Lions v Hurricanes: High scoring game on the cards in Johannesburg?
Ding! Ding! It's Round Two of Super Rugby with another weekend full of interesting clashes to whet the appetite.
Hands up if you picked the Crusaders, Brumbies, Bulls, Highlanders and Reds to win their season openers last weekend? Well done, cause we got it horribly wrong.
Once again, the opening round was full of surprises and we have a sneaky suspicion week two will be no different.
The Chiefs and Blues get the ball rolling in Hamilton, with both sides looking to make up for last week's defeats and get a win next to their name.
The action then makes its way to Melbourne where the Rebels - fresh off a bye - host the Waratahs, who will be out to avenge last week's last-ditch defeat to the Reds.
A storm will be brewing in Johannesburg next when the Hurricanes take on the Lions, with the Kiwi outfit looking to leave the Republic with one win in the bag.
Chiefs v Blues
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
The Blues will fancy their chances against an injury-hit Chiefs outfit when the two teams go head to head in Hamilton on Friday.
Both suffered opening home defeats last weekend, with the Chiefs and Blues capitulating to the Highlanders (19-23) and Crusaders (18-19) respectively as both visiting sides came from behind to win.
The Chiefs' loss proved to be more costly than their North Island rivals however, after losing two first-choice props, their top scrum-half and number one winger with long-term injuries.
Ben Afeaki (broken forearm, 12 weeks), Toby Smith (calf strain, four-six weeks), Brendon Leonard (hamstring, eight weeks) and Lelia Masaga (knee strain, three weeks) - all ruled out. And as a team currently going through a rebuilding phase under new coaches, it's a set-back they could very well do without.
But while the hosts' injuries are no quick-fix, new head chief Dave Rennie needs to turn his attention to what can be resolved in a week - namely his team's poor decision-making, scrappy play and poor field position that served to bring them undone against their less-fancied opponents last Saturday.
Blues coach Pat Lam will also be frustrated at taking home one point instead of four, but there were some positives to come out of his team's defeat - namely their defence which restricted the Crusaders to just one try.
With both sides oozing class in midfield, defence will once again be the name of the game with Sonny Bill Williams and Richard Kahui going up against Benson Stanley and Rene Ranger - four All Blacks.
He may have won in the first round in the boxing ring, but Williams failed to punch above his weight against the Highlanders and will be looking to make amends with a big performance for his new team.
Prediction: Games between these two rivals are always close affairs. The Blues picked up a victory in Hamilton last year but lost their return fixture at Eden Park. Home advantage didn't help the Chiefs' cause last week, and playing at the same venue with a side crippled by injury won't help them this week either. Blues to win by four points!
The teams:
Chiefs: 15 Robbie Robinson, 14 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Tim Nanai-Williams, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Kane Thompson, 7 Tanerau Latimer 6 Liam Messam (c), 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Mahonri Schwalger , 1 Arizona Taumalolo.
Replacements: 16 Hika Elliot, 17 Shane Cleaver, 18 Fritz Lee, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Augustine Pulu, 21 Andrew Horrell, 22 Declan O'Donnell.
Blues: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 David Raikuna, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Michael Hobbs, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Chris Lowrey, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Anthony Boric, 3 Tevita Mailau, 2 Keven Mealamu (c), 1 Tom McCartney.
Replacements: 16 Pauliasi Manu, 17 Angus Ta'avao, 18 Brad Mika, 19 Luke Braid, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Gareth Anscombe, 22 Sherwin Stowers.
Kick-off: 19:35 (06:35 GMT)
Referee: Keith Brown
Melbourne Rebels v Waratahs
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Revenge will be on the Rebels minds when they open their Super Rugby account against the Waratahs at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Friday.
The Waratahs steamrolled the Rebels 43-0 in the opening game of their debut 2011 season at the same ground, but head into this Round Two fixture off a heart-breaking loss to the Reds (who won the match in Sydney with a try after full-time).
After finishing a distant last on the Super Rugby ladder in their inaugural season, the Rebels - who enjoyed a bye in the first round - will be hoping to kick-off their 2012 campaign on a strong note.
The Rebels lost all three of their trial matches against the Chiefs, Blues and Crusaders but showed enough to suggest they'll be much improved in their second Super Rugby season.
However, their ambitions of a winning start were been dealt a heavy blow with Wallabies full-back Kurtley Beale ruled out of Friday's clash. The Rebels had planned to give Beale until game day to prove the readiness of his troublesome hamstring for the clash with his former team at AAMI Park. But they bowed to the inevitable, accepting he could not play, leaving veteran Mark Gerrard to take over at full-back.
