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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 14 Preview - Some Toughies! 17 views
15 May 2013 by The Swede Eaters
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Scotty Donaldson previews Super 15 Rugby Round 14, there are some tough matches. The Rebels chances have suffered with the injury to James O'Connor, if you want to see James O'Connor getting flattened by Rene Ranger, then see my post. I am picking the Crusaders vs Blues as the game to watch!
Super Rugby Round 14 has so many difficult to pick matches compared with the last few weeks where most punters were thrown off by winning margins rather than which team was going to win.
There are three great derby matches with the Hurricanes hosting the Chiefs, the Crusaders against the Blues and the Waratahs vs Brumbies. All three of these matches should be close encounters and it is difficult to predict a winner. The NZ TAB even struggles to pick between the Waratahs and Brumbies.
The travel factor makes the Rebels vs Stormers and Force vs Sharks games difficult to predict. Supposedly the only clearcut sitter of the weekend is when the Bulls return from the bye to host my Highlanders.
Super 15 Rugby Round 14 looks set to break the hearts of many tipsters, hopefully I am not one of them!
For updated Super 15 Rugby Round 14 team lists go to
http://www.superrugbytips.com/p/super-rugby-2013.html
The Hurricanes return from South Africa after defeating the Cheetahs and prepare to face the injury ravaged Chiefs who are waiting back in Wellington. These two teams have played some epic high scoring games in Super Rugby with the Hurricanes holding a slight edge overall. The Chiefs have really had to scratch around to find a full squad, while the Hurricanes played well last week without Conrad Smith. These two teams are so close that in overall for and against aggregate points there is only three points separating them 467-464 in favour of the Hurricanes. I am picking them to beat a Chiefs team who must be really missing their star backs Richard Kahui, Gareth Anscombe, Tim Nanai-Williams and openside Sam Cane.
Both the Rebels and Stormers have been unlucky not to win more in recent weeks with both teams collecting narrow loss bonus points. The Stormers will look to tear the Rebels apart in the forwards, but have been forced into playing usual hooker Deon Fourie on the side of the scrum. They will be without the impress Duane Vermuelen too and have made several other changes to their team. The Rebels will definitely miss Kurtley Beale and James O'Connor who take with them plenty of the Rebels attacking power. See the video above for the James O'Connor injury. I have gone for the visitors to get a win on the way home.
The out of sorts Sharks may find things tough in Perth on their way back to South Africa. The Force side have been difficult to beat this season and I am thinking that the Sharks will have to lift their game against the locals if they are to get out of Australia with some respect. They welcome back a few players in Jannie du Plessis and Willem Alberts, but seem to be a shadow of the team that made it to the final last season. I am picking the Force to win.
The match of the round for me is the Crusaders vs Blues match. This match sees the established stars like Daniel Carter, Israel Dagg and Kieran Read take on the rising stars like Charlie Piutau, Frank Halai, Francis Saili and Steven Luatua. It will be interesting to see if there is a switch in power of New Zealand rugby with Canterbury holding the wood over Auckland in recent years. The Blues did win this fixture earlier in the season. Plenty will rely on the returning Kieran Read, but expect plenty of fireworks in this game which is such a crucial game.
The Waratahs are in great form with Israel Folau making every post a winner and they play the high flying Brumbies in what will be a tough match. I am picking the Waratahs to win this Wallabies trial game because they are playing at home. The Brumbies have won the last three matches between the two sides, but there won't be much between the teams this time. The Waratahs need to win this if they are to have any chance of making the finals.
The Bulls are the top South African team and they host the bottom New Zealand team this weekend which many people see as the only "sure thing" of the weekend. The Highlanders have hit rock bottom after losing to the Kings and will have nothing to lose. The scary thing is that the Highlanders have so many good players that they could topple the Bulls if things finally click and they have won three of the last four matches between the two teams. If they don't then the Bulls could rack up a massive score against the southern men. While I love the Highlanders and their green jerseys, I can't see them beating the "on fire" Bulls.
The Will Genia and Quade Cooper show will get the Reds home against the Cheetahs. Both teams are sitting second in their conferences and won't want to lose ground on their rivals (the Brumbies and Bulls), but they will also want to cement a place in the Top Six if they can't win their conference. The Reds are in better form than the Cheetahs, but the Cheetahs are playing at home. The Reds have won the last three matches between the two teams. I am picking the Reds to win.
My Super Rugby Round 14 picks
Hurricanes by 2
Stormers by 6
Force by 6
Crusaders by 2
Waratahs by 3
Bulls by 21
Reds by 6
With so many great matches in Super Rugby Round 14, which game are you looking forward to the most? Who are you picking?
Have your say!
http://www.superrugbytips.com/2013/05/super-rugby-round-14-preview-so-many.html
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