There's plenty of fixture uncertainty ahead of this weekend's Super Rugby Pacicfic fixtures, with the Highlanders still battling a covid outbreak. As things stand, we've got a full fixture list. Darry Worthington previews.
Friday 25 March
Moana Pasifika 13/1 | Draw 40/1 | Hurricanes 1/100 (08:05)
Handicap
Moana Pasifika (+29.5) 9/10 | Hurricanes (-29.5) 9/10
First up we’ve got a Moana Pasifika side that will be desperate to bounce back from a heavy defeat at the hands of the Chiefs when they take on a ‘Canes side that had the last round off due to Covid outbreak in their camp.
The new boys would have fancied themselves to have given the Chiefs a run for their money having caused the Crusaders all sorts of problems a couple weeks. That wasn’t to be the case, however, as the Chiefs cantered to a 12-59 victory.
The Hurricanes seem to have overcome their Covid woes and will be eager to get back up and running as they were in solid form prior to the enforced break beating the Blues 32-33 and then the Highlanders 21-14.
The men from Wellington got a major boost this past week with All Black scrum-half TJ Perrenarra set to make his return.
We’re looking at a rather substantial plus here and with the Hurricanes playing a very open game I can see Moana Pasifika scoring a few points which is why I’m leaning towards the plus line.
Rebels 7/10 | Draw 20/1 | Drua 12/10 (10:45)
Handicap
Rebels (-2.5) 9/10 | Drua (+2.5) 9/10
We head over to Melbourne for our second game of the day which sees the winless Rebels take on a Drua side that has been causing teams all sorts of issues over the first few weeks of the comp.
The visitors were desperately unlucky to go down to the Force last week with an 83rd-minute penalty from the Force’s Bayley Kuenzle sinking them. This was the second week in a row that the Drua were pipped at the death as the Reds managed to avoid a massive upset a week prior with a late try against the Fijians.
The Rebels showed slight signs of improvement last week as they ran an admittedly lacklustre Waratahs side close with them men from Melbourne going down 24-19.
The Drua’s only win thus far came against the Rebels and my money’s on them making it two wins from two starts against the Melbourne outfit.
Western Force 24/10 | Draw 25/1 | Brumbies 1/3 (13:00)
Handicap
Force (+7.5) 9/10 | Brumbies (-7.5) 9/10
Friday’s action comes to a close out in Perth where the Western Force will be looking to build on their last gasp victory over the Drua when they take on the unbeaten Brumbies.
In all honesty, the Force were extremely lucky to beat the Fijians last weekend as they were by no means the best side on the field. They did show some real grit, however, and their forwards fronted up, especially at lineout time.
The Brumbies put in a far more impressive display as they beat the Reds 16-12 in a clash that could well go on to decided the Australian Conference. While it was far from a vintage attacking display from the Brumbies, they did show a lot of grit on their way to grinding out a win.
The last time these two sides met we were treated to an absolute thriller as a flurry of late tries turned the fixture into a see-saw affair which the Brumbies managed to steal at the death. I’m expecting a more comfortable win this time around with the Brumbies looking more settled. Get on the (-7.5) handicap here.
Highlanders 24/10 | Draw 25/1 | Blues 1/3 (05:35)
Handicap
Highlanders (+7.5) 9/10 | Blues (-7.5) 9/10
We move to Saturday’s action now and we’ve got the winless Highlanders taking on a somewhat underperforming Blues side first up.
It’s been a tough old start to the season for the Highlanders as they’re yet to bag a win and they have been dealing with a Covid outbreak in their camp over the past fortnight.
It’s actually rather doubtful that they’ll take to the field this weekend with a number of their players still struggling. They have been forced to call up non-contracted players who will have to fill in for their big guns if this game goes ahead.
The Blues were also out of action last weekend due to Covid and it would have been rather annoying for the Aucklanders who would have been wanting to build on their 32-20 win over the Highlanders.
The visitors are still struggling with injuries in midfield as NRL recruit Roger Tuivasa-Scheck and Harry Plummer are both out with long term injuries.
I really fancy the Highlanders on the plus to run their opponents close here. The Blues midfield has been severely depleted and they may well struggle. Obviously, wait for team news before diving in here, as the Otago franchise might well have to field a few second-tier players.
Chiefs 9/10 | Draw 20/1 | Crusaders 9/10 (08:05)
Our penultimate game of the weekend is in some doubt as well with the Crusaders currently dealing with a major Covid outbreak. Even if they do manage to field a side this weekend, they’re likely to be significantly weakened.
The Chiefs will really be hoping this one goes ahead as planned as they are in fantastic touch following up their 21-24 Round 3 win over the Crusaders by hammering Moana Pasifika 12-59 this past weekend.
I highly doubt this one will go ahead but if it does I will be all over the Chiefs.
Reds 2/9 | Draw 28/1 | Waratahs 33/10 (10:45)
Handicap
Reds (-10.5) 9/10 | Waratahs (+10.5) 9/10
We head back to Australia for our final match of the Round which sees the Reds and Waratahs go head to head out in Brisbane.
The hosts suffered their first defeat of the campaign last weekend as they went down 16-12 to the Brumbies in a very scrappy affair. The Reds actually put a lot of heat on their opponents late in the fixture but were unable to overturn the scoreline, which would have been a lot closer had James O’Connor had a better day at the office with the boot.
The Waratahs, while not impressive last week, did manage to bag a win as they beat the Australian Conference’s cellar-dwellers, the Melbourne Rebels, 22-17.
I’m expecting a tight affair here with the Waratahs a far bigger threat than they were last term. I think they’ll lose, but they should remain within the double-digit handicap
