Local rivals Tasman and Canterbury will lock horns in the first of this weekend’s Mitre 10 Cup Premiership semi-finals when they square off on Friday the 19th of October.
Reigning champions Canterbury will be looking to book a spot in yet another Mitre 10 Cup Premiership final when they take on local rivals Tasman this Friday. Only two points separated the sides on the Premiership standings at the close of the regular season, and this one could well be a hotly contested affair.
Tasman v Canterbury
Friday 19 October
Trafalgar Park
To Win (80 Mins)
Tasman 3/4
Draw 25/1
Canterbury 11/10
*Forecast odds
Tasman
It’s been another solid season from the Markos who registered nine wins from ten games on their way to finishing second on the Premiership standings. One of their nine regular-season victories came over arch-rivals and this weekend’s opponents Canterbury, who they beat 25-17 in the opening round of the tournament.
The Markos only defeat thus far came at the hands of Auckland, who ran out 36-10 victors at Eden Park back in Round 4.
This weekend’s hosts head into Saturday’s encounter off the back of a solid 0-29 victory over Championship outfit Hawke’s Bay. The result illustrated just how miserable they can be on defence.
They will need to put in a similar defensive effort here if they are to bag a win.
Canterbury
The reigning champions have also enjoyed a solid season winning eight of their 10 regular season fixtures with their only two defeats coming at the hands of Tasman and Auckland. This is quite an impressive effort considering they have lost a host of last season’s stars to the All Blacks Rugby Championship campaign.
The Cantab’s head into Saturday’s semi-final clash off the back of a rather unconvincing five-point victory over Premiership strugglers, Counties Manukau. They struggled to click on attack during last week’s clash and will need to be far more clinical with ball-in-hand if they are to keep themselves in the hunt to retain their title.
Verdict: Canterbury 11/10 *Forecast odds
They may not have an all-star cast but Canterbury know how to get the job done when it comes to play-offs rugby. I can see them edging this one by three points or so.
