Over the past two weeks my forecast on Superbnru was 5 correct and 2 wrong every Round - so here goes - lets hope I can get 6 out of 6 this Round.
Hurricanes - Highlanders
The Highlanders had an up and down performances over the past three weeks. They beat the Sharks with ease, looked good against the Stormers ending up with a 1 poiint loss and then beat the Lions at home narrowly. The last performance was lackluster in the second half and could have been effected by jet lag.
The Hurricanes has been on the up during the same period with the exception of their away game against the Waratahs. At home they are a different kettle of fish.
I think the Hurricanes will win this encounter by a margin of circa 12 points.
Crusaders - Sharks
This should be a walk in the park for the Crusaders. They would get ample balls to counter-attack with from Fat Fransie's aimless kicking and with his presence in the backline the Crusaders have nothing to fear from any potential attacking play by the Sharks.
I have no faith in the loosie combination of the Sharks either - so there will be virtually no breakdown ball recovery as well.
The Crusaders to win by circa 16 points.
Reds - Rebels
This is going to be a difficult one to predict. In a way it depends which Rebels team turns up on the day - they had some very good matches against strong opposition and nearly ran over the Sharks as well.
The Reds have been poor and they are not the team they were a year ago - despite all the big name players.
I think the result might be close - but the Rebels should win this one by circa 6 points.
Stormers - Western Force
The Stormers at home is a different kettle of fish. The Force beat the Cheetahs - and flourished on Cheetahs mistakes. Against the Stormers that may be different and I only hope that the Force does not exploit the defensive deficiencies of players like De Jongh too much.
I would say that the Stormers - despite their injury plague - have a good chance to beat the Force and tip them to win by 9 points.
Cheetahs - Brumbies
In the play-offs last year the Cheetahs came within a whisker of beating the Brumbies - only losing because a late try conversion failed. However, the Cheetahs have been unfortunate this year - they have injury problems with some of their key players like Van der Walt, De Jager and Labuschagne. If those three players were available it could be a close match.
The Cheetahs at home is a difficult team to bear - but my feeling is that the Brumbies will win this encounter by circa 9 points.
Waratahs - Lions
Although the Lions at times showe serious courage and they beat good teams - I think they are up against it on Sunday and I think the Waratahs will beat them by circa 9 points.
I cannot see any real upsets this Round and think that the winning margins may be bigger than my prediction. For instance the Crusaders beatt the Brumbies by 20 points at home and the Sharks lost against the Brumbies. Mathematically the Crusaders - Sharks margin could be considerably bigger - but for the sake of the Sharks I hope it is not so.
