There’s a mouth-watering Round 16 Super Rugby double-header taking place on Friday the 31st of May with Bulls locking horns with the Blues and the Rebels and Waratahs going head to head in an Australian derby.
With only three rounds remaining until the play-offs Super Rugby is well and truly into its business end. Friday throws up to crucial fixtures in the race to make the play-offs with the opener seeing a Blues side who need a minor miracle to make the knock-out phase taking on a Bulls outfit who while in the play-off spots have a number of sides breathing down their necks.
The day’s second fixture could be even more pivotal as a win for the Rebels would see them leapfrog the Brumbies to the top of the Australian Conference standings.
Blues v Bulls
Eden Park
09:35
To Win (80 Mins)
Blues 1/4
Draw 25/1
Bulls 3/1
Handicap
Blues (-10.5) 9/10
Bulls (+ 10.5) 9/10
While the Blues still have an outside chance of advancing to the play-offs it looks like 2019 will be yet another fruitless one for the men from Auckland. While there have been signs of improvement under head coach Leon McDonald, the Blues have again lacked a killer instinct; allowing teams back into games when they really should be putting them to bed.
The Bulls, on the other hand, are still in with a solid chance of making the play-offs but will need to take at least a point from this one as they have two tough fixtures to come with an away date with the Highlanders in the penultimate round and a clash with the Lions at Loftus closing out their regular season run.
In terms of last weekend’s results, the Bulls were mauled into submission by the Brumbies going down 22-10 in Australia while the Blues gave a solid account of themselves against the Crusaders but still went down 19-11 at Christchurch.
Verdict: Bulls (+10.5) 9/10
The visitors need at least a point from this one to give themselves a solid shot of qualifying for the next phase of the tournament. While I think they may fall short of a win, I can see them remaining in the handicap and picking up what could be a crucial bonus point.
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Rebels v Waratahs
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
11:45
To Win (80 Mins)
Rebels 4/10
Draw 25/1
Waratahs 2/1
Handicap
Rebels (-6.5) 9/10
Waratahs (+6.5) 9/10
Next up is arguably the most pivotal of this year’s Australian derbies with the Australian Conference’s second-placed side, the Melbourne Rebels, taking on the third-placed Waratahs. The visitors need to bag a win here to remain in contention for a play-off berth while the hosts could go to the top of the Conference standings should they win this one.
The two sides enjoyed contrasting Round 16 showings with the Rebels picking up a bonus point win courtesy of their 7-52 annihilation of the Sunwolves and the Waratahs suffering a massive blow to their campaign as they went down 15-23 to the Jaguares.
Verdict: Rebels (-6.5) 9/10
The Waratahs seem to be running out of steams, which isn’t surprising considering the amount of off-field issue and player suspensions they’ve had to contend with this season. I can see the Rebels being the ones to sound the Waratahs 2019 death knell.
Written by Darry Worthington for Hollywoodbets
