The opening week of Super Rugby Pacific thrilled and disappointed in equal measure. Let's hope that some of the pre-season rust has fallen away as we head into the second round of fixtures.
Super Rugby Pasfika got underway last weekend and if I’m being brutally honest, some of the rugby was far from inspiring. Of particular disappointment were the clashes between the Reds and Rebels as well as the Waratahs and Drua.
There were some absolute diamonds amongst the dirt, however, with the Crusaders and Hurricanes clash proving an absolute belter while the Brumbies Force game offered a nail-biting finish.
With some of the off-season rust having been scraped off with game time last week, round two should feature some far more clinical action.
Friday 25 February
Highlanders 33/10 | Draw 25/1 | Crusaders 2/9 (09:05)
Handicap
Highlanders (+11.5) 9/10 | Crusaders (-11.5) 9/10
Proceedings get underway at a Forsyth Bar that will be without the rapturous ‘Zoo’ this coming weekend due to COVID restrictions on gatherings being in place in New Zealand.
The two sides experienced rather contrasting opening weekends with the ‘Saders beating the Hurricanes 42-32 and the Highlanders going down 26-16 to the Chiefs.
The Crusaders will have been mightily pleased with how they fared on attack this past weekend with their back three, and in particular hat-trick hero, Leicester Fainga’anuku excelling with ball in hand. There will be some worries about the defensive side of the game for the Christchurch side’s brain’s trust as they conceded some soft tries to their opponents, especially during the final quarter of the game
The Highlanders also have negatives and positives to take from Round 1. The negatives do by far outweigh the positives, though, as they were routinely cut apart from first and second phase ball, while they huffed and puffed on attack and looked void of ideas at times.
The Crusaders looked pretty good last week and if they can shore up their defence a bit then they should be able to clear this (-11.5) handicap.
Waratahs 19/10 | Draw 22/1 | Reds 9/20 (10:45)
Handicap
Waratahs (+5.5) 9/10 | Reds (-5.5) 9/10
Over to Australia now and the Waratahs and Reds will go head-to-head at the Leichhardt Oval in Friday’s final fixture.
Both sides had rather comfortable fixtures in round one, although Reds fly-half James O’Connor wouldn’t agree with that as the Wallaby got a 100th Super Rugby cap present from Rebels eight Michael Wells, who buckled him in a beautiful early in the first half. O’Connor would have the last laugh, however, as he contributed eight points to the Reds’ 23-5 victory.
The Waratahs were a bit more free-running in their 40-10 victory over the Drua. In fairness, the Drua were rather naive defensively and displayed poor discipline which made them a far simpler proposition than the Reds had with a limited but well-drilled Rebels outfit.
I like the Waratahs to run the Reds close here. They look like they’ve got tries in them this season and should be able to stay within the (+5.5) handicap.
Saturday 26 February
Brumbies 1/100 |Draw 40/1 | Drua 14/1 (05:35)
Handicap
Brumbies (-28.5) 9/10 | Drua (+28.5) 9/10
The Drua will be looking to bounce back from their opening day humbling at the hands of the ‘Tahs when they take to the GIO Stadium this Saturday. Bouncing back will be easier said than done, however, as the Brumbies are an extremely tough nut to crack.
This weekend’s hosts were far from the polished article this past weekend as they managed to edge the Force 29-23. The Brumbies were actually extremely lucky to have taken the win here as two late tries saw the Force go up by a point with a minute and a half remaining in the game. A very late try from replacement hooker Ryan Lonnegan and conversion from Noah Lolesio would see them snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
As noted earlier, the Drua’s first Super Rugby start did not go according to plan for the Islanders as they struggled to keep pace with the Waratahs, who eventually blew them out of the water. The Drua will need to be far more clinical with ball-in-hand here if they are to compete with the Brumbies.
A big plus line here. I expect the Drua to actually cover it. They looked good at times in Round 1 and we can expect an improvement here.
Blues 1/3 | Draw 22/1 | Hurricanes 5/1 (08:05)
Handicap
Blues (-8.5) 9/10 | Hurricanes (+8.5) 9/10
Back over to New Zealand now and Saturday’s penultimate fixture will see the Blues get their campaign underway against the ‘Canes.
The Blues were due to play the opening fixture of this year’s tournament but there was an outbreak in the Moana Pasifika’s camp which saw the fixture postponed.
While the Aucklanders were left kicking their heels in Queenstown this past weekend, the ‘Canes were giving the Crusaders a go of it. The Wellington outfit went into the break only two points behind their opponents but a second-half flurry of tries saw the Crusaders race into a 35-13 lead with fifteen minutes remaining on the clock.
The ‘Canes would then mount an ill-fated but gutsy comeback scoring three tries while conceding one before the final whistle went.
I think they ‘Canes may actually spring a surprise here. They’ve got an extra week under their belts and it could prove to be the advantage. My main bet on the (+8.5) handicap and a smaller strike on the Hurricanes to win on the board.
Rebels 9/10 | Draw 22/1 | Force 9/10 (10:45)
We close things out in Australia and I worry we may be in for a tiresome ending to the weekend with rain being forecast for a fixture between two sides who tend to produce horrid rugby as soon as there’s even a drizzle.
Both sides head into the second weekend off the back of defeats with the Rebels going down by 18 points to the Reds and the Force by one to the Brumbies.
The Rebels looked extremely poor with ball in hand and just don’t seem to have any real threat outside without departed Marika Koroibete. The Force, on the other hand, actually looked good on attack in Round 1 but some of their defensive work was extremely poor.
With rain expected, my main bet will be on every unders market I can find on the Live In-Play platform as soon as the game kicks off. I’ll also be taking the Force for a straight win here.