The Waratahs have to make do without a playmaker of their own after the influential Berrick Barnes was forced to sit out another round due to a groin injury.
But Melbourne locals will get a chance to see the other star recruit in action for the first time in Rebels colours when Australia's goldenboy James O'Connor lines up in midfield.
While there is no doubting O'Connor has the skills and attacking nous to bring the Rebels backline to life, the time and space he has to work with might make things difficult. At the Force, O'Connor played behind a world-class backrow and lock combination, the Rebels equivalents aren't in the same category.
The Rebels conceded seven tries to the Waratahs in their opening game last season, but did a little better in the corresponding fixture in Sydney, letting in just three. They will need to tighten their defence if they want to offer any resistance this season.
In 2011, they conceded the average most points (35.6), tries (4.6), metres (693) and linebreaks (7.3) per game, while also allowing the four-try bonus point in 12 out of their 16 matches. They also conceded the second-most penalties of any team in the competition, averaging 10.8 per game.
And with Daniel Halangahu finding his target more often than not against the Reds last week, the Rebels will need to make sure their discipline is kept in check.
Prediction: It's hard to predict how the new-look Rebels will turn out in their first game of the season. One thing that's certain is they won't fall apart in their season opener like they did last year. However, saying that, we still can't see the angry Waratahs leaving Melbourne with back-to-back defeats. 'Tahs by six!
The teams:
Melbourne Rebels: 15 Mark Gerrard, 14 Lachlan Mitchell, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 James O'Connor, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Gareth Delve (c), 7 Tom Chamberlain, 6 Luke Jones, 5 Hugh Pyle, 4 Adam Byrnes, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Adam Freier, 1 Nic Henderson.
Replacements: 16 Luke Holmes, 17 Rodney Blake, 18 Alister Campbell, 19 Jarrod Saffy, 20 Richard Kingi, 21 Lloyd Johansson, 22 Julian Huxley.
Waratahs: 15 Bernard Foley, 14 Tom Kingston, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10 Daniel Halangahu (c), 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Chris Alcock, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Paddy Ryan, 18 Lopeti Timani, 19 Jono Jenkins, 20 Brendan McKibbin, 21 Brackin Karauria-Henry, 22 Nathan Trist.
Kick-off: 19:40 (08:40 GMT)
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Lions v Hurricanes
Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg
The Lions host the Hurricanes at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg in what could be one of the most thrilling matches of the weekend.
Although they experienced contrasting fortunes in their opening fixtures last week, both sides have adventurous game-plans so expect running rugby to be high on the agenda when they clash.
Despite several personnel changes during the off-season, the Hurricanes gave an impressive display before going down 39-26 to the Stormers in their opener at Newlands in Cape Town match last week.
Fly-half Beauden Barrett is their player to watch, after making an impressive debut in which he scored 21 points via a try, two conversions and four penalties.
The Hurricanes have devestating game-breakers and their captain Conrad Smith and fellow All Black Cory Jane will test the home side's defence if they are not closed down quickly.
An area of concern though for coach Mark Hammett is his team's poor discipline. In the match against the Stormers, the Wellington-based franchise played with 14 men for 30 minutes as their first-choice props - Ben May and Tristan Moran - as well as replacement front-rower Jeffery Toomaga-Allen were sent to the sin bin.
They cannot afford to concede penalties within goal-kicking range as the Lions' pivot Elton Jantjies will surely punish those indiscretions.
Jantjies got himself into the record books when he goaled nine penalties - the most by a single player in the tournament's history - in his side's 27-25 win over the Cheetahs last weekend.
Other players who could play an important role for the hosts is their captain Josh Strauss, who leads from the front and gives his all for a full 80 minutes and their young full-back Jaco Taute, who has the ability to tear the meanest defences to shreds.
When these sides met in Wellington last year, the Hurricanes won 38-27. As the scoreline suggests, that was an entertaining clash and more of the same can be expected on Friday.
Prediction: Expect a high scoring game with plenty of end-to-end action. Despite showing lots of promise in their defeat to the Stormers, this Hurricanes side is still relatively inexperienced and that could count against them when they face John Mitchell's pride in their own backyard. Lions to win by seven!
The teams:
Lions: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon Van Rensburg, 13 Doppies La Grange, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Joshua Strauss (c), 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Franco Van der Merwe, 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Marius Coetzer/Hendrik Roodt, 19 Cobus Grobbleaar, 20 Tian Meyer, 21 Butch James, 22 James Kamana/Lionel Mapoe.
