Need help with your Super 14 tips? Don’t we all

 
Spiro Zavos Columnist

By , 1 Apr 2010 Spiro Zavos is a Roar Expert

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Reds players celebrate their win against the Chiefs in a Super 14 Rugby match. AAP Image/NZPA, Wayne Drought

Reds players celebrate their win against the Chiefs in a Super 14 Rugby match. AAP Image/NZPA, Wayne Drought

Every week, the ARU’s Matt McIlraith puts out a detailed preview of the upcoming round of Super 14 matches. As someone who is not travelling particularly well in The Roar’s tipping competition, and who has, therefore, a sympathy for fellow sufferers, I’ve picked out the best of this week’s insights.

The hope is that we’ll all make better choices this round.

The fear is, though, that the more information we have, the more likely it is some of us (I’m talking about myself here) will lose any clarity we might have had on the round.

A little knowledge is supposed to be a dangerous thing. But there is the possibility that too much knowledge might be even more dangerous.

Anyway, here goes …

Hurricanes Vs Crusaders, Wellington: referee Jonathan Kaplan (RSA)
The Hurricanes are facing an unprecedented five losses in a row in a season. The Hurricanes have won only 4 of 19 contests between the two teams, and 2 out of 11 since Colin Cooper has been coach. The Crusaders have won 11 times and lost once after coming off a bye.

Western Force Vs Stormers at Perth:  referee Stuart Dickinson (A)
The Western Force are without a win this season. But David Pocock, Matt Dunning, Brett Sheehan and possibly Richard Brown are scheduled to be coming back from injury. The Western Force have won only 11 of their 30 home matches. The Stormers lost 4 out of their 5 overseas matches last season, and are coming off a bye. The Western Force led the Bulls 12 -10 at half-time last week.

Blues Vs Bulls at Auckland: referee Craig Joubert (RSA)
The Bulls have won 12 Super 14 matches in a row. The Bulls have never defeated the Blues at Eden Park in eight previous attempts. The Bulls victory over the Western Force was only coach Frans Ludeke’s 3 win from 19 matches in Australia and New Zealand. Pat Lam, the coach of the Blues, has presided over only 4 wins out of 9 matches at home.

Chiefs Vs Highlanders at Mount Maunganui: referee Marius Jonker (RSA)
The Chiefs have won their last 6 matches against the Highlanders. The Highlanders have only won two matches this season. In their last win against the Lions they scored three tries and conceded five.

NSW Waratahs Vs Cheetahs at Sydney: referee Keith Brown (NZ)
In their four years in Super Rugby, the Cheetahs are yet to win a match in Australia or New Zealand. But historically the Cheetahs have been at their most effective on tour on their first match. The Waratahs have won 26 out of 33 home matches against South African sides.

Sharks Vs Queensland Reds at Durban: Chris Pollock (NZ)
Last weekend’s victory over the Cheetahs stopped a run of seven losses by the Reds in South Africa. The Reds who have been in South Africa for several weeks played last Friday and will enjoy a longer preparation than the Sharks who have had to travel back to Durban from Wellington. The Sharks lost the first three matches of their Australian and New Zealand tour, and then won the last two matches. Just to confuse matters even more, the preview gives the table in 2009 at the end of the seventh round. The top eight teams were: Sharks (26), Waratahs (23), Chiefs (22), Bulls (22), Hurricanes (20), Highlanders (18), Crusaders (18), Blues (18).

The Bulls, Chiefs, Hurricanes and Crusaders made the final four.

Now that all this is cleared up (only joking!), I’m going to put in my picks.

I think.

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