I got most of these right last week (hey, mea culpa on the Lions upset, but be honest, who else called that one?). Let’s see how round 3 looks.
Game 1: Blues v Hurricanes
Tana Umaga’s lads came unstuck in Christchurch last week, while the Canes very nearly upset the Highlanders after getting stuffed in Canberra in the opening game. The Canes appear to be heading in the right direction, but these are a different bunch of Blues and I’d fancy the home side to squeak it. Blues by 3 points, for me.
Blues: 15. Lolagi Visinia, 14. Rene Ranger, 13. Male Sa’u, 12. George Moala, 11. Tevita Li, 10. Ihaia West, 9. Bryn Hall, 8. Akira Ioane, 7. Blake Gibson, 6. Jerome Kaino (Captain), 5. Josh Bekhuis, 4. Steven Luatua, 3. Charlie Faumuina, 2. James Parsons, 1. Ofa Tu’ungafasi
Replacements: 16. Quentin MacDonald, 17. Nic Mayhew, 18. Sione Mafileo, 19. Patrick Tuipoluto, 20. Kara Pryor, 21. Billy Guyton, 22. Matt McGahan, 23. Melani Nanai
Hurricanes: 15. James Marshall, 14. Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13. Vince Aso, 12. Ngani Laumapi, 11. Julian Savea, 10. Beauden Barrett, 9. TJ Perenara (Captain), 8. Victor Vito, 7. Ardie Savea, 6. Brad Shields, 5. Mark Abbott, 4. Blade Thomson, 3. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2. Leni Apisai, 1. Reg Goodes
Replacements: 16. Ricky Riccitelli, 17. Chris Eves, 18. Loni Uhila, 19. Vaea Fifita, 20. Callum Gibbins, 21. Jamison Gibson-Park, 22. Willis Halaholo, 23. Cory Jane
Game 2: Force v Brumbies
After such an outstanding performance in week 1, the Brumbies were very disappointing against the Waratahs last week. They seemed to get sucked into the “dirty derby” mentality and lost focus on their own game, often trying to force plays instead of trusting their superb support-based game. They’ll be way too strong for the Force, you’d fancy, even if the latter did pull off a surprisingly comfortable win over the Reds. Brumbies by 12.
Force: 15. Dane Haylett-Petty, 14. Luke Morahan, 13. Ben Tapuai, 12. Junior Rasolea, 11. Semisi Masirewa, 10. Jono Lance, 9. Ian Prior, 8. Ben McCalman, 7. Matthew Hodgson (Captain), 6. Brynard Stander, 5. Adam Coleman, 4. Ross Haylett-Petty, 3. Jermaine Ainsley, 2. Heath Tessmann, 1. Pekahou Cowan
Replacements: 16. Nathan Charles, 17. Chris Heiberg, 18. Guy Millar, 19. Steve Mafi, 20. Angus Cottrell, 21. Alby Mathewson, 22. Peter Grant, 23. Marcel Brache
Brumbies : 15. Aidan Toua, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Matt Toomua, 11. Joseph Tomane, 10. Christian Lealiifano, 9. Tomas Cubelli, 8. Jarrad Butler, 7. David Pocock, 6. Scott Fardy, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Rory Arnold, 3. Ben Alexander, 2. Stephen Moore (Captain), 1. Scott Sio
Replacements: 16. Josh Mann-Rea, 17. Allan Alaalatoa, 18. Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin, 19. Tom Staniforth, 20. Jordan Smiler, 21. Michael Dowsett, 22. Andrew Smith, 23. Nigel Ah Wong
Game 3: Highlanders v Lions
Well now, how brave do you want me to be? On paper, this Landers side looks about on par with the Chiefs outfit the Lions faced last week – and we all know what happened in that game. Johan Ackermann has lost a bit of fire-power this week, though and the loss of Lionel Mapoe, in particular, is likely to be felt. This will be close, but I’ll back the home side. Landers to win it by 8 points.
