Super 14 Preview - Is There Any Value?

Last years Rugby World Cup final between South Africa and England showed us that the game was in dire trouble. Who wants to watch the biggest game of rugby every four years decided with out a single try being scored? After all, if you want to see scoreless World Cup finals we have the football for that.

This years Super 14 competition was always going to be crucial to see how the game bounced back. The heart land of Rugby was a good place to start tinkering with the rules in the hope of delivering entertaining, high scoring rugby. For the most part the changes are a move in the right direction. Introducing free kicks instead of penalties has made teams play more aggressively and has made them look for tries not just rely on penalty kicks. The changes are a start in the right direction but the controlling bodies need to continue to proactively push towards making the game more free flowing instead of a boring grind of penalty kick after penalty kick.

The Wellington Hurricanes host the Canterbury Crusaders in the first game of the round this weekend in what should be a fantastic tussle. The Hurricanes have started to improve and are one of the only chances to pose any sort of threat to the Crusaders. You can get +8 about the Hurricanes on the line bet and I think this will give you a great sight in what should be a tough close game.

The other games for this weekend all seem to be dominated by the home team favourites. The only real chance for a team to cause an upset might be with the Highlanders when they travel up north to face the Chiefs. Both of these teams have had bad seasons so an 8 point head start represents some short of value. It looms as a hard weekend for the most part as the handicappers appear to have got it right.

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