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Well, The Crowd have thrown down the gauntlet properly, snaring seven from nine in the first week and jumping straight to the equal lead.
Hopefully – hopefully – you lot will find consensus a bit harder to reach this week.
And certainly, tips are a bit harder this round – amazing what a bit of sudden knowledge does for our predictions.
A couple of teams started a bit slower than expected last week, and a few others started spectacularly. Stick teams in similar positions on the table after Round 1 against each other, and tipping gets quite difficult quite quickly.
Or at least that’s what I’m counting on this week, already I’ve got a gap to make up.
Digger has this week’s honour, by virtue of alphabetical precedence.
Diggercane: “Crusaders and Blues is proving problematic for me. The Blues can do it but given they are unproven outside Eden Park, and the Crusaders need the win more at home, I will plump for the Red fellas. Following that, I have to back the Ponies in after last week’s performance, along with being at home.
“Chiefs should dispatch the Lions at home though it may be a lot closer than some will give the Lions credit for. I will back the Reds for a reason I cannot really determine; probably spite, as the Force dropped their bundle last weekend when they were not supposed to.
“Bulls should be too good for the Rebels at Loftus, the Stormers will make short work of the Cheetahs, and the Sharks showed far more cohesion in their Round 1 performance than the Jaguares, so I will back the home side there.
“In the important match, the Highlanders looked very good last week, cohesive, committed and with plenty of threat. Also, with them being at home, and based on the Canes performance last weekend, I am sorry to say… Canes by plenty. Go Canes!”
Tips: Crusaders, Brumbies, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Reds, Bulls, Stormers, Sharks.
Harry Jones: “Round 2 is going to be hot. By that I mean, sticky and close and burning. The only matches enjoying real rugby weather will be in New Zealand. The African and Australian games will be slippery affairs; red-cheeked warriors gasping for breath, shaking their torpid skulls as the referees’ headsets slide sweatily off into their scrum-cam gadgets and GPS implants.
“The Rugby World Cup semi-finalists posing as the Jaguares drive down the Escarpment, past the Drakensberg mountains, into subtropical banana-festooned Durban. The greasy grass and sultry cheerleaders will be too much for the fourth-best team in the World Cup.
“Last week, I disrespected my favourite New Zealand team, the Blues, and overrated my least favourite, the Crusaders. The tipping gods have conspired to pair these two in a tough derby in Christchurch. Will I double down on Blackadder’s boys, or make amends with Umaga?
“The answer is I will go with all the home teams in this overheated round. Except in Bloemfontein, where the Stormers’ superlative platoon of tight forwards will choke the choke artist Cheetahs.”
Tips: Crusaders, Brumbies, Chiefs, Highlanders, Reds, Bulls, Stormers, Sharks.
Paddy Effeney: “Once again, my idea about this competition is limited by lack of evidence, overreaction, and general incompetence. Nevertheless, I will advise others as to my opinion about who will win these football matches.
“I’m going the Crusaders, because surely the Blues can’t do it twice? In all likelihood, they probably can.
“I’m backing the Brumbies, but I’m not particularly confident about it. The Chiefs would be my powerplay if we were still doing them, but that has more to do with the Lions’ travel schedule than anything else.
“Hurricanes to win the grand final rematch, but I said that last time didn’t I? In the immortal word of Diggercane: Go Canes! Reds to beat the Force in a contest of whoever doesn’t trip up over their own shoes. Rebels in an upset, Stormers and Sharks to wind out the round, but I’d advise you to tip the opposite…”
Tips: Crusaders, Brumbies, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Reds, Bulls, Stormers, Sharks.
Brett McKay: So last week didn’t go quite as well as I hoped, but there’s solace to be found this week in that The Crowd’s tips surely can’t be as unanimous as last week.
I have a slight advantage over my cohorts in that I get to see a few teams named before I tip, and I like the side Tana Umaga has assembled this week for the Blues. Jerome Kaino coming into a well-performed backrow from last week can only be good, and ditto Rene Ranger starting. The Brumbies have lost five of the last six against the Tahs, but on last week, I see that run coming to an end.
Chefs at home is easy. So is Highlanders at home, though that has as much to do with me trying to push my streak when picking the ‘Clan’ out to nine. Force in Brisbane is a gamble, I’ll concede. But the only positive out of the Reds last week was their scrum, and the Force look like they have them well covered across the park.
The Bulls didn’t enthuse me at all after last week, but the Rebels’ lengthening injury toll on top of travelling up onto the ‘veldt works against them. Stormers is easy, and I won’t mind being wrong about the Sharks. If the ‘Jags’ win in Durban, they’ll be more than wildcard possibilities.
Tips: Blues, Brumbies, Chiefs, Highlanders, Force, Bulls, Stormers, Sharks.
The summary
THE VERDICT
Thanks to everyone for submitting more than 610 votes to form The Crowd’s tips for Round 2.
Despite the Blues having the vote this time yesterday, momentum swung back to the Crusaders, and in fact only grew stronger today. The Reds, Bulls, and Sharks votes also firmed by as much as six percentage points over the course of the vote, too. Here’s how The Crowd voted for Round 2:
Crusaders – 54.3%
Brumbies – 87.3%
Chiefs – 97.7%
Highlanders – 84.5%
Reds – 63.5%
Bulls – 69.7%
Stormers – 90.6%
Sharks – 63.2%