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And then there were eight. The most tumultuous season of Super Rugby in its 22-season history has finally reached the playoffs stage, and as we know of knockout rugby, anything can and usually does happen.
It’s worth lingering on this point for a minute, too.
The New Zealand teams have had a very good season, of that there is no doubt. Expectations are naturally high, but some of the commentary and posts coming out of the shaky isles have been entertaining for their levels of confidence. Travelling to South Africa on the way to the title? No problems, some will have you believe!
Anything can happen from now on. Form is indicative to a point, but teams only need to be in front on the scoreboard at the point the ball is no longer in play after the final siren.
It’s worth remembering that it’s entirely possible neither semi-final next week is in New Zealand, and that only one of the four teams will be left in the competition. It’s just as possible that three of the four will still be in play. South Africa could host both semis, and there could still be one in Australia yet.
Anything can happen from here, and that’s what makes the playoff stages so interesting.
Last round (Round 17): Digger and The Crowd 7; Harry and Nobes 6; Brett 5
Digger
“Canberra is not a traditionally happy hunting ground for the Hurricanes and come finals time, all bets are off. The Brumbies certainly have the pack to make life difficult for the Hurricanes and I suspect this may be a lot closer than a few would be thinking, but hey, ‘Canes by plenty. The Hurricanes don’t need a lot of ball to score and I just do not think the Brumbies have the points in them. On another note, isn’t it fantastic to see Christian Lealiifano back in the mix, an inspiring story, while Dane Coles seems to have recovered from his concussion issues as well, great to see.
“Crusaders and Highlanders promises to be a classic and with being in Christchurch, the Crusade is naturally and deservedly favourites. They have also beaten the Highlanders twice this season, though both requiring some exciting comebacks to get across the line and I just wonder whether the Crusaders have peaked already this season, the Highlanders have demonstrated winning big matches on the road in the past few seasons and I suspect they may just get over the line here, so I am backing the upset and their more experienced halves to be specific.
“I desperately want to see the Sharks win, assuming of course the Hurricanes win their fixture, and I may just become the Sharks biggest fan for a day but it is just so difficult to see them overcoming the Lions. I have no doubt the Lions will be highly motivated and will have learnt plenty from last season and while the Sharks appear capable, I just cannot see the Lions going down at home, just playing far too well.
“Stormers and Chiefs is another curly one, the Chiefs of course winning a famous victory in the corresponding fixture last season while the Stormers returned serve, so to speak, at the same venue during the round robin earlier in the year. In short, both sides will be walking into this with eyes wide open and it is the big game experience within the Chiefs, namely in the halves that has me favouring the Waikato lads, and also because it is a point I can potentially make up on Harry.”
Tips: Hurricanes, Highlanders, Lions, Chiefs.
Harry Jones
“The Crowd and Digger nipping at Nobes’ and my heels, with seven tips to go. It’s squeaky bum time!
“Easiest pick first. The Hurricanes (89 tries this season) by plenty of tries over the Brumbies (40 tries). I think that ratio of tries is about right: ‘Canes will score 4-5 and Brumbies 1-2.
“Another easy tip: The Lions will miss their skipper, and the Sharks’ pack, Mr Wonderful Curwin Bosch, and brutal reserve forwards will make things tough, but the Lions will cruise into the semi-finals at Ellis Park.
“The Sam Cane-less Chiefs lost to the miracle-pass Stormers in Round 7 at Newlands, but caned the Capetonians last year in the same fixture. So, neither side will come in with any preconceived notion. Should be a humdinger. Leyds-Kolbe-Senatla are lethal from the back (is there a faster back three?) and Etzebeth andamp; Co should play Test-level street-brawl against Retallick et al. The home team by a point or two.
“Most difficult pick? The South Island derby. Crusaders fading? Highlanders with nothing to lose? I suppose Crusaders’ better set pieces and Dagg should be enough.”
Tips: Hurricanes, Crusaders, Lions, Stormers.
