Wellington and Auckland will square off on Thursday the 4th of October in an all-Championship affair.
Fourth-placed Wellington and third-placed Auckland will square off in a pivotal all-Premiership affair this coming Thursday. Both teams suffered upset defeats last weekend with Wellington going down to Tasman at home and Auckland losing to Championship outfit, Otago.
Wellington v Auckland
Thursday 4 October
Westpac Stadium
08:35
To Win (80 Mins)
Wellington 5/10
Draw 20/1
Auckland 17/10
Wellington
The Lions suffered their third defeat of the campaign last weekend as they went down 22-28 to Tasman at the Westpac. The loss has put their semi-final chances in serious jeopardy with fifth-placed North Harbour only four points adrift of them. Another defeat here, could see Wellington head into the final set of round-robin fixtures needing a minor miracle to qualify for the semi-finals.
If Wellington are to challenge Auckland they will need their midfield defence to be on point as Auckland really do enjoy attacking the 10/12 channel with their big ball carriers like Akira Ioane.
Auckland
Like the Lions, Auckland also come into this one off the back of a shock result as they went down 26-31 to Otago at Eden Park. The defeat hasn’t put them in as dire a position as their opponents loss has them sit at third on the log and have a game in hand over all of their top four rivals. A loss here, however, could spell the end of their home semi-final hopes.
The Aucklanders will need to be a lot more clinical when they are inside their opponent’s red zone. They passed up numerous try-scoring opportunities last week, which cost them the game as well as their unbeaten streak.
Verdict: Wellington 5/10
I’m going to go for the hosts here. Auckland have this knack of going through a slump every season, and I think they have just entered their 2018 lull. My money is on Wellington shading this one by five points or less.
