The opening round of the second Super Rugby Pacific season proved a rather tidy one on the tipping front with Chiefs on the plus against the Crusaders cantering in, while the Drua managed a straight win, the Hurricanes hammered the Reds, and the Force managed a come from behind win over the Rebels.
Friday 3 March
Crusaders 1/12 | Draw 35/1 | Highlanders 13/2
Handicap
Crusaders (-17.5) 9/10 | Highlanders (+17.5) 9/10
The first of this weekend’s full set of fixtures at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium will see the reigning champions, the Crusaders, take on domestic foes, the Highlanders.
Both of these sides had horror starts to the campaign with the Crusaders outclassed by a Damien McKenzie inspired Chiefs outfit, who beat them 10-31 in Christchurch. The Highlanders also suffered a heavy loss to a fellow Kiwi side as they went down 20-60 to last year’s defeated finalists, the Blues.
Both of these teams have a lot to work on headed into this. The Highlanders defence was all over the place, particularly in the second half of the fixture where they were run ragged by a red-hot Blues attack. The Crusaders have some defensive issues of their own to resolve but Scott Robertson will be more worried about how blunt his attack was.
They usually start slow and get better as the weeks progress. I think we’ll see an improved showing from the reigning champions here and even if they are only slightly better than last weekend, they should still be able to get one over a ramshackle Highlanders outfit.
Crusaders on the minus.
"Gutted and not the way we want to start a season" - Richie Mo'ungaafter last nights battle 🛠️ pic.twitter.com/6SA2cQ9jGE
— Crusaders (@crusadersrugby) February 24, 2023
Rebels 11/2 | Draw 33/1 | Hurricanes 1/9
Handicap
Rebels (+16.5) 9/10| Hurricanes (-16.5) 9/10
The hosts for all of this weekend’s games, the Rebels, will be looking to bounce back from their heartbreaking 34-27 loss to the Force when they lock horns against a Hurricanes side that looks vastly improved from last season’s vintage.
The Rebels will be kicking themselves having let a 24-10 lead slp to go down to a late try from Force lock and ex-All Black, Jeremy Thrush. The Rebels did show some promise in the fixture but will need to sort their game management out as they were rather naive during the final quarter of their opener.
Hurricanes fans would have been ecstatic with the shift their sde put in last weekend as they beat the Reds 13-47 in Queensland. The Kiwis had done their homework and targeted the Reds set-piece, and with the Reds missing a plethora of locking options, the Hurricanes were able to take full advantage of ther opponent’s weakened scrum and lineout.
They were mightily impressive this past weekend and I can see the Hurricanes dominating proceedings again this Friday evening.
Canes to clear the ‘cap.
HUNDY 👏🏼
— Melbourne Rebels (@MelbourneRebels) February 26, 2023
Awesome having our guy back in the 9 jersey.#BeARebel in 2023! https://t.co/ylxD4Pvet8 pic.twitter.com/8YNRwdTBoT
Saturday 4 March
Moana Pasifika 10/1 | Draw 40/1 | Chiefs 1/33
Handicap
Moana Pasifika (+23.5) 9/10 | Chiefs (-23.5) 9/10
Saturday’s opener is a true ‘David versus Golliath’ affair as Moana Pasifika will lock horns with a Chiefs side that beat them 45-12 and 59-12 last season. Things get worse for Moana Pasifika when you consider the Chiefs managed to register these gigantic wins without the services of talismanic pivot Damien McKenzie, who will don the ten jersey this coming weekend.
Speaking of McKenzie, the All Black was crucial in the Chiefs convincing win over the Crusaders last weekend. While his running game was as dangerous as it’s ever been, it was his tactical kicking that caught the eye with D-Mac forcing the Crusaders back to play on the turn throughout the 80-minutes.
While the Chiefs opened their campaign with a win, Moana Pasifika tasted defeat going down 34-36 to the Fijian Drua in a thrilling encounter that was decided in the 76th-minute by a Drua try. There were a lot of positives to take out of the fixture for Moana Pasifika but they will need to up their game ten-fold if they are to stay even close to this Chiefs side.
I fully expected the Chiefs to rack up another cricket score against their opponents. Visitors on the minus.
Chiefs will clear the handicap here.
— Gallagher Chiefs (@ChiefsRugby) February 25, 2023
Fijian Drua 2/1 | Draw 20/1 | Waratahs 4/10
Handicap
Drua (+7.5) 9/10 | Waratahs (-7.5) 9/10
We’ve got a highly intriguing fixture next up with the Waratahs taking on a very dangerous rua outfit. Both sides come into this one off the back of a positive weekend with the Drua grabbing a two-point victory over Moana Pasifika, while the Waratahs showed a lot of guts and a massive amount of improvement as they went down 25-31 to the Brumbies.
Both sides have some very handy backs and their defences aren’t the best so we may well see a flurry of tries here. The Waratahs won both fixtures between the sides last season running out 14-38 and 40-10 victors.
The ‘Tahs looked decent in defeat last weekend and I reckon they’ll get the business done here.
Tahs on the minus.
Jorgo's second try, feast your eyes! 🔥🔥#WARvBRU pic.twitter.com/Y7Hq7G0oLX
— NSW Waratahs (@NSWWaratahs) February 24, 2023
Blues 2/9 | Draw 25/1 | Brumbies 33/10
Handicap
Blues (-11.5) 9/10 | Brumbies (+11.5) 9/10
The penultimate game of the weekend should be an absolute cracker with a replay of one of last season’s semi-finals as the Brumbies take on the Blues. When the sides met in the semis last year, the Blues managed to just sneak a 20-19 win in a hotly contested affair.
Both sides got their 2023 campaigns off to solid starts with the Brumbies grinding out a 25-31 win over the Waratahs, while the Blues were ruthless on attack as they hammered domestic rivals, the Highlanders, 20-60.
They really set their stall out this past weekend and I can see the Blues impressing again here.
The Aucklanders should take it on the minus.
🔵 Rieko Ioane with the try but Mark Telea deserves plenty of credit for setting it up. The Blues wing was on fire against the Highlanders! 🔥 #SuperRugbyPacific #HIGvBLU pic.twitter.com/Ih210Odc8N
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 27, 2023
Western Force 37/20 | Draw 20/1 | Reds 9/20
Handicap
Force (+6.5) 9/10 | Reds (-6.5) 9/10
The Reds will be looking to bounce back from their horror showing against the Hurricanes when they take on Western Force outfit that will be on a high after registering a morale boosting come from behind victory over the Rebels in Round 1.
Brad Thorn’s men actually had a decent start to the game going 6-0 up in the first ten-minutes and then 13-6 up on the 30-minute mark. It was all downhill from there, however, with the Hurricanes taking a 13-16 lead into half-time. It got worse for the Australians with the Canes scoring 31 unanswered points in the second-half.
The Force had a far better time of it with a late try from veteran lock Jeremey Thrush capping off a memorable 34-27 come-from-behind victory over the Rebels.
The Reds are still missing a plethora of lock forwards and they’ll struggle again at the set-piece this weekend which will play into the Force’s hands.
Force at 37/20.
The Force hit back! 💪 Game ON!🔥
— Stan Sport Rugby (@StanSportRugby) February 25, 2023
↳ Force v Rebels, LIVE NOW. Every Match. Ad-free. Live & On Demand on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport.#StanSportAU #SuperRugbyPacific #FORvREB pic.twitter.com/xlfp3GddCS
