It's the final round of inter-conference Super Rugby Pacific action this weekend and teams will be looking to make the most of it before they welcome visitors or head off on tours.
We have some real cracking derbies in store this weekend with Friday’s clash between the Crusaders and Blues the absolute pick of the bunch.
Friday 15 April
Crusaders 11/20 | Draw 22/1 | Blues 15/10 (09:05)
Handicap
Crusaders (-4.5) 9/10 | Blues (+4.5) 9/10
What a way to kick off the round! We’ve got the New Zealand Conference pacesetters going head to head first thing on Friday and this game is going to be a cracker with a number of All Blacks going toe-to-toe.
The Blues are arguably the form side as they head into this one off the back of two big wins over Moana Pasifika (46-16) the Chiefs (0-25), while the Crusaders have ridden their luck over the past fortnight scrapping a 17-14 win over the Highlanders and then a very lucky 21-24 victor over the ‘Canes.
As mentioned earlier, we’ve got some world-class players squaring off this weekend and the battle to keep an eye on is the clash of the All Black fly halves; Beauden Barrett versus Ritchie Mounga.
The former was in impeccable form last weekend and was the driving force behind the Blues’ convincing win over the Chiefs, while Mounga, on the other hand, hasn’t been at his best this term but has still put in some solid shifts.
Had this been at Eden Park I would have been all over the Blues but I just can’t see them sneaking a win in Canterbury. I’ll be backing the Crusaders on the board here.
Rebels 28/10 | Draw 25/1 | Reds 2/7 (11:45)
Handicap
Rebels (+9.5) 9/10 | Reds (-9.5) 9/10
Over to Australia now and we’ve got the resurgent Rebels taking on a Reds side that will be looking to make hay while the Brumbies are on a bye week and usurp the current overall conference leaders into top spot.
After a dire start to the season, the Rebels are finally starting to find some rhythm with wins over the Drua and Force seeing them jump up to eighth spot on the overall standings. They showed a lot of guts against the Force last weekend as they held on for a 21-22 victory in Perth despite playing most of the second 40 down a man.
While the Rebels were scraping a win against the Force, the Reds had their feet up as they enjoyed a bye week. The break came at just the right time for Brad Thorn’s men as they put in a sapping but brilliant performance in the round prior as they beat the Brumbies 21-7 in Queensland.
The Reds are really dangerous with ball in hand and I can see them giving an improving yet still rather defensively naive Rebels side a real rugby lesson. Thake the Reds on the (-9.5) handicap here.
Saturday 16 April
Chiefs 1/50 | Draw 25/1 | Moana Pasifika 14/1 (06:35)
Handicap
Chiefs (-27.5) 9/10 | Moana Pasifika (+27.5) 9/10
The Chiefs will be looking to bounce back after firing a blank against the Blues last weekend when they take on a Moana Pasifika side that has been absolutely shafted by a congested fixtures list.
The hosts were on a good run of form up until their 0-25 humbling last weekend. They were extremely sloppy with the ball-in-hand and their defence was not up to scratch either. A date with a weary Moana Pasifika side, who they beat 12-59 a couple weeks ago, offers the ideal chance for redemption and to fix their systems.
As noted earlier, the new boys have played a lot of rugby over the past two weeks and haven’t got much reward for their endeavours going down twice to the Blues (19-32 and 46-16) while also suffering defeats at the hands of the Highlanders (37-17) and the Hurricanes (53-12).
The men from Waikato will be keen on bagging a bonus point win and I think they will do just this against a Moana Pasifika side who are desperate for a break. A small play on the Chiefs to clear a very big handicap here.
Highlanders 12/10 | Draw 25/1 | Hurricanes 13/20 (09:05)
Handicap
Highlanders (+2.5) 9/10 | Hurricanes (-2.5) 9/10
The penultimate game of the weekend will see a Highlanders side that finally broke their duck last weekend take on a ‘Canes outfit who have had an up and down week headed into this one.
The ‘Canes bounced back from their very controversial 24-27 defeat to the Crusaders with a resounding showing against Moana Pasifika with the men from Wellington running out 53-12 victors over the new boys this past Tuesday.
Like their opponents for this Saturday, the Highlanders also head into this one off the back of a win over the new boys in the New Zealand Conference as they beat Moana Pasifika 37-17 last Friday.
The ‘Canes will be determined to back up their midweek win and I can see them putting in a solid showing against a Highlanders side that just hasn’t clicked this season. I’m on the Hurricanes to clear a very small handicap here.
Force 12/10 | Draw 20/1 | Waratahs 7/10 (11:45)
Handicap
Force (+2.5) 9/10 | Waratahs (-2.5) 9/10
The Waratahs and Western Force will bring the curtain down on the round as the Australian duo square off at the nib this Saturday. This is a crucial fixture for both sides as they are likely to struggle against New Zealand opposition in the coming weeks.
The hosts head into this one off the back of two heartbreaking defeats as they went down 38-39 to the Brumbies at the tail end of March and then 21-22 to the Rebels this past weekend. These two defeats have left the Force sitting ninth on the overall conference.
Their opponents have had a far better time of t of it over the past month a bit racking up wins over the Force (22-17), the Rebels (24-19) and Drua (14-38) while only suffering one defeat which was a 32-20 loss to the Reds in Queensland.
I think the Force will be mentally exhausted here after those two narrow losses and expect the Waratahs to take full advantage of this. Back the ‘Tahs to clear a very modest handicap here.
