Vodacom Super Rugby 2014: Round 9 preview and predictions

Let’s see what the next round has in store for us.

Game 1: Highlanders v Vodacom Bulls (Friday at 09:35)

While a trip down to Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium is not quite the daunting exercise that an away fixture at the Carisbrook House of Pain used to be, for a Bulls team reeling with injuries the difference isn’t likely to matter much. The Highlanders haven’t exactly looked like world beaters this season, but should have a bit too much in the tank at home against these Bulls, who have lost too many key men to be realistic contenders this week. Highlanders to win by 7.

Highlanders : 15. Ben R Smith (Captain), 14. Richard Buckman, 13. Malakai Fekitoa, 12. Shaun Treeby, 11. Patrick Osborne, 10. Lima Sopoaga, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Elliot Dixon, 7. Shane Christie, 6. Gareth Evans, 5. Joe Wheeler, 4. Brad Thorn, 3. Chris King, 2. Liam Coltman, 1. Kane Hames
Replacements: 16. Ged Robinson, 17. Craig Millar, 18. Ma’afu Fia, 19. Jarrad Hoeata, 20. John Hardie, 21. Fumiaki Tanaka, 22. Trent Renata, 23. Nasi Manu

Vodacom Bulls: 15. Jurgen Visser, 14. Bjorn Basson, 13. JJ Engelbrecht, 12. Jan Serfontein, 11. Francois Hougaard, 10. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9. Piet van Zyl, 8. Grant Hattingh, 7. Jacques Du Plessis, 6. Jono Ross, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Flip van der Merwe (Captain), 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Callie Visagie, 1. Dean Greyling
Replacements: 16. Mbongeni Mbonambi, 17. Marcel Van Der Merwe, 18. Paul Willemse, 19. Jacques Engelbrecht, 20. Handre Pollard, 21. William Small-Smith, 22. Ulrich Beyers, 23. Morné Mellett

Game 2: Reds v Brumbies (Friday at 11:40)

Tough one to call, this. The Reds really don’t look like the real deal this year and are being made to pay for their slip-ups in a strong and competitive Australian conference. That said, they scored a win over the Brumbies away in the first round and should probably feel they can repeat the feat at home. Just because they do, though, doesn’t mean that I agree, so I say Brumbies to squeak this by 4 points.

Reds: 15. Ben Lucas, 14. Rod Davies, 13. Ben Tapuai, 12. Anthony Faingaa, 11. Chris Feauai-Sautia, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Will Genia, 8. Jake Schatz, 7. Beau Robinson, 6. Ed Quirk, 5. James Horwill (Captain), 4. Rob Simmons, 3. Greg Holmes, 2. James Hanson, 1. James Slipper
Replacements: 16. Saia Faingaa, 17. Albert Anae, 18. Jono Owen, 19. Ed O`Donoghue, 20. Curtis Browning, 21. Nicholas Frisby, 22. Mike Harris, 23. Jamie-Jerry Taulagi

Brumbies: 15. Jesse Mogg, 14. Joseph Tomane, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Pat McCabe, 11. Robbie Coleman, 10. Matt Toomua, 9. Nic White, 8. Ben Mowen (Captain), 7. Jarrad Butler, 6. Jordan Smiler, 5. Tom Staniforth, 4. Scott Fardy, 3. Ben Alexander, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Scott Sio
Replacements: 16. Siliva Siliva, 17. Ruan-Henry Smith, 18. Jean-Pierre Smith, 19. Jack Whetton, 20. Locky McCaffrey, 21. Michael Dowsett, 22. Andrew Smith, 23. Christian Lealiifano

Game 3: Chiefs v Rebels (Saturday at 09:35)

Only really one winner here, even considering the Chiefs have had to travel back from South African during the week. The Rebels’ challenge remains to be competitive away from home and I don’t feel they’ll trouble the Chiefs in Hamilton. Chiefs to win by 9 points.

Chiefs : 15. Tom Marshall, 14. Tim Nanai-Williams, 13. Andrew Horrell, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. Mils Muliaina, 10. Gareth Anscombe, 9. Augustine Pulu, 8. Kane Thompson, 7. Sam Cane, 6. Tanerau Latimer, 5. Brodie Retallick (Captain), 4. Michael Fitzgerald, 3. Ben Tameifuna, 2. Rhys Marshall, 1. Jamie MacKintosh
Replacements: 16. Nathan Harris, 17. Pauliasi Manu, 18. Josh Hohneck, 19. Ross Filipo, 20. Liam Messam, 21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22. Anton Lienert-Brown, 23. Jordan Payne

Rebels : 15. Jason Woodward, 14. Male Sa’u, 13. Tamati Ellison, 12. Mitch Inman, 11. Tom English, 10. Bryce Hegarty, 9. Nick Stirzaker, 8. Scott Higginbotham (Captain), 7. Scott Fuglistaller, 6. Colby Faingaa, 5. Luke Jones, 4. Hugh Pyle, 3. Laurie Weeks, 2. Shota Horie, 1. Toby Smith
Replacements: 16. Pat Leafa, 17. Paul Alo-Emile, 18. Cruze Ah-Nau, 19. Cadeyrn Neville, 20. Sean McMahon, 21. Luke Burgess, 22. Tom Kingston, 23. Angus Roberts

Game 4: Force v Waratahs (Saturday at 11:40)

This is going to be a biggie. A real battle for second spot in the Aussie conference – or maybe even first if the Brumbies lose to the Reds. From a South African point of view, it’s just great seeing the Aussies going all out to bliksem each other for a change, so we’re hoping for a bruising battle in Perth. As for a winner? Well, tough to pick against the home side, but with Izzy Folau back, I fancy the Waratahs to take this by about 5 points.

