Sharks are gonna have play really well, no altitude this week although the Rebels will be starting to feel 2nd week travel fatigue.
Really looking forward to the Bulls v Chiefs game.
Those who really followed the matches thus far will realize that it is becoming clear that -
* at least four of the NZ teams thus far this year is on slippery slope performance wise and that they have very real problems in those franchises;
* only one NZ team thus far played games against two SA conference sides - namely the Blues that lost both games against the Sharks and the Jaguares;
* there remans serious doubts about the performance of the Aussie teams in the competition/
Fact is that there were 8 matches played by NZ teams against teams from the SA and Aussie conferences and of those -
* the Sunwolves beat the Chiefs by a wide margin wh0 also lost be a huge margin against the Brumbies;
* the Rebels beat the Highlanders; and
* as mentioned earlier the Blues got beaten by both the Sharks and the Jaguares,
Furthermore two other Aussie teams have struggled badly against the Sunwolves - winning by 1 and 3 points respectively.
So lets look at the four teams who play SA conference teams this weekend, namely the Chiefs, the Hurricanes, the Rebels and the Sunwolves
The Chiefs
After 5 matches the Chiefs is still the bottom team on the overall log with 3 points, They lost against the Brumbies, Sunwolves and Crusaders by huge margins and the Highlanders beat them and they got a bonus point loss in that case. Their big achievement was a draw with the Hurricanes in Round 5.
I would thus be flummoxed if they beat the Bulls this weekend. Based on the performances of the two teams thus far this year the real question is how wide the winning margin of the Buls would be in this case - I suspect more than 15 points
The Rebels
Is after 4 matches proven to be the strongest franchise in Australia.. They are the only Aussie team in the top 8 teams in the Overall log. They have a playing style of their own and ahs beaten the Brumbies twice and the Highlanders this year.
I still cannot comprehend how they managed to lose against the Lions - but they did. The problems they have are with their scrumming and forwards as a whole. They have a much stronger forward effort to contain with and the Sharks have also got a more competitive backline than the Lions fielded on Saturday - especially on the wings and in their halfbacks. The Rebels have much better centers than the Sharks and that is where the Sharks main problem would be.
If the Rebels could not beat the Lions there is no chance that they would beat the Sharks over this weekend.
The Hurircanes
In their five rounds thus far, the Hurricanes beat the Highlanders and the Waratahs by very small margins - they beat the Brumbies by a wide margin - drew against the Chiefs and lost by a wde margin against the Crusaders.
It is their narrow wins that should be borne in mind. The Waratahs managed to beat the Sunwolves by one point. the Hurricanes although beating the Highlanders (thatlosta gainst the Rebels) and their draw against the Chiefs can face some real problems playing against the Stormers. They probably have the weakest Tight 5 of all NZ teams - but an excellent backline bar the under-par Jordie Barrett.
They would have to up their forwards performance massively - but have one advantage that benefitted them in playing the Stormers at home and that was the fact that they field a 16 man team with the referee being the 16th Hurricanes player. One would have to watch out or ref shenanigans in that game.
That being said - the fact is that their performances thus far this year are not really convincing and if the Stormers play their best game they should beat the Hurricanes.
The Sunwolves
The Lions are up against a more competitive team than they were in the past, T hey beat the Chiefs by a wide margin and lost by narrow margins against the Waratahs, Reds and the Blues, The only negative against them is their big loss against the Sharks in Singapore where the game is played against the Lions.
Unless the Lions bugger up badly they should win the match.
I've only seen the Blues and Rebels thus far. By all accounts the Saders are going to be a tough nut to crack. The Jags were entertaining though, and the Rebels looked very sharp ball-in-hand. The first scrum play was magnificent, the second long range try was outstanding. Hopefully we see more of that.
Have you only seen two teams play? Guess so because you would notwrite the BS you post regul arly on site.
Yes and it was probably two hockey matches that he watched.
The question you have to ask yourself ... would he know the difference between the two sports?
Somehow I doubt it..
