Highlanders to get up
Cant help but feel we have seen the best of the Blues this season. First couple games were played on passion. Passion wears off and we left with very limited skill there bar Rene Ranger and Piutau. I expect Blues to fill a hole in the mid table!
Brumbies by as many as they want
Kings have had a bruising game last week and really put up a monumental effort to limit the Canes running riot. Brumbies are a more "clever" attacking side this year so I expect the Kings to be slightly exposed here. Maybe their biggest hiding to date. NZL teams are physical and fast. Big defensive efforts can ensure the score looks respectable. Brumbies are "schemers" and sly so they will work the defence out. Kings need to outmuscle them or its tickets.
Sharks but only just
Its not easy to go to the republic and win 2 from 2 against the two best SA franchises currently. Last week would have softened the Saders up a bit and lets be honest, it was a game that could have gone either way. Saders were not convincing and Stormers made some crucial errors. I expect Sharks to learn from this and bring the pain. Can Tyler Bleyendaal control things again this week? Surely not!
Hurricanes to get up
Waratahs seem to have worked themselves out a bit but I still feel the Canes at home should want it more!
Force reasonably comfortably
Rebels are arguably the worst team at the moment. Doesnt help that they have travelled all the way back from SA with two fairly comprehensive losses. One massive loss at that and inter-camp dust ups. Too many internal issues to work on there and the Force have some confidence still from the Reds game.
Cheetahs in a thriller
This was a tough one and I wouldnt put money on it either way. SA teams need to stand up and take note of the Cheetahs because in a blink of an eye, these blokes could run away with the "conference trophy" (Beeno has seen it ;-) Stormers will need to be smart about this one and the Sharks were lucky to catch the Cheetahs before they had all this self belief ;-) You can see confidence oozing out of the Cheetahs camp and I think they will be hard to stop in Bloem! Too many game breakers in Rhule, Le Roux, Ebersohn and good to see Danniler starting to live up to expectations. Adriaan Strauss has really lead from the front and I think Bizzy is cocking his eyebrow in slight concern. Loose forwards are playing well too. Definately one of the most exciting clashes of the round. Will be a great spectacle!
Looking at past results, question is: Do the Cheetahs believe they can beat the Stormers. Stormers have had some tight games with them in recent times but usually always on the right side of the score board. Can the Cheetahs get this Stormers monkey off their backs. I mean, they are 2 from 9 against them. Will history repeat itself or is this a new look Cheetahs team with renewed passion ready to turn the history book on its head?
