Super 14 - Week Two Preview

The Super 14 season got off to a great start last weekend with some solid performances and some interesting upsets.
The biggest winners of the weekend were the NSW Waratahs who had to travel to the highly fancied Hurricanes. It is never easy to win at the Cake Tin in Wellington, and it was a mighty effort to cover the spread let alone come away with the win. The Western Force failed to get the job done against the Auckland Blues, which is a very big away win for the once mighty New Zealand team.
The Brumbies found a way to come back against the odds to record a win against the Highlanders. The only winning Kiwi side was the Crusaders, who managed to only beat the Chiefs by 6 points at home. The Crusaders, Blues and the Chiefs look to be the only real contenders from the Shaky Isles unless the Hurricanes can turn around their season very quickly.
The Sharks were very impressive in coming back from a 10 nil half time deficit to beat the Stormers away from home. They look like the South African team with the best chance. The Bulls got the job done against the Queensland Reds, but we will have to wait until they face some sterner opposition before we make judgement on them.
This week we have some excellent clashes to look forward to. This is not a competition that allows you to fall behind early, and putting in back to back losses can nearly rule you out of the finals. The Waratahs will host the Chiefs and the Brumbies will host the Crusaders in what appears to be two very interesting clashes. The undefeated Bulls host the Blues in a game which will tell us which of these two are contenders this year. My handicap tips are as follows: Hurricanes, Chiefs, Force, Stormers, Brumbies, Bulls and the Sharks.

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