Highlanders: 15. Ben R Smith (Captain), 14. Matt Faddes, 13. Malakai Fekitoa, 12. Rob Thompson, 11. Patrick Osborne, 10. Lima Sopoaga, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Liam Squire, 7. Dan Pryor, 6. Luke Whitelock, 5. Joe Wheeler, 4. Alex Ainley, 3. Siosiua Halanukonuka, 2. Liam Coltman, 1. Brendon Edmonds
Replacements: 16. Ash Dixon, 17. Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18. Ross Geldenhuys, 19. Elliot Dixon, 20. Shane Christie, 21. Josh Renton, 22. Hayden Parker, 23. Jason Emery
Lions: 15. Jaco van der Walt, 14. Ruan Combrinck, 13. Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 12. Howard Mnisi, 11. Courtnall Skosan, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Faf de Klerk, 8. Warren Whiteley (Captain), 7. Warwick Tecklenburg, 6. Jaco Kriel, 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Andries Ferreira, 3. Ruan Dreyer, 2. Robbie Coetzee, 1. Jacques van Rooyen
Replacements: 16. Akker van der Merwe, 17. Corne Fourie, 18. Julian Redelinghuys, 19. Robert Kruger, 20. Ruan Ackermann, 21. Dillon Smit, 22. Jacques Nel, 23. Andries Coetzee
Game 4: Rebels v Reds
What, the Rebels are back home already? A 1-match tour to SA? What a joke. Then again, perhaps the pendulum has swung back the other way here, because the jet lag must be absolutely killing them. That factor may be a bit of a leveller, but you feel the Melbourne side are a far better outfit than the poor Reds. The Brisbane team have fired their coach in midweek and are in disarray, but I’m going to boldly pick them for the famous “dead cat bounce” this week. Reds to win by 5, as my first upset of the round.
Rebels: 15. Jonah Placid, 14. Dom Shipperley, 13. Tamati Ellison, 12. Mitch Inman, 11. Tom English, 10. Jack Debreczeni, 9. Ben Meehan, 8. Adam Thomson, 7. Sean McMahon (Captain), 6. Jordy Reid, 5. Lopeti Timani, 4. Luke Jones, 3. Laurie Weeks, 2. James Hanson, 1. Toby Smith
Replacements: 16. Pat Leafa, 17. Cruze Ah-Nau, 18. Jamie Hagan, 19. Sam Jeffries, 20. Steven Cummins, 21. Mick Snowden, 22. Daniel Hawkins, 23. Kotaro Matsushima
Reds: 15. Karmichael Hunt, 14. Chris Feauai-Sautia, 13. Samu Kerevi, 12. Anthony Faingaa, 11. Eto Ntabuli, 10. Jake Mcintyre, 9. Nicholas Frisby, 8. Jake Schatz, 7. Waita Setu, 6. Hendrik Tui, 5. Rob Simmons (Captain), 4. Cadeyrn Neville, 3. Greg Holmes, 2. Andrew Ready, 1. Sef Faagase
Replacements: 16. Matt Mafi, 17. Ben Daley, 18. Sam Talakai, 19. Ben Matwijow, 20. Curtis Browning, 21. Scott Gale, 22. Sam Greene, 23. Ayumu Goromaru
Game 5: Sunwolves v Cheetahs
The first-ever Super Rugby game in Singapore should be interesting and a novelty for both teams. It’s really hard to see the Cheetahs losing to the limited Wolves, though, even without Lood de Jager. Cheetahs by around 9 points.
Sunwolves: TBA
Cheetahs: 15 Sias Ebersohn, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter (c), 12 William Small-Smith, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Maks van Dyk, 19 Reniel Hugo, 20 Hilton Lobberts, 21 Boom Prinsloo, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Fred Zeilinga.
Game 6: Southern Kings v Chiefs
Ouch. It doesn’t get any easier for Deon Davids and his team. They scrapped well against the Sharks for 40, before taking a big smack in the opener. A week off and some decent player returns see them strengthened for this clash, but against a Chiefs side smarting from an unexpected home loss, the Kings will need more fire-power than they’ve been able to muster. Chiefs by at least 15 pints.
