Tips and Predictions for round 7 Super 12 2005

Highlanders v Brumbies
The Highlanders have come to end of their party and I expect them to start fading in the tournament. They had three games at home and apart from beating the dismal Bulls, they lost against the Blues and were very lucky to get away with a draw against the Stormers. The Brumbies is becoming a bit of a headache to predict as they suddenly seemed to lose their good form in the last two matches. As one of the teams with the most talent, I am sure they will be able to bounce back and the match against the average Highlanders may just be the one to do it in. I predict that the Brumbies will indeed bounce back and win this one by 8.

Chiefs v Sharks
Apart from the surprise victory against a very bad Blues team, there has been nothing in the Chiefs lineup. They have been destroyed away from home and got whipped by the Reds at home. The Sharks have been really bad all season and apart from their last match, would definitely like to forget this Super 12 season. They have also fired their coach. Dick Muir was appointed and in his first match as coach he whipped the Brumbies. A huge factor in the Sharks squad is the re-appearance of Ian McIntosh as adviser/mentor to the team. It is however also speculated that Rod McQueen is going to take over that role as Mac cannot join the Sharks on their tour to Australasia. With all that rugby brainpower in their stable, the Sharks may just be one of the more difficult teams to beat in future. I think they are on a high and will be able to beat the Chiefs at home by 10.

Blues v Cats
The Cats are playing the first match away from home after a 1-4 record at home. They have been “unlucky” in at least three of their losses as they should and could have won. They were their own worst enemies. The Blues are on a roll after the dismissal of Carlos Spencer from the starting line-up and showed this past weekend what we can expect from them. Before the past weekend they were the big disappointment in the 2005 Super 12, but be careful not to underestimate them now. The SA sides have in the past strung some good performances together in Auckland, but I don’t think this weekend will be one of them. I will give this one to the Blues by 15.

Stormers v Reds
The Stormers have also been one of the disappointments of the Super 12 with their highly rated back line firing nothing more than blanks in the first couple of matches. They have lost their three matches this season by 3, 5 and 3 points and do show that they are definitely a serious player in the Super 12. Even though their back line have been one of the worse, they still managed fairly good results. The Reds pulled off one good victory against the Chiefs and apart from that they have been losing by 10-point margins. I think the Stormers at home should be too strong for the Reds and beat them by 12.

Bulls v Crusaders
A couple of years ago Andrew Mehrtens dropped a goal in injury time to pull off a victory against the Bulls at Loftus. He then gave the now infamous middle finger salute to the crowd that really aggravated them. I can promise you that they still have not forgiven the Crusaders or Mehrtens for that matter and would really love to see their team pull of a victory. They have not been playing well and some senior players in the Bulls side are discussed daily in the press because of their non-performance. It must, however, not be forgotten that they beat the Hurricanes well on their last outing. The Crusaders are, on the other hand, a very well balanced outfit that has been cruising through the Super 12. I predict the Crusaders will continue their winning ways and take this one by 14.

Hurricanes v Waratahs
The Hurricanes have only lost a single match so far this year and Tana Umaga will lead them with confidence onto the field in Wellington against the visiting Brumbies. The Waratahs have also only lost against the Crusaders and have been looking good this year. They have not showed their famous fade yet and hopefully for them they will see it through this year. They also have a well-balanced side and although they were well dominated by the Crusaders, they managed to pull off a fairly good result in that match. They are without any doubt one of the better sides this year and should be able to beat the Hurricanes at home. I think their pack will be too strong for the Canes’ pack and that will be their platform to attack from. I shall give this one to the Tahs by 3.