Hurricanes: 15 Andre Taylor, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith (c), 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Chris Eaton, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Faifili Levave, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Ben May, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tristan Moran.
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu'u, 17 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 18 James Broadhurst, 19 Brad Shields, 20 TJ Perenara, 21 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 22 Charlie Ngatai.
Kick-off: 19:10 (17:10 GMT)
Referee: Steve Walsh
Comments
Ramage says...
Hey Dybull not a very good return hope you didnt put any money on your picks
Posted 02:19 03rd March 2012
JayStarr says...
@ Trinats: You must be joking... If you're not, then you're the PR comment wall equivalent of an ostrich with it's head in the sand...
That pass was clearly NOT forward. Forget about your lame camera angles - just look at the line right there on the field... and how the ball travelled away from the line! It was hardly flat - nevermind forward! Both Re:union and Boots & All analysts agreed on that unanimously.
The Blues and Crusaders game had a combination of great game breakers and great defenders. Why don't you guys stop staring yourself blind in the stats and just WATCH THE GAMES..!? It was clear for all to see who the two best sides were in the first round: the Blues and Crusaders! The Waratahs and Reds (or any of the others - including the Stormers) didn't come close to that standard... So stop trying to rewrite (very recent) history with biased stat-regurgitation..!
@ BDAussie: Very good points - and I know exactly what you mean... I agree that if Poloa-nau's try was allowed the rest of the game would've naturally followed a different course. Personally I believe it would've given the Waratahs momentum... However, let's leave it out of the equation altogether - let's just say the Waratahs kicked the bloody ball out when they were supposed to... Then they would've won immediately. My point is that the Reds had a lot of luck in that game - and I stand by that point.
I completely agree that last weekend was no indication as to how teams will do in the rest of the tournament. I was talking strictly about current form. Personally I think this will be one of the most competitive Super Rugby seasons in history.
@ bokke: So I predicted the Waratahs by 14+... and you said "pfff"? They won by 16. ;)
Posted 12:59 02nd March 2012
BDAUSSIE says...
I must say I always find it interesting that people come on these sites and write outlandish sensationalist comments, about players and teams, etc. The internet is good for that purpose.
In my eyes those people just lose all credibility. guys like kpe12 for instance.
He writes "Reds don't have the depth in the forward pack to make a good run at the title this year". Seriously make have you been living under a rock. the Reds won the title last year and have even more depth than they did last year. So that statement is just incorrect in every respect. The truth is the Reds have decent depth all over the park, and proved last year that they have enough to win the title (Slipper, Morahan, Harris, Lucas all out injured for the grand final). Also the fact that you say the Chiefs will "get mauled' this year reinforces my views about you. The Chiefs with a full strength team should be able to match most. They will be a difficult proposition at home, although this injury crisis might see them struggle over the next few weeks.
Posted 05:16 02nd March 2012
BDAUSSIE says...
@ JayStarr ill take your comments (albeit with a grain of salt) but there is a common misnomer from sports fans that they can lay out hypotheical such as "if Polota Nau's try had been awarded (and Although the pass technically floated forward, however slight, I actually think that it should have been awarded). In reality moments like that change the game completely.
I¿m not sure you¿re familiar with the concept of Chaos theory (or the butterfly effect as it is also know) the theory suggests that one small and seemingly insignificant act will ultimately change all future events.
I¿m probably going off topic here but I think its worth bringing up when people like yourself suggest hypothetical ¿ifs¿ and ¿But¿. If Polota Nau had been awarded that try the rest of the game would have been completely different. Even if the Reds had been behind by 12 points with 10 minutes to go, in my view they would have done what they had to to get the win because they have a knack for pulling a win out of the bag. A Knack that the Tahs don¿t have.
In terms of your assessment of the Blues/Saders game, I take your view that you thought the ball runners just did a better job of breaking the line. That may be true. I certainly enjoyed the game. But at this stage there is nothing to gage it against. It certainly looked like the defence was looser than the other two top contender derbies at the weekend, but we¿ll know more about these teams as the season progresses.
Posted 04:59 02nd March 2012
JayStarr says...
@ bokke: Ok, I guess time will tell! I agree that the Rebels will be better than last year. But you have to remember: the last time they played together competitively was... uhm... last year. And they were far from the finished article then (wooden spoonsists to be exact)... So what makes you think they'll be so competitive in their first game that they'll go toe to toe with the best team in Australia? (As far as I'm concerned they beat the Reds last weekend).
