The Highlanders
carry on battling away with their limited resources, being involved in two low
scoring battles for a win and a loss thus far. Good results really when
you look at their roster.
Then the two teams remaining, and the two with the most players out thanks to
the All Blacks R&R, and the two teams feeling the pinch with the loss of
personal. Especially the Hurricanes, they have lost the guts of their
forward pack, and the driver, in Weepu. It has certainly shown, although
they still managed to scrape out a win against the Chiefs, but then, most sides
should eh... The Crusaders have not been their usual clinical selves
either, but are not running as ragged as the Hurricanes.
Anyway, this weeks games.
Stormers v Chiefs @ Cape Town
God help Super Rugby, the potential to be a complete snooze fest, with the
two winless sides clashing to see who is the best of the bunnies. As His
Bobness said in his article about
tipping, "Never tip the Chiefs", as they will always let you down, well, I
have done that, set myself up for another fall. They CAN'T lose three in a
row, and they, in the past, have gone to Beorland with the world against them,
only to come out with unlikely wins. So my money is on the outsider this
time...
Points Spread: Chiefs -12 (Would be 13+, but you have to add
in the 'Donald' factor)...
Bulls v Force @ Pretoria
Force had a good win last week against the lowly Stormers, and I think
they will come up with the goods again - they seem to travel better than when
they are at home. The Bulls, we'll, they're big (as all Boer sides are),
and have a cool name I reckon, but that is about it...
Points Spread: Force 13+
Hurricanes v Blues @ Wellington
The Blues machine to carry on. Probably. They have been
gathering momentum, with two good wins so far, against the only two sides, other
than themselves to have won the Super Rugby tournaments since the professional
age, the Crusaders and the Brumbies. The Hurricanes should really just be
a speed bump, BUT, you never do know with those windy city boys do you.
The Hurricanes pack continues to under whelm, and this will be the losing of the
match. The Blues pack, unchanged again, is looking bloody good at the
moment, and is missing just the two All Blacks, as opposed to the five the
'Canes have on R&R. More importantly though, the Blues forward pack still
contains 8 players who have represented the All Blacks.
Reds v Brumbies @ Brisbane
Ohh, a local derby match, gotta love them, might even watch this one.
Reds have been performing above their last seasons levels, and in fact looking
quite good - boring, but good. Brumbies also looking pretty handy - have
more in the backline than the Reds though, so expect that to be the difference
between the two sides.
Points Spread: Brumbies -12
Cheetahs v Waratahs @ Kimberly
Waratahs won't go down two weeks in a row - despite the hype about them,
they are a half decent side, and last weeks hiding was an aberration.
Points Spread: Waratahs -12.
Lions v Crusaders @ Johannesburg
Lions have the best chance to knock of a decent scalp since they grew
up from being little cats. Crusaders travelling, and not looking at full
speed yet, certainly vulnerable. But the Lions are plain horrible.
Points Spread: Crusaders -12
Sharks v Highlanders @ Durban
Sharks two from two, Highlanders struggling along, their third week
away from home (The Highlanders travel the second biggest distances this Super
season, second to the Reds, so quit moaning Boers about having to travel!!), but
have nabbed a win and a loss. How they'll do though, no idea to tell the
truth, so I'll stick with the winning record of the Sharks, at home.
Points Spread: -12
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