Force: 15. Jayden Hayward, 14. Luke Morahan, 13. Marcel Brache, 12. Kyle Godwin, 11. Nick Cummins, 10. Sias Ebersohn, 9. Alby Mathewson, 8. Ben McCalman, 7. Matthew Hodgson (Captain), 6. Angus Cottrell, 5. Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4. Sam Wykes, 3. Kieran Longbottom, 2. Nathan Charles, 1. Pekahou Cowan
Replacements: 16. Heath Tessmann, 17. Tetera Faulkner, 18. Oli Hoskins, 19. Adam Coleman, 20. Brynard Stander, 21. Ian Prior, 22. Zack Holmes, 23. Chris Tuatara-Morrison

Waratahs: 15. Israel Folau, 14. Cam Crawford, 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12. Kurtley Beale, 11. Rob Horne, 10. Bernard Foley, 9. Nick Phipps, 8. Dave Dennis (Captain), 7. Michael Hooper, 6. Jacques Potgieter, 5. Kane Douglas, 4. Will Skelton, 3. Sekope Kepu, 2. Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1. Benn Robinson
Replacements: 16. Tola Latu, 17. Jeremy Tilse, 18. Paddy Ryan, 19. Stephen Hoiles, 20. Patrick McCutcheon, 21. Brendan McKibbin, 22. Jonathan Lance, 23. Matt Carraro

Game 5: Toyota Cheetahs v Crusaders (Saturday at 17:05)

Jeez, sorry Cheetahs fans. Unless your team has learned to tackle over the course of the last week (unlikely) there’s only going to be one winner here. Crusaders by 8 points.

Toyota Cheetahs: 15. Willie Le Roux, 14. Cornal Hendricks, 13. Johann Sadie, 12. Rayno Benjamin, 11. Hennie Daniller, 10. Johan Goosen, 9. Sarel Pretorius, 8. Jean Cook, 7. Pieter Labuschagne, 6. Boom Prinsloo, 5. Francois Jakobus Uys, 4. Lodewyk de Jager, 3. Maks Van Dyk, 2. Adriaan Strauss (Captain), 1. Trevor Nyakane
Replacements: 16. Ryno Barnes, 17. Caylib Oosthuizen, 18. Rossouw De Klerk, 19. Andries Ferreira, 20. Teboho Mohoje, 21. Shaun Venter, 22. Elgar Watts, 23. Howard Mnisi

Crusaders: 15. Israel Dagg, 14. Johnny McNicholl, 13. Kieron Fonotia, 12. Ryan Crotty, 11. Nemani Nadolo, 10. Colin Slade, 9. Willi Heinz, 8. Kieran Read (Captain), 7. Matt Todd, 6. George Whitelock, 5. Sam Whitelock, 4. Dominic Bird, 3. Nepo Laulala, 2. Corey Flynn, 1. Wyatt Crockett
Replacements: 16. Ben Funnell, 17. Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18. Owen Franks, 19. Jimmy Tupou, 20. Jordan Taufua, 21. Andy Ellis, 22. Tyler Bleyendaal, 23. Tom Taylor

Game 6: Lions v Cell C Sharks (Saturday at 19:10)

The Sharks have battled in Joburg of late, particularly in Super Rugby. We have to go back to 2010 to find the last time they tasted success on Joburg soil, which is a stat that might play on their minds. That said, they boast more big guns pretty much from start to finish and should expect to walk away with a good win. The Lions looked a little shell-shocked against the Crusaders last week and a lot will depend on how they react to that performance. They’ll throw everything they have at Jake White’s side, but we’re backing the Sharks to win by around 10 points.

Lions: 15. Andries Coetzee, 14. Deon van Rensburg, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Stefan Watermeyer, 11. Courtnall Skosan, 10. Marnitz Boshoff, 9. Francois de Klerk, 8. Warren Whiteley (Captain), 7. Willie Britz, 6. Derick Minnie, 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Martin Muller, 3. Julian Redelinghuys, 2. Willie Wepener, 1. Schalk van der Merwe
Replacements: 16. Robbie Coetzee, 17. Corne Fourie, 18. Ruan Dreyer, 19. Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 20. Jaco Kriel, 21. Ross Cronje, 22. Elton Jantjies, 23. Alwyn Hollenbach

Cell C Sharks: 15. Lwazi Mvovo, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Sibusiso Sithole, 12. Francois Steyn, 11. JP Pietersen, 10. Fred Zeilinga, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Jean Deysel, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Stephan Lewies, 4. Willem Alberts, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Bismarck du Plessis (Captain), 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16. Kyle Cooper, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Ettienne Oosthuizen, 20. Keegan Daniel, 21. Stefan Ungerer, 22. Paul Jordaan, 23. SP Marais