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Opinionated Rugby Commentary - by Fans for Fans
Spill what you really think about events in the rugby world.
Super Rugby Round 17 - Who Will Make The Finals? 13 views
08 June 2011 by The Swede Eaters
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There are several crucial matches this weekend that will either make or break the season for teams involved.
Super Rugby Round 17 takes place with heaps of critical derbies helping to solve the dilemma of who is going to make the Super Rugby Top Six finals. Last week's news was the changing of the Highlanders jersey, this week it is the changing of the guard at the Hurricanes for next season with established players Ma'a Nonu and Andrew Hore not offered contracts for 2012 yet by coach Mark Hammett.
While the Friday night matches in Round 17 feature teams out of the running, they are battles within battles as both of them are local derby matches where the loser could well end up as the bottom team in their respective conferences. Both the Chiefs and Hurricanes will probably finish agonisingly outside the Top Six, but will know that if they started the way they finished the season, then things could have been so much better.
The Saturday matches have high stakes. Crusaders host the Blues and the winner will move into the top position in the New Zealand conference. The Crusaders will host in Timaru which must be one of the smallest cities to host any Super Rugby match, let alone one of this magnitude. The Crusaders will be missing Richie McCaw, but some cavalry will offset this loss in Sam Whitelock and Andy Ellis returning.
One look at the table provides plenty of insight into how crucial results are this weekend. Most rounds had at least two upset results, but with so many matches between similarly ranked positions this round, it is difficult to know who to pick. Three matches are between closely ranked teams and whichever team wins will go a long way to cementing a place in the finals, with the losers left teetering on the brink of elimination next week.
Both the Waratahs and Highlanders were sitting pretty three weeks ago, but have got the skids in recent weeks. The loser is pretty much eliminated, while the winner must probably hope that the Stormers beat the Bulls if they are to push into the Top Six. The Highlanders have been disappointing after being so inspirational early on, while the Waratahs will be out to give their fans something to cheer about for a change. Tony Brown is back for the Highlanders who have benched Jimmy Cowan and lost Lima Sopoaga and Tom Donnelly for this match. Can Ben Smith and Adam Thomson get back into thewww.testrugby.com points? Watch for Kurtley Beale if he is playing, to get amongst the points.
It will be interesting to see if the Force and Lions who have been brave in recent weeks, continue their spirited play against higher ranked teams from their own countries. Both of these teams are playing at home and will fancy themselves as a chance of an upset, but it will be interesting to see if the lie down so that they don't harm the chances of another team from their country.
The Stormers vs Bulls is crucial for the entire competition with the Stormers looking to nail down the top spot overall and in the South African conference, while a Bulls win would give them one foot in the camp of the play-offs. There will be no love lost here!
My predicted Top Six will be Reds, Stormers, Blues, Crusaders, Sharks, Bulls.
For my tips and teams named, go to
www.superrugbytips.com
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