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Super Rugby Oracle: All the picks for Round 15

Israel Dagg (Photo: Getty Images)

Our Super Rugby stats guru offers his tips for the weekend’s games.

Just 5/9 correct picks for the Oracle last week in what was the worst tipping round of the year. The season record now stands at 82/112, dropping to 73%. Will the last round before the international break bring better luck?

Blues vs Reds (Apia)

The first Super Rugby match to be played in Apia is going to be an interesting event. It marks the first time the Apia Park lights will be used for a big game, and how the locals react to a Friday night game will be of keen interest to the money men in both countries. Samoa, for all its attractions as a rugby nation, is not a cheap venue to get to and the stadium is a lot smaller than the one at Suva, so several things other than rugby will be under the microscope. The Blues should win comfortably, although the pitch is a little narrower than they’re used to and therefore more up-the-guts footy may be required.

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Pick: Blues

Crusaders vs Highlanders (Christchurch)

Somebody’s long winning streak has to come to an end in Christchurch on Saturday afternoon. There is so much to look forward to in this match but I suspect it will be decided in the front fives; the Highlanders’ never-say-die attitude is thoroughly admirable but I’m not sure it can match the all-All Blacks set the Crusaders can field. Everything else is about even, so I’ll go for the home team by five to ten points here. I’m really looking forward to this one.

Pick: Crusaders

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Chiefs vs Waratahs (Hamilton)

Unless something really strange happens, the Chiefs will win this match comfortably. The Waratahs haven’t been flash all season and, while they played for a few minutes of each half at Dunedin, they couldn’t crack the Highlanders until it was too late in the second spell. That’s after making fewer mistakes than in any other game all season. The Chiefs were under the pump all night at Eden Park but a couple of moments of brilliance got them off the hook and forced a draw that the run of play said was not an option for them. Better goal-kicking would help, but it shouldn’t be necessary to secure this win.

Pick: Chiefs

Brumbies vs Rebels (Canberra)

Given the respective standings of these teams, the fact the Brumbies have everything to gain and that the Rebels season is over, one should be quite comfortable picking the visitors, even on the back of a round-the-world trip, to win handsomely. If Stephen Larkham actually lets them get on with playing rugby rather than playing for a 5m maul, they should do it easily. If they turn it into a forward grind, it could be one of the least watchable matches of the season. But unless the world spins off its axis, the result should be predictably in favour of the Brumbies.

Pick: Brumbies

Force vs Hurricanes (Perth)

Only the fact this match is being played at Perth prevents me from predicting a wide margin for the Hurricanes – and that’s giving the Force credit for a strong display at Brisbane. No matter how well they played, and they were accurate, you have to factor in that they were playing the Reds. The Hurricanes will be looking for a better start than they made at Pretoria, when Egon Seconds could only see their errors for the first quarter, but even so they were good enough to win going away. I expect the Hurricanes to win easily.

Pick: Hurricanes

This is a split round, with the South African teams making up their fixtures on 1 July.

In brief: Blues / Crusaders / Chiefs / Brumbies / Hurricanes

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SteveD 2 hours ago
Bulls book Leinster URC showdown but injury to Springbok tarnishes win

Dear heaven, what a pathetic and embarrassing game of rugby. As a Sharks supporter back in the wonderful Ian Mac days, I was even hoping, for SA rugby’s sake, that the hated Bulls would win so that they might at least give Leinster a bit of a game, but frankly, when a team almost has three players in the sinbin at the same time, then I imagine I might not be able to stand watching them get thrashed in Dublin next Saturday evening if they carry out the same Northern Transvaal stupidity of the old days. WTF did they think they were doing?


As for the Sharks, there's maybe a light at the end of the tunnel however, if they just follow my advice. I haven't watched their recent games but now I see where their problems lie. Three of them in fact. Firstly, get rid of Plumtree for - at the minimum - selecting reasons (2) and (3). Secondly and thirdly, get rid of the Hendrikse brothers. Who on earth thinks that those two are top quality rugby players needs to be in an asylum, or they'll likely send a lot of the Sharks supporters there instead, if they haven't already. They are useless - I mean, FFS, the so-called flyhalf can't even select boots that don't slip when he's taking multiple placekicks (to say stuffall about trying to put penalty kicks from 60 metres over - and failing - when a freaking lineout might have produced a try, even if he missed the conversion) - and I can now see why the team of ‘real’ Boks are doing so badly, having two idiots at scrumhalf and flyhalf. If they stay in the squad, Sharks supporters should rather cash in their season tickets and go watch the best English-speaking (and sixth all-round overall) SA rugby team, Westville Boys High, than suffer so much pain at King's Park.

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