Darry Worthington previews all of the Round 4 Super Rugby AU action, which gets underway on Friday the 24th of July.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
Round 4 of the inaugural Super Rugby AU season has thrown up some rather intriguing fixtures with a close to full-strength Waratahs side set to take on a Melbourne Rebels side that enjoyed a bye week in Round 3.
The second fixture is an even more interesting one as it sees a Brumbies side that struggled against the ‘Tahs in Round 3 take on a Force side that is getting better as the tournament progresses.
Will we see a major upset or two this weekend or will the favourites get the job done? Darry Worthington answers the question below.
Melbourne Rebels v Waratahs
Friday 24 July
AAMI Park
To Win (80 Mins)
Rebels
Draw
Waratahs
Handicap
Rebels
Waratahs
The Waratahs managed to put in a far more assured performance last week as they went down to the Brumbies in the final minutes of what was a brutal Aussie derby.
Rob Penney’s men bounced back from concerning a soft early try to enter the half-time break 20-17 to the good. They then extended their lead to 23-17 and looked to be in the driver’s seat with just a few minutes remaining in the game. They would be sunk by a late converted try, however, as the Brumbies crossed the whitewash with just three minutes of time remaining.
While Penney will be disappointed with his side suffering another defeat, he will be pleased with the improvements they made. The return of Karmichael Hunt to the backline added a lot more impetus and they’ll need the Wallaby to produce another solid showing again this coming Friday.
As noted early, the Rebels had the week off in Round 3. Prior to their bye, the Rebels had registered an 18-18 draw with the Reds and a 31-21 defeat to the Brumbies.
When these two sides met back in February the Rebels registered 24-10 win over the ‘Tahs. This victory ended a four-game losing streak to the men from New South Wales.
Verdict: Rebels
While the Waratahs were good last week, I think it’s something of a false dawn. I fancy the Rebels to take the win here.
Western Force v Brumbies
Saturday 25 July
Leichhardt Oval
To Win (80 Mins)
Force
Draw
Brumbies
Handicap
Force
Brumbies
Next up it’s the plucky Western Force taking on the mighty Brumbies. The hosts gave another decent account of themselves last week as they gave the Reds a real run for their money during their 31-24 defeat to the Queenslanders.
The Force were out the blocks extremely quickly last week scoring the opening two tries of the game. They also scored early against the Waratahs, and it may well be a good shout to back them on the ‘Race to 10 Points’ market when the exotic odds come out.
The Brumbies really struggled last weekend as they snatched a late one-point win over the Waratahs. The men from Canberra were horrid at setpiece time with their scrum being bossed by their opponents and their line out functioning about as well as a chair with one leg.
To make matters worse for Dan Mckellar’s side, they have lost talented young fly-half Noah Lolesio to a serious hamstring injury that may well rule the pivot out of the rest of Super Rugby AU.
Verdict: Force
With Noah Lolesio out, I feel the Brumbies will be less clinical on attack. As such, I reckon the Force are worth backing on the plus handicap.
