SuperXV Talking points

 yeah, decisive weekend for the resolution of the Nz conference.

If the saders win, they'll very probably win the conference. They play the other 2 matches at home (Blues and landers) where they could have Nadolo and Dagg and where Read will have more gametime under his belt.

But if they lose all the contenders will have their opportunity, even the canes who have played one more game and rest the last round could win the conference.
Without Nadolo and Dagg the saders' backline have good playmakers (and much more with the inclusion of Carter who, reports say, is going to play from the bench and will play at 12) but is lacking final punch. This won't be enough to face the best backline of the comp (alongside waratahs') and the saders have to impose themselves through their AB forward pack if they want to win .

Very opened match where both of them could win. As it will be the other match Highlanders-Chiefs. Very interesting weekend

crusaders
- #3 over all, #1 NZ conference
vs hurricanes away
vs blues home
vs highlanders home

with nadolo and dagg out, crusadrs have lost their best finisher and one of their key playmakers, two massivre losses against a hurricanes team who has the best 10 in the comp, the best winger in the world (savea) and a whole backline in form.

hurricanes gave the crusaders a real good beatdown in the saders own backyard, and if that canes backline clicks, the return of carter isnt going to be enough change a canes win.

im picking the crusaders to possibly lose to the canes but win their last two matches and take out over all leader conference

highlanders
- #5 over all, #2 NZ conference
vs chiefs home
vs waratahs away
vs crusaders away

u know u got a tough schedule when in ur remaining last three fixtures the easiest match is the current champions the chiefs.

chiefs match is going to be super important, as they need it to keep their finals hopes alive.
IMO its a 50/50 match.

im not expecting tthe highlanders to win their last two matches though, waratahs and crusaders are just to good at what they do, its why they are both in the top three at the moment.

hurricanes
- #6th over all, #3 NZ conference
vs crusaders home
vs chiefs away
bye

so ur currently sitting 6th on the ladder, u have two games under ur belt and its against the crusaders and chiefs????
(BTW i havent said it yet, but this conference layout is a joke, NZ hardest conference by a country freaking mile, yet SA and OZ teams only have to play four of our teams, while our boys get toi face each other twice??? o_O legal match fixing at its finest)

like all NZ teams, hurricanes have what it takes to beat any team including the two heavyweights they have left.
i believe they can beat the crusaders and the chiefs though, but they could just as easily lose both matches too though, its not like the All Blacks where u just know thyere going to win bar divine intervention.

im going to pick the canes to win both their remaining two matches, but i wont bet a single cent on it.

cheifs
- #8th over all, #4th NZ conference
vs highlanders away
vs hurricanes home
vs blues away

thank u again SANZAR for ur legal fixture fixing, guess it was the only way to even out the super powered NZ teams and the NZ wanabes in OZ and zzzzzzzzzzzaffa teams,

my head tells me that the chiefs season is done and they wont make the top 6, but renie is a true rugby guru, and theres plenty of claass in the chiefs that i would never write them off.

IMO both the highlanders and hurricanes are 50/50 matches, but they should beat the blues.
while they should beat the blues, losing to the bluyes is not out of the equation, especially with the worlds best loose forward jerome kaino in insane form.

blues
- #10th over all, #5th NZ conference
vs force away
crusaders away
chiefs home

blues are a storng outfit, but the have lost some key players in hickey and piutau, so i cant see them doing much of anything.

they should beat the force, but some of the boys are returning from the rugby 10s and thats gotta take its toll.
force have also been huge this year, scalping some impressive names and having a ton  of class players in form.

they also have the ability to beat the crusaders and chiefs in their last two games, but IMO they will be underdogs and should lose both.

I think their is only 2 contenders for the title- The Waratahs and the Sharks. Both of these teams are strong enough to win finals away from home, but the smart money is them both hosting a semi final.
I think the Sharks have proved that they are the only team that is strong enough to beat the Warratahs in Sydney. 
The Sharks really blew it losing to the Stormers after being the best touring team of the competition by far in 2014. They are depending on the Brumbies to beat the Waratahs- which is a very small chance.
The Crusaders are concussed without Kieran Read who has been back in and out, and unlikely strong enough to win in the finals on the road. The crusaders are NZ best chance, but I dont see them getting past the semis

The Hurricanes have picked up their attacking backline form to have the best attack, but I suspect if they face a solid pack in form, we could see a repeat of when they wanted to use the Sharks Cheer leaders as their tight 5 when in Durban such was the beating their pack took .

The other New Zealand teams are no hopers, and might scrape into the playoffs but will most likely get knocked out at the first start. 

 SuperXV has lost a bit of interest apart from the Warratahs game this weekend.