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Opinionated Rugby Commentary - by Fans for Fans
Spill what you really think about events in the rugby world.
Super Rugby Round 3 Findings 16 views
10 March 2012 by The Swede Eaters
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Scotty Donaldson looks at the Super Rugby Round 3 findings suggesting that the Australian conference is weak and that there were close to being two Saturday upsets which showed how much a referee can decide a match.
Australia has the weakest Super 15 Rugby conference and this was evident in Round 3 where the least fancied New Zealand side the Hurricanes thrashed the Force on Friday night and then the bottom placed South African team the Cheetahs got so close to winning in Australia against Australia's third best team the Brumbies. The home team was only saved by a last second scrum penalty awarded by New Zealand referee Keith Brown.
The teams from New Zealand and South Africa have an unfair disadvantage because they beat each other in really physical rugby matches. As a punter of some repute, picking the New Zealand results is an absolute nightmare because all five teams can beat each other. South Africa has three really good teams in my opinion, but the Cheetahs and Lions look capable of picking up some wins over Australian teams. The pressure goes on as the bottom placed South African team could be replaced next year by the Southern Kings. Australia has two good teams in the Reds and Waratahs. Sure the Brumbies are unbeaten, but they have only narrowly beaten the pathetic Force and worst South African team, the Cheetahs in Australia. Teams play each other team from their own conference twice, that is six easy matches for the Reds and Waratahs against the Force, Rebels and Brumbies. It also means they are less battered and bruised for when they make the finals. Therefore, the Reds should be hot favourites to win the Super Rugby title again because they should top the Australian Conference and get an easier draw to host the final. I think the format is flawed in favour of the Australian teams.
This weekend I picked unlikely narrow wins for the Cheetahs and Waratahs and it was interesting to see the Cheetahs blow a 13 point lead and lose thanks to a last second penalty at an attacking scrum for the Brumbies. Interestingly a similar situation arose in the Highlanders vs Waratahs match, but it was the defending team, the Highlanders who got the penalty.
It is amazing how much kudos I would have got for picking both of these results, but I fell just short. The referees have the ability to determine the winner of a game!
http://www.superrugbytips.com/2012/03/super-rugby-round-3-2012-australia-is.html
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Super Rugby 2012
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