Manawatu will be looking to keep themselves in the hunt for a Championship semi-final berth when they take on Tasman on Wednesday the 19th of September.
Round 6 of the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup will get underway with a pivotal clash between Championship outfit Manawatu and Premiership side Tasman. The hosts currently sit six points off the final semi-final berth and really need to start bagging points if they are to reach the knock-out phase of the competition.
Tasman are in a more healthy position in the Premiership as they currently occupy fourth place. They can ill-afford to rest on their laurels, however, as fifth-placed North Harbour are only five points off them
Manawatu v Tasman
Wednesday 19 September
Central Energy Trust Arena
09:35
To Win (80 Mins)
Manawatu 9/2
Draw 28/1
Tasman 1/7
Manawatu
The Bucketheads really need to start picking up points if they are to give themselves any chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. This weekend’s hosts have only managed to win one of their five fixtures thus far with the victory coming against Waikato way back in Round 1.
Manawatu head into this one off the back of two defeats in excess of 11 points with their most recent loss being a 49-19 away loss to North Harbour.
Tasman
The Markos had a much more positive Round 5 experience as they picked up a try-scoring bonus point during their 53-17 win over Taranaki. That big victory was the ideal way for Tasman to respond from their flat Round 4 performance where they went down 36-10 to Auckland.
The Markos will be looking to claim a bonus point here which would see them draw level on points with conference leaders Auckland. It would also see them move ahead of both Canterbury and Wellington, who have both played an extra game.
Verdict: Tasman 1/7
This is a big week for Tasman with Premiership rivals Canterbury and Auckland duking it out on Sunday. If the Markos can claim a bonus point here, they could well find themselves occupying a home semi-final berth come the start of Round 7.
I fully expect the visitors to deliver the goods and take this one by 16 points or more.
Written by Darry Worthington for Hollywoodbets