Kings: 15. Jurgen Visser, 14. Luzuko Vulindlu, 13. Stefan Watermeyer, 12. Shane Gates, 11. Malcolm Jaer, 10. Louis Fouche, 9. Ntando Kebe, 8. Jacques Engelbrecht, 7. Thembelani Bholi, 6. Chris Cloete, 5. John-Charles Astle, 4. Steven Sykes (Captain), 3. Jacobie Adriaanse, 2. Edgar Marutlulle, 1. Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16. Martin Bezuidenhout, 17. Sithembiso Sithole, 18. Tom Botha, 19. Schalk Oelofse, 20. CJ Velleman, 21. Kevin Luiters, 22. Elgar Watts, 23. Jaco van Tonder
Chiefs: 15. Damian McKenzie, 14. Glen Fisiiahi, 13. Seta Tamanivalu, 12. Charlie Ngatai, 11. James Lowe, 10. Aaron Cruden, 9. Brad Weber, 8. Michael Leitch, 7. Sam Cane (Captain), 6. Taleni Seu, 5. Johan Bardoul, 4. Michael Allardice, 3. Siate Tokolahi, 2. Nathan Harris, 1. Mitchell Graham
Replacements: 16. Rhys Marshall, 17. Pauliasi Manu, 18. Atunaisa Moli, 19. James Tucker, 20. Maama Vaipulu, 21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22. Anton Lienert-Brown, 23. Sam McNicol
Game 7: Stormers v Sharks
The clash of the round for sure and made a little harder to call due to the fact that the Stormers haven’t released their team yet. I’ll do a more detailed preview on this one later, but am going to go with a shameless heart-over-head call and back the Sharks to win a bum-squeaker by 2 points.
Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Juan de Jongh (co-captain), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe (co-captain), 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Nic Groom, 22 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 23 Huw Jones.
Sharks: 15. Willie Le Roux, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Paul Jordaan, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. JP Pietersen, 10. Joe Pietersen, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Daniel du Preez, 7. Jean-Luc du Preez, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Stephan Lewies, 4. Etienne Oosthuizen, 3. Coenie Oosthuizen, 2. Franco Marais, 1. Tendai Mtawarira (Captain)
Replacements: 16. Kyle Cooper, 17. Juan Schoeman, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Hyron Andrews, 20. Phillip Van der Walt, 21. Michael Claassens, 22. Garth April, 23. Sibusiso Sithole
Tweet
Blues
Brumbies
Landers
Rebels
Cheetahs
Chiefs
S….. 😉
I called that one Rob. I got 6/7. Jaguares stumped me.
Blues vs Canes is a toughie. Rebels vs Reds could go either way too. I’m absolutely torn on the Sharks game.
Blues, Brumbies, Lions my upset for the week, cheethas, Sharks, Rebels, can’t see the Reds pulling this one this week
Bloomin tough pick for Reds/Rebels, blues/canes and of course Sharks/storms. Sheesh.. Think I will pick with them eyes closed 😯
Cheetahs have picked their B team. I wonder if hey might be in for a surprise.
Good people of SW, I have a confession to make:
Blues
Brumbies
Landers
Rebels
Cheetahs
Chiefs
Stormers 😳
This way, if we lose, I at least get a point on SuperBru. Terribly selfish I know but I hate losing to the Stormers.
@robdylan (Comment 6) : I reckon its a good possibility
Go Lions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is 8 in the morning too early to start drinking on Saturday?
@Mutley (Comment 9) : Bacon, eggs and beers? I wont complain
@Mutley (Comment 9) : @SheldonK (Comment 10) : Bacon, eggs and Savanna/ Hunters Dry. I like to keep it fresh first thing. I usually turn to the beers at 10am 🙂
I’m sorry. I have a lot to lose, sitting right up there near the top of the Superbru standings, but I will NEVER pick the Stormers over the Sharks!
I see last weekend the majority of the SA Rugby (Stormers propaganda) ‘experts’ (4/7) picked the Jaguars to beat the Sharks. This week all 7 unanimously have the Stormers to beat the Sharks. Man I hope the Sharks make them eat some humble pie.
*SA Rugby Mag (Stormers Propaganda Division)
Gold is an idiot. Headline on Rugby 365: “Gold: Stormers are Years Ahead of Us”
“I think they are a good couple of years ahead of us in terms of their developments and continuity of coaches.
“They have done a great job and you can see that they are a tight unit.
“We got a huge amount of respect for them and hopefully we show them the respect they deserve. We have to really pitch up in Cape Town.”
Years ahead in “developments”?
Years ahead in “continuity in coaches”?
They have a new head coach – a completely inexperienced one!
This is your second year in the job, you fool!
Why are we to “hopefully show them the respect they deserve”?
Ag man, this guy speaks utter tosh. He annoys the fuck out of me.
His most telling statement though, the one which reveals the most about our coaching maestro, is this one: “It’s a nervy game, but I think I am probably more excited than I am nervous.”
I get the sense ol’ Gold is a bit of a nervous chappie and I fear these nerves rub off on the team. His “test match” comments from last week had the players a bunch of nervous wrecks!
