Best Bet 1: Hurricanes -5.5 @ $1.82 – Tab.co.nz
HURRICANES ($1.35) VS CHIEFS ($3.20)
The only match of Round 16 (Part A) sees the Hurricanes host the Chiefs at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington. Last week, a late Hurricanes surge saw the visitors down the Force 34 – 12 in Perth and a hat trick to James Lowe of the Chiefs saw them notch up a 46 – 31 victory over the Waratahs. This will be the return fixture between these two clubs with the Chiefs beating the Hurricanes 26 – 18 in miserable conditions in Hamilton earlier this season.
Hurricanes: WWLWBWWWWBWLWW
Chiefs: WWWWBWLWWWWWD
Prediction:
Last weekend’s victory over the Force saw the Hurricanes move ten points behind the Crusaders who sit atop the New Zealand Conference. Given that only two games remain, it looks very unlikely that they will be able to top the group, giving the Crusaders home field advantage. The ‘Canes six tries (83 in total) to two victory over the Force saw them eclipse the Super Rugby tries in a season record set by the Lions last season. Chris Boyd has named a very strong team to take on the Chiefs, but Dane Coles’ season could potentially be over after he is still suffering from concussion symptoms. The back line looks devastating with TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett in the halves and Ngani Laumape and Vince Aso continuing their dominant partnership in the centres. Outisde centre Matt Proctor returns to the bench after seven weeks on the sidelines, also due to concussion. The outside back trio of Julian Savea, Nehe Milner-Skudder and Jordie Barrett is as good as you will get in provincial rugby and should be a real handful for the Chiefs. It will be Julian Savea’s 100th match of Super Rugby and you would be hard-pressed to find a better winger than ‘the bus’ over the last decade.
Looking at the Chiefs this season, they have played well in the big games (Hurricanes, Blues, Chiefs earlier on in the season), but really failed to stamp their authority on the ‘minnows’ of the competition the rest of time. In turn, this has cost them valuable bonus points along the way. Looking at the team named by Dave Rennie, the Chiefs look vulnerable upfront with Brodie Retallick unable to play this week. He is the heartbeat of their pack, and his replacement Michael Allardice, will garner a lot of extra attention. Like the Hurricanes, the backline is strong with Tawera Kerr Barlow and Aaron Cruden in the halves. It is great to see Charlie Ngatai return for his second game of the season and he will have an important job to do alongside Anton Lienert-Brown in stifling the Hurricanes midfield. James Lowe and Damien McKenzie have more X-factor than most Super Rugby teams and I expect winger, Solomon Alaimalo to be targeted on the right wing by Savea.
This is going to be another cracking New Zealand derby. Forecasted conditions appear to be conducive to running rugby and I think we will see a lot of that in the windy city, with the home team exacting revenge on the Chiefs, after their loss earlier on in the season. Regardless of the result, make sure you tune into this match – it won’t disappoint.
Predicted result: Hurricanes to win @ $1.35 – Sportsbet
Best Bet 1: Hurricanes -5.5 @ $1.82 – Tab.co.nz
