Super 15 Rugby Round 9 is another tough round for punters to pick.  There are so many good players in Super Rugby, even in some of the lesser teams.  It means that if one of the best sides has an off night, they may not win.  There is plenty of money to be made by punters at betting agencies around the world.  Last weekend one of the top teams at home, drew with one of the bottom teams, when the Brumbies and Kings drew.  Less than one percent of SuperBru punters picked it.  The Rebels beat the Force in another upset.  The true sign of a good team is being able to win even when they don't play their best.

Every match this round is set to be close and so I have picked my biggest margin (12 points) for the Chiefs against the Reds mainly because it is a day game and the Chiefs know how to score tries, even though it is the top ranked side against the 4th ranked.  I love day time rugby and this match should be high scoring.

In the opening match, I am hoping the Highlanders can finally gel as a team.  They have the players, but are missing the glue which sees them not score tries when they should and conceded some long range counter-attacking tries.  Both the Brumbies and Highlanders have made some changes for this game as both teams will be hurting after disappointing results last week.

The Brumbies draw with the Kings means they will be fired up for this and welcome back Stephen Moore and Jesse Mogg among others to face the southern men.  The Kings didn't do the Highlanders any favours! The Highlanders may as well roll the dice with their selections now and look to give some young guys experience and have done so in their selections for this game, with a brand new halves pairing.  It should be a close game.  Here is my further analysis on this match.

In other matches,

The Blues and Hurricanes are in a battle for a Top Six finals spot in this match in Auckland.  This game will be another cracker with both sides enjoying throwing the ball around.  There are plenty of great attacking players on display with Rene Ranger from the Blues and the Savea brothers from the Hurricanes some players I love watching.  The Hurricanes were stung by the Blues the first time around and I am thinking that lightning won't strike twice.

The Rebels had been disappointing up until last weekend, while the Kings have been pleasantly surprising this season.  I think the Rebels should be able to continue their momentum from last week for this match and get another victory.  The Kings won't make it easy though.  These games where the away team is waiting for the home team to return from a long flight is always an interesting one (even though the Rebels played in Perth last week).

The Force are a bogey side for the Crusaders and could provide a bit of a banana skin for the red and blacks on their way back to New Zealand.  The Force will be hurting from losing to the Rebels last week.  If you want to make some big money this weekend, then this could be the ticket.  The safe money is on the Crusaders though, but if you are falling behind in SuperBru you could pick the Force.

There are two epic South African derbies to finish the weekend off.  Both away teams are coming off victories in these matches which should both be tight.  The Stormers and to a lesser extent the Bulls have been disappointing this season and need victory over the high flying Sharks and Cheetahs respectively.  I am picking the Bulls to win at home and the Sharks to win away.  These games will be tight!

Who are you picking to win Super Rugby Round 9 matches?

Here is Super 15 Rugby 2013 match results analysis including average margins

http://www.superrugbytips.com/2013/04/super-rugby-2013-winning-margins.html

Here are the Super Rugby Round 9 starting teams named

http://www.superrugbytips.com/p/super-rugby-2013.html

My Super Rugby Round 9 Picks:

Super 15 Rugby Round 9 2013 - 10 Players to Watch

For www.testrugby.com managers here are 10 players to watch based on the draw and team selections.  The Waratahs have the bye in Round 9 which will hardly affect any managers selectors, but the Blues, Rebels and Stormers have the bye in Round 10 so that is something to aim for.

Julian Savea (Hurricanes) - Is one of the top points scorers in the game.  Savea is a try scoring winger who has a style conducive to scoring www.testrugby.com points.  The Hurricanes play the Blues this week followed by the Force next week.

Ardie Savea (Hurricanes) - Ardie is one of the hottest young talents in New Zealand rugby.  He costs under $700,000 and scored 295 points in his opening game against the Waratahs.

James O'Connor (Rebels) - O'Connor has been moved to first five eighth for the Rebels match against the Kings and he will be influential for the home team.  He is an established goalkicker and is listed as an outside back.  Watch out though as the Rebels have a bye next round.

Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes) - Barrett scored 400 points last round in the Hurricanes win over the Waratahs and with some very winnable games in upcoming weeks, Barrett is worth a shot as a ball running goalkicker.

Motu Matu'u (Hurricanes) - This blockbusting hooker is basement price and is starting for the Hurricanes against the Blues.

Gareth Anscombe (Chiefs) - The Chiefs are coming off the bye and so it is time to buy goalkicker Gareth Anscombe who is on fire for the Chiefs this season.

Sam Cane (Chiefs) - All Black Sam Cane is the heir apparent to Richie McCaw and is one of the best scoring loose forwards in the game.

Lappies Labuschagne (Cheetahs) - This guy will have to make plenty of tackles against the Bulls and should therefore score plenty of points.  He is also still relatively cheap.

Stephen Moore (Brumbies) - Moore will bring some much needed steel to the Brumbies forward pack.  He will be busy against the Highlanders side who like to dominate possession.

Jesse Mogg (Brumbies) - Mogg is a counter-attacking fullback of some repute and the Highlanders are vulnerable to long range tries.  Mogg averages over 300 points per game and should be dangerous on Friday night with his knack of beating defenders and scoring tries.

Who are you picking for Super 15 Rugby Round 9?

http://www.superrugbytips.com/2013/04/super-15-rugby-round-9-preview-and.html