I agree that the Waratahs subs look a bit thin... But their starting line-up looks mighty. I think it's a good move to have Ashley-Cooper on the wing (where he played so well for Australia) and bring 7's star Bernard Foley in at 15 (where he can exploit the space there's bound to be against the Rebels)... Horne and Carter were a bit rusty last week, but they're two of the best centres in the competition as far as I'm concerened. Halangahu and Pretorius can also only improve on an already impressive performance last week... As for their pack - well it's size, power and class all the way through. And most importantly - they're a unit. The Rebels forwards lacked unity last year...
I stand by my prediction of 14+. I'll even go as far as predicting Ashley-Cooper and Pretorius will score or a try... ;)
Posted 21:56 01st March 2012
JayStarr says...
@ Trinats: Well I was right about the Waratahs too... Unfortunately the ref didn't allow their brilliant try. So that would make it 5/7... much better than your ratio!
@ BDAussie: You can't just look at stats. Yes, there might've been more missed tackles their game, but there were far more game-breaking players in their game... so you WILL have more missed tackles. The Reds/Tahs and Bulls/Sharks were all just running into each other the whole day... The Blues and Crusaders were acutually breaking the line through creative attacking play - and guys like Ranger, Wulf, Toeava, Dagg and Fruenn normally break at least 2 tackles before they're stopped. That is why there were more "missed" tackles. The Reds had Digby Ioane... and the Waratahs had... well, nobody really - Kurtley is gone and Drew is out.
And once again, just because the Reds had a better tackle success rate doesn't mean they deserved to win the game! There are way too many factors that come into play. But regardless - if Polota-Nau's try was awarded (as it should've been), they would've still lost - with good tackle rate and all.
And I assure you the 'Saders won't be the only team leaving Sydney with 4 points... Yes, the Waratahs are better than they were last year - but so are many other teams. It's going to be a very competitive year.
Posted 15:35 01st March 2012
kpe12 says...
Reds don't have the depth in the forward pack to make a good run at the title this year. I think that a few teams will take them at home but the Crusaders are not one of them (cause they play in CHCH). Only a couple of teams have real depth in the forward pack (Blues and Crusaders) which is why these 2 teams will be in the top 4 for the rest of the competition. Chiefs will get mauled this year with no forwards. Dark horses for the season. Lions and Highlanders.
Rebels will be no different to the chiefs, world class in the back line but no ball or back foot ball.
From what I saw nothing good will come out of Australia. 1 token team in the finals, though the Tahs might get served up a lot of bonus points in that conference.
Posted 14:57 01st March 2012
BDAUSSIE says...
@ JayStarr not sure i agree that the Saders and Blues were better than the rest last week. Way more missed tackles in that game than in the Bulls/Sharks, Reds/Tahs games.
Btw - The Reds not only came away with the points last weekend but they had a better tackle success rate (92%) and made twice as many line breaks, so its a bit hard to claim the tahs should have won that game. The tahs COULD have won that game but they didnt because the Reds are a champion team. I suspect the Saders are the only team that have a realistic chance of leaving Sydney with 4 points.
Posted 12:08 01st March 2012
JayStarr says...
The Crusaders and Blues were a step above everyone else last week... So if a seriously depleted Highlanders team could beat the Chiefs last week, I'm sure a full-strength Blues team will do it more convincingly than 4 points! Until Cruden, SBW and Kahui gel - and start getting quality ball from their forwards - they're not going to fire to their full potential.
The Waratahs should also beat the Rebels by more than 6! They beat the reigning Super Rugby champions last weekend... only not on the score board (as a good friend of ours used to say) - so why will they struggle against last year's wooden spoonists who still need to have their rusty first game? Don't think so. Waratahs by 14+
As for the Lions v. Hurricanes... Man oh man this one is difficult to predict! You're very brave to attempt one... This one is in the realm of true Super Rugby unpredictability. If both teams play like they played last week, minus a few penalties, the Hurricanes might win it. However, if the Lions find a bit more of the rhythm and attitude they had towards the end of last year, they should take it - even if the Hurricanes improve. In their favour would also be that they're playing at altitude - and the Lions are known to end well. At the end of the day this is one where 60 minutes in you still won't know who's going to win! So why even attempt at predicting it now...
PS: I got the Crusaders, Brumbies, Stormers and Lions to win last week - so at least got 4/7!
Posted 10:41 01st March 2012
Dylbull says...
Blues by 10!
Lions should have too much for the Canes - Lions by 10
The game I am interested in is the rebels - tahs game
I have a sneaky suspicion that the rebels are gonna win, rebels by 3
Posted 10:18 01st March 2012