Nobes
“The Crowd is making a comeback as well as Digger who is in shooting distance from the top. Mr McKay has fought bravely with some gutsy calls but was not enough to cover the ground that he lost early at the beginning of this ‘emotional’ edition of Super Rugby.
“Some strange outcomes last week; somebody will be sun bathing at an exotic beach for a long time for betting the Sunwolves against the Blues, and the Force overrunning the Waratahs that again conceded 40 points for the seventh consecutive game, are in top of my list.
“The consequences of some of the scores has also put to work some travel agencies in a hurry to adjust to some unexpected trips.
“The Hurricanes will travel to Australia to probably beat the Brumbies using the Barrett brothers as a main weapon. But which one will kick?
“The Crusaders had their second wakeup call of the year last weekend but I think they have enough to upset the kicking game that Highlanders will display.
“The Lions will be in a rematch from last weekend against the Sharks, but this time at home and I fear the same outcome. But could this be the Sharks last game in Super Rugby?
“The Chiefs travelling all the way to South Africa to play back the Stormers is a difficult one to pick. The game they played in round 7 was amazing. The Stormers should feel comfortable and more rested at home, but there is so much talent in the team from New Zealand to counterfeit the travel fatigue.”
Tips: Hurricanes, Crusaders, Lions, Chiefs.
Brett
OK, so last week didn’t go so well, and heading into the Hurricanes-Crusaders game, I was one from five! But I remain staunch in my desperation to upset this tipping apple cart, so here we go again.
All the signs point to the Hurricanes in Canberra on Friday night, but not any sign I’m holding. It’s all on the line for the Brumbies this weekend, so it means there is literally nothing more for them to lose. And that gives them a rare freedom to play with, which coupled with the raw emotion of the return of their spiritual leader… I’m not a betting man, but the $5.50 currently on offer is awfully tempting.
The Brumbies will need to slow the game down like they did against the Chiefs last weekend, and they will need to be accurate across the park and limit the chances of turnover. And I think people forget that they are in the top four for defence this season. This will be no walkover; there will be no walkover at all when this tip come up!
The Crusaders looked vulnerable to me last week, when it apparently looked like none of us “had watched the Crusaders all year”, and I think they’re vulnerable again this weekend. The Highlanders know how to play knockout rugby, and always fancy their chances against their closest rivals. The return of the Smiths will be huge, and I think the deep-southerners can do it.
The Lions will do it comfortably against the Sharks; “by plenty” comfortably. The Sharks didn’t have a lot of threats last week, and there’ll be even fewer at Ellis Park this week. I can’t believe the Lions aren’t outright favourites now; I genuinely think it’s their title to lose from here.
And the Stormers at Newlands have been pretty irresistible this season, of which I can see continuing against the Chiefs. Even though their tour of New Zealand didn’t go as well as they’d have liked, but they’re a lot better side than they were this time last season. They’ve only lost the once in Cape Town this season, and they’ve already beat the Chiefs this season, too. There will be no ambush this time.
Tips: Brumbies, Highlanders, Lions, Stormers.
Get your tips in now – The Crowd’s tips will be revealed before kick-off in the first game of the weekend.
The one thing we’re all absolutely certain will happen over the course of this weekend. Well, pretty certain…
Digger
“Jordie Barrett will again be a talking point after the weekend as will the Canberra crowd while the house will be packed among the remaining three venues and at least one game will be badly affected with a red card.”
Harry
“The TMOs will be the MOTM.”
Nobes
“Nothing, or better, more of the same. Predicting how Super Rugby will look in 2018 is much more difficult than predicting outcomes of the games. Don’t you agree?”
Brett
I’ve used this one before this season, but I really can see a major upset coming this weekend, and maybe even more than one. The playoff participants have been set for some time, but this could be the weekend that shakes everything up.
The current top four seeds, according to the Australian bookies, are the Lions, Crusaders, Hurricanes, Chiefs. I’ve been wrong many times this Super Rugby tipping season, as you all well know, but I’ve got this nagging feeling that at least one of those four won’t make the semis.
Got a sure thing yourself? Let us know in the comments below, and enjoy your rugby this weekend…