My predictions for Round 2 not ready yet

I am getting desperate the greatest team of all - the Sharks - has not been announced as yet but will due my objective assessment on the basis that I believe the team will be.  I am not going to try and do a similar assessment on the New Zealand teams - but will include the Assie teams that has been active in Round 1.

Bulls - Stormers Game

I wrote elsewhere that I am not really impressed by elements of the Bulls Team.   I think their main problems will be -

  *   In the scrum - their props are not all that solid and Werner Kruger is a major penalty liability;

  *   Their Lion Outs can be problematic and they are likely to hve problems;

  *   They have an edge in the hafbacks - but that depends whether Steyn and Hougaard are over their problems of 2012.

I think the Stormers have the better all round team - but for Jantjies - I have serious doubts about him.  

The gamebreakers could be from Taute, De Allede,  Elstadt, Kolisi and Fourieon the WP side

My Prediction - The Stormers by 12+

Cheetahs - Sharks Game

The Cheetahs have a nice all-round team - and the return of Goosen will make a difference to their backline performance.   However, they seems to be weak in the scrum situation and also in line-outs.

The Sharks are just about the best team in the competition and the fact that there are some injury problems are not going to affect performances too much.

The gambreakers cold be for the Sharks - Pietersen, Jordaan, Lambie and Du Toit - and for the Cheetahs Goosen.

My Prediction - The Sharks by 12+

Kings - Western Force Game

The Western Force played much better than expected  against the Rebels last week and they will have a serious advantage over the Kings if they repeat last weeks game.  

My prediction - Western Force by 20+

Brumbies - Rebels Game

Was not overly-impressed  by the Rebels forwards last week and much so by the Brumbie forwards, but the Brumbies backline was not all that good.   However, the margin of the win by the Brumbies against the Reds was very impressive.

My Prediction - Brumbies by 10+ 

Reds - Waratahs Game

I was very disappointed by the performances of the Reds in Round 1 and rumour has it that the Waratahs is a very stong outfit this year - they did well enough in the warm-up games as well.  

My Prediction - Waratahs by 7+

@mikey,

wanted to read this before i replied to ur comment on the all teams for round 2 thread.

highalnders vs chiefs,,,
chiefs have a number of injuries to key players but have still mangaed to feild a very strong team, my only question would be have they gelled together as a team yet.
highlanders for the last two years have always gotten of to strong starts in the early rounds and also have a very strong team.
very hard call, but i would say the highlanders by 8pts

hurricanes vs blues
im very impressed with the blues this year, but playing in the hardest conference in spXV is really going to hurt them, but i expect them to do better then last year and claim a NZ scalp or two.
hurricanes have a very strong team in 2013 and have now got the last two years under their belt, so they are all familiar with what needs to be done.
this is my match of the round, especially when u have andre taylor going up against charles piutau and im serious when i say these two players alone have more attacking flair then the Boks have had for the last two decades, :oP
hurricanes to win by 5pts.
 

Sasue

The more I read and hear - the more confused I become.   Watching the Re-Union programme tonight they also think that the Highlanders will beat the Chiefs and eventually head the  New Zealand Conference.   I do not think they would - since they have too many elderly players in their squad.   

My own prediction may be entirely wrong since the experts hink otherwise - but I used to think the Chiefs may just be too good for the Highlanders.  However, losing some of their top players like SBW and Thompson may be a hard one for the Chiefs to overcome.   I still think I am going for the Chiefs by 3+ point.   Hope I am right though.

Have you seen my Test Rugby squad???  

@mikey,

no i havent seen ur team yet, but i will take peek soon, having some headache selections at the moment with my teams on both sites but the good news is i might be able to play jordaan on the foxsport site, now that they have moved israel folau to the outside backs instead of the inside back where he was originally.

the more i look at that blues team my hurricanes are facing, the more nervous i get. im now thinking that match is 50/50, especially when the blues boasts the likes of ranger, piutau, halai, saili brothers, weepu, faumuina, williams,, then theres the fact that weepu is playing his 100th super rugby match and rnager is playing his 50th match for the blues.
nervous times ahead,,,o_O

both NZ darby matches are very even, but i do think both the highlanders and canes will just edge out a win.