Before the Gold Protectors jump on board, I know speaking to the press is a tricky business. I know you have to pull out the cliches, and not disrespect the opposition. You don’t want to fire them up like Jake did to the Irish in 2006.
But jeez come on man, you don’t have to actively gatkruip the opposition each week! Be a man! Grow some balls!
Never in a million years are the Stormers “years ahead of the Sharks” and most certainly not in the two areas he identified.
@Kiss_the_Gold (Comment 12) : not so high on the log but I just can’t stop myself from picking the Sharks!
Gee regtig nie om oor die ander spanne nie maar die SHARKS moet net wen. Go SHARKS Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Kiss_the_Gold (Comment 14) : I think you’re reading way too much into his comments. There’s no reason to believe that he tells the team the same things he tells the press. I doubt any of the coaches do.
@vanmartin (Comment 18) : You’re confusing the two issues.
(1) I have a problem with the way Gold talks to the media – by giving the opposition far too much credit and respect. AND then there is that small matter of him mentioning “character” after every game 👿 and his general second hand car dealer cliches. As FireTheLooser (sic) put it so succinctly yesterday “I guess the interpretation of “character” would be winning when you sucked.”
(2) I’m not suggesting he says the same things to the players. However, he admits to being nervous, which is a very interesting insight indeed. Just how far this translates to the players in his preparation is another and separate matter. The players looked petrified and nervous against the Jaguars. Their relief at the final whistle was palpable.
Remember, Gold has never achieved any success as a coach. The sum of all parts always tells and if he does have a nervous disposition the team will not be able to avoid feeding off this.
Shame. Perhaps I should go a little easier on Gold. He was never a popular appointment and needs all the help and space he can get.
@Kiss_the_Gold (Comment 19) : I think you’re just too emotionally invested in what he’s telling the media. Sports personalities repeating a pet phrase is nothing new but a rather tired meme at this point. The ‘character’ adjective seems to be his particular goto thing when he has no deep insight to offer. Players did not look overly nervous to me. Are you sure this isn’t confirmation bias? You’ve never really liked the guy (which is fine by the way, you don’t need to like a particular coach to be a Sharks supporter).
anyone know what time the sharks are scheduled to arrive in cape town tomorrow ?
@vanmartin (Comment 21) : maybe he has no deep insight at all, there is that to consider too.
I picked them like this:
Canes
Brumbies
Landers
Rebels
Cheetahs
Chiefs
Sharks
@robdylan (Comment 6) : B-team is probably a bit harsh…in the backs arguably they have their best side at present with Fred not having had a great start with the boot and Marais getting a chance. What is true is that they have gone with some rotation in the tight 5…
@vanmartin (Comment 7) : Go and sit in the corner and think about what you’ve done!
@Kiss_the_Gold (Comment 12) : I saw that both weeks…it’s not surprising, of course…but some humble pie would do nicely!
@robdylan (Comment 6) : Although, mind you, I see Sias Ebersohn is playing. In the last while he has shown that he is capable of turning any side into a B-team all on his own… 😀
@Kiss_the_Gold (Comment 23) : then all the more reason not to read anything into what he says
@pastorshark (Comment 26) : you can’t make me feel worse than I already do. This is beyond Catholic-level guilt 😀
@vanmartin (Comment 29) : @pastorshark (Comment 26) : maybe as punishment vanmartin’s coffee cup should be blue and white with a Disa jumping out! 😈
@vanmartin (Comment 30) : lol! 😆 If it helps you deal with the guilt, remember this: you picked what you picked…and the Sharks put you in your place by getting the win in Cape Town. On that basis I give you your very own personal priestly dispensation: feel free to pick Sharks losses for the rest of the season… 😀
@JD (Comment 31) : Hahahaha! Good one…
I am chuffed with my 7 out of 7 picks…and 5 out of 7 margin points…I jumped by over 150 places in the Sharksworld Superbru pool!
@pastorshark (Comment 34) : Now to get that right twice in a row…
@pastorshark (Comment 35) : Note to self, back the Sharks 🙂
@vanmartin (Comment 36) :
@pastorshark (Comment 34) : great performance!!! I got 6/7 but still very chuffed!!!
@vanmartin (Comment 36) : that will teach you not to back the boys!!!! ;-P
@JD (Comment 39) : more than happy to eat some humble pie on this one.
@vanmartin (Comment 40) : hahaha ja boet was a close call to make just glad the Sharks won!