There are just eight teams left standing as Super Rugby moves into the quarter-final stage and there are some cracking fixtures to look forward to. Two are expected to be one-sided affairs with a clear winner emerging, but the other two look very tight indeed. Here we run through all four games and offer predictions on who will reign supreme in each:
Brumbies v Hurricanes
This one should be a walk in the park for the Canes, who will benefit from the return of captain and All Blacks hooker Dane Coles. Teams from New Zealand are 25-0 against Australian teams this season and the Brumbies are not at all likely to arrest that trend here. They are in this round by virtue of being the least bad Australian team, which is not exactly something to shout about. Due to the vagaries of the Super Rugby rulebook, the Brumbies also enjoy home advantage, despite having won half the number of games as their vaunted opponents. It should count for little as the Hurricanes should have far too much firepower and overwhelm the Brumbies. The Canes are just 1/5 to win this one and that looks like money in the bank.
Crusaders v Highlanders
The Crusaders finished 14-1 but that final day loss to the Hurricanes meant they yielded top spot in the table to the Lions. As a result, instead of an easy game against the Sharks, they will face the Highlanders in what promises to be a tight and hard fought encounter. The Highlanders are in superb form. The last two games between these two both went in the Crusaders’ favour, but each time it was decided by a margin of just three points. The pundits are divided and it really should prove to be a tight one, again probably decided by a slender margin. But the Crusaders are the favourites with many bookmakers to win this tournament and should just about get the job done. For example Bovada, which often has the most attractive odds, has 37/20 (or 185) on a them lifting the trophy, putting them ahead of the Lions in the running order, and that sounds about right. You can get 1/2 on the Crusaders here and most of the action is going their way, so that looks a good option. They have a stacked lineup and it will be hard for the Highlanders to leave Christchurch with a win. However, you can get 17/20 on the Highlanders 6.5 in the handicap betting and that looks good as it will probably be close.
Lions v Sharks
This will be a much more straightforward encounter as the Lions should pulverise the Sharks. They are the better team, plain and simple, with more quality across the team. They thumped the Sharks recently and should do so again, asserting their sheer dominance in South Africa. The odds are predictably low, with just 1/7 the best price you can get on the Lions, but there is more value to be had by looking at the handicap spread. The Lions beat the Sharks by 17 points in Durban and now that they have home advantage they can increase the margin, so the 10/11 on offer for the Lions -15 looks great.
Stormers v Chiefs
This is the closest of all four fixtures and the odds reflect that: the Chiefs are 4/6 favourites and the Stormers are 7/5. The Stormers beat the Chiefs in round seven, but it is hard to see Dave Rennie’s team being that careless again when they travel to South Africa this week. They are the superior team and have improved greatly since losing to the Stormers. The Stormers are hard to break down but the Chiefs should be able to scrape through, making it three New Zealand teams in the semi-finals.
The post Quarter-final predictions appeared first on Planet Rugby.