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So there’s been a fair bit going on of late, with a couple of days away and a sudden pile of work on return to McSport HQ, so just know this: The Crowd is still trailing Digger, and Paddy is still stuck at my level of tipping incompetence.
Digger holds the honour again this week, and he’s also backed up to provide this week’s Big Super Rugby Question.
Last Week: Digger, Harry, and The Crowd 6; Paddy and Brett 5.
Diggercane: “As amusing as it would be to simply copy Mr Jones and annoy the hell out of him, it is about time I took the lead which will annoy him more.
“’Canes by plenty.
“Crusaders looked tired last week and have only just arrived home, and while the ‘we fall down, we get back up’ Jaguares have called in some big guns, I still have to back the Crusade. I have to back the Cheetahs at home against the forty minute hooootdawgs, as well. The Blues all the way at home over a disappointing Sharks outfit, too.
“Neither the Waratahs or Brumbies were very convincing before the bye, and I really don’t know which way to lean here. In the end I landed on the Brumbies as they have displayed more stability and structure in their play and appear a bit more settled. No Pocock will be interesting to see.
“A rejuvenated Reds we appear to have, padawan, but I am unconvinced whether this will translate to good form on the road so the Bulls have my vote at Loftus. And I am backing the ambitious Lions at home over what appears to be a depleted Stormers outfit, and probably more because Armand van Zyl is a band wagon jumper.”
Tips: Crusaders, Hurricanes, Cheetahs, Blues, Brumbies, Bulls, Lions.
Harry Jones: “As is my tradition, and because I am a man of honour (in a few, but important respects), I will pick my tips first, even though this is tactically unsound.
“The cruel Crusaders will crush the woebegone Jaguares. The Hurricanes will flatten the Rebels; even with Beauden Barrett kicking. The Sunwolves will not acclimatise to Bloemfontein. The young Blues will bite the shallow Sharks, who lost their best player and look tired. The Waratahs will pick a fine time come right; the Brumbies’ breakdown will be a little toothless. The Bulls can’t scrum, so the Reds will start a winning streak.
“The Lions will probably win, but hang it, I’ll flipping pick my Stormers (average age 21 or so).”
Tips: Crusaders, Hurricanes, Cheetahs, Blues, Waratahs, Reds, Stormers.
Brett McKay: Interestingly, this appears to be the week Mr Jones has chosen to come back to the pack. I knew this day would come; I’m just glad it’s happened sooner rather than later.
First things first; Crusaders, Cheetahs, Blues are all easy. Easy and obvious. I’d love to be wrong about the Moondogs, but if their fitness still isn’t good enough at sea level, then they’re no chance up on the veldt.
I’m going with the Rebels because they just have to win games like this. You should be beating teams at your level if you have pretentions on the playoffs, and you certainly should be beating them on your home turf. And though the loss of David Pocock makes the Brumbies vulnerable (and without knowing if Jarrad Butler’s fit), I can’t see the Waratahs’ set piece being good enough.
What was the bigger anomaly last weekend: the Reds winning, or the Bulls running in six tries? I suspect it was the latter, but beating the Bulls will remain a tough job for the Reds first up in the Republic. Lions-Stormers shapes as a cracker, but I think the Lions are a more rounded side at the moment. Their defence and breakdown is every bit as good as Harry’s mob, but their attack is much better. And they’re at home in what should be a big Ellis Park crowd.
Tips: Crusaders, Rebels, Cheetahs, Blues, Brumbies, Bulls, Lions.
Paddy Effeney: “I have no idea what Brett and I are doing in this competition really… There’s just not much going on in either of our two football brains it would seem.”
Brett’s note: Well, I put this thing together, so my presence is required. What’s your excuse?
“What’s that Brett? Piping up in the middle of my section again?
“Crusaders are a lock. Hurricanes are a lock… Or are they? Either way I’m going ‘Canes as they’ve won their last four. Cheetahs are a lock, and then we get to the hard stuff.
“I’ll take the Blues at home after they took it to the Chiefs in an entertaining game last weekend. I’ll take the Waratahs with Kurtley Beale back to avenge their earlier loss to the Brumbies. The Bulls and the Lions round things off for me.”
Tips: Crusaders, Hurricanes, Cheetahs, Blues, Waratahs, Bulls, Lions.
The BIG Super Rugby Question: Is the current top eight the likely playoff contenders come the business end of the competition? (from Digger)
(For info, the current top eight is: Chiefs, Stormers, Lions, Brumbies the conference leaders, and then the Highlanders, Crusaders, Hurricanes, and Bulls in the four wildcard spots.)
Digger: “Yes, I think it will be. Of the chasing pack, the Rebels appear the most likely while the Sharks do not convince. Outside of that, the Waratahs perhaps but it would take some form reversal from them.
“So yes, I think these will be the teams to contest the playoffs.”
Harry: “The top five, currently, plus the Lions, will be in the playoffs, but I am not sure of the Bulls and Brumbies. Then again, I’m not enamoured by the Sharks and Rebels. Basically, I don’t know, but maybe.”
Paddy: “For the big question, there are a number of threats lurking way below. The Waratahs, for example, could easily usurp the Brumbies and Rebels.
“I think that only one Aussie team will feature in the finals, and in the end it will be the men from Canberra. I’ll leave that question open though.
“Aside from that, I see some jostling for position, but not much changing in terms of who will be there.”
Brett: Yeah, I think the top six is pretty set. Behind them, though, I think there’s still a bit of room for change.
The Hurricanes, Rebels, and Waratahs will be fighting it out for the last trans-Tasman wildcard spot, and we’ll actually get a bit of an idea around that this weekend.
And now that the Jaguares have essentially shot themselves in the foot – both feet, actually, resulting in two players receiving simultaneous yellow cards yet again – the last African spot will be left to the underwhelming Sharks and the underwhelming Bulls to battle for.
The Sharks have become exactly the sort of team that I thought during the preseason they would be in 2016, hence my surprise when they actually won games in the opening rounds. The Bulls aren’t much better despite last weekend’s result, but they are probably good enough to hold on by default.
The Summary
The tribe has spoken
The Crowd’s selection is in, and from more than 340 responses, the final vote was…
97.6% Crusaders
66.9% Hurricanes
89.3% Cheetahs
87.9% Blues
58.7% Brumbies
75.7% Bulls
73.5% Lions