Blues - Crusaders
This is a real guess - since the Blues played very well in Round 2 and this is the first Crusader game in the series. I think that the Crusaders have a very strong team - but then McCaw is missing and there are some real penalty machines in their team. Although the Blues did exceptionally well in Round 2 - it was a game where defense was questionable.
Projected Result - Crusaders win by 5+ points
Waratahs - Rebels
The Rebels was not convincing in the two games they played and the game of the Waratahs left huge question marks as well.
Projected Result - Waratahs win by 12+ points
Reds - Hurricans
The Reds did not perform well against the Brumbies - but put up a much better showing against the Waratahs. The Hurricanes was beaten convincingly by the Blues and in that game there was real defense defiiencies in evidence. A repeat of the latter could be really problematic for the Hurricanes.
Projected Result - Reds win by 7+ points
Chiefs - Cheetahs
I think the Chiefs will have an easy win here. There may however, be some problems though. The most spectacular game in the series thus far was no doubt the game between the Chiefs and the Highlanders - won convincingly by the Chiefs. The only real problem in that game was deficient defence and it is not certain whether that could not turn out to be to the disadvantage of the Chiefs in this game.
On the other hand the Cheetahs did relatively well in their game against the Sharks - but their forwards were not really up to standard against one of the strongest forward packs in the competition. The Cheetahs always are competitive in Bloemfontein - but they are bad travellers.
Projected Result - Chiefs win by 12+ points
Bulls - Force
This is going to be a one-way contest and I cannot see how the Force can make any headway against the Bulls.
Projected Result - Bulls win by 36+ points
Sharks - Stormers
The Stormers have some erious problems up front and they also have the Jantjies factor that could - like in Round 2 - collapse their whole game. This is likely to recur. I cannot remotely see a way the present Stormers team can beat the Sharks - but it may still be a closer win by the Sharks than expected.
Projected Result - Sharks win by 7+ points
