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Opinionated Rugby Commentary - by Fans for Fans
Spill what you really think about events in the rugby world.
Super 15 Rugby Round 6 – 10 Things We Learnt 5 views
23 March 2015 by The Swede Eaters
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What did you learn from Super Rugby Round 6?
Super Rugby Round 6 kept tipsters on their toes, here are 10 things we learnt from Super Rugby Round 6.
1) The Crusaders, Waratahs and Sharks are not finished with yet. The three conference winners bounced back from rather average early season form to win and take a massive leap towards the Top Six. It is still early days, but things are looking up for these great teams who are sitting ominiously mid-table, ready to pounce.
The great players like Israel Folau, Pat Lambie and Dan Carter are starting to find their groove and their teams are winning. The Crusaders definitely need the likes of Kieran Read, Nemani Nadolo and Sam Whitelock who returned recently.
2) What happened in Durban? There were more red cards than tries. It hardly sounds like "Super" Rugby. It was downright ugly.
3) Patrick Lambie looks far more like captain material than Bismarck du Plessis. Du Plessis is a great player, but his brain explosion which saw him unleash on his Chiefs opponent was unacceptable. Pat Lambie will have his captaincy skills tested with Du Plessis suspended for a month.
4) The Hurricanes are the real deal. The Hurricanes have the backline rockstars, but it was their defence and forward pack that stood up against the Highlanders and ground out a win.
5) Pressure can do funny things. I was amazed by how many great players were making terrible mistakes under the roof in Dunedin. Both Beauden Barrett and Lima Sopoaga missed some relatively easy kicks, while handling was poor at times and All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith kicked the ball out on the full from outside his 22, three times in the first five minutes.
6) The Lions love playing on the road, with some teams who are struggling to win at home, being on the road gives them a chance to take the pressure off. Most people picked the Rebels to beat the Lions, but the Lions had other ideas, winning a nailbiter. This is their second win on tour. The Force almost shocked the Bulls too.
7) What has happened to the home advantage which saw 71 percent of games won by the home team last year? This is the first round where over 60 percent of games were won by the home team with four from six games won by the home team, although just over 40 percent of games have been won by the home team.
8) SuperBru tipsters struggled with picking the winning margins. It is one thing to pick the winner with most people picking three or four out of six, but the Waratahs and Crusaders won by more than expected, while the Bulls won by less. The average winning margin this round was 11.83 points, but the Crusaders 43 point margin boosted that as four games ended with bonus points for losing by seven points or less, including two one point wins.
9) Super Rugby Tipping Upset Radar was on red alert over the weekend, with the Waratahs, Sharks and Lions results upsets according tipping website SuperBru , while the wins for the Hurricanes split tipsters almost exactly down the middle. The Crusaders and Bulls were picked by almost everyone, although the margins were significantly different to what was anticipated and the Force almost upset the Bulls which would have been a major upset since 98 percent of tipsters picked the Bulls, given the Force's poor recent form.
10) Super Rugby is such a tough competition with only the Hurricanes unbeaten at this stage, yet Australian conference leaders, the Brumbies have two losses and the Stormers who lead the South African conference have one loss, but only 16 points. Bonus points are going to be crucial. The Highlanders sit in sixth place with 15 points from five games and three wins. The Sharks are already in the Top Six after a relatively average start to the competition, while the Waratahs and Crusaders are loitering just outside the Top Six. All this shows just how tough Super Rugby is.
Super 15 Rugby Round 6 review, what did you learn from Super Rugby Round 6?
http://www.superrugbytips.com/2015/03/super-15-rugby-round-6-review-10-things.html
Watch Super Rugby Round 6 Video Highlights here
Buy the Ultimate Rugby Tipping Guide ebook
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