BULLS to beat Stormers by 8

There a lot of people talking up the chances of the Stormers in this match. They have an amazing defensive record and continued that against the Waratahs. However, the Bulls are the Bulls and there is a reason they finished 8 points clear of all the other teams before the last round of the round robin. The semi final against the Crusaders also proved that Soweto can also be an intimidating place for visiting teams to come.

I’ve taken the easy way out and picked the home team. Bulls by 8.

BULLS to beat Crusaders by 5

STORMERS to beat Waratahs by 10

Two semi finals in South Africa, and I’ve picked the two South African teams to take both. The New Zealand media are talking up a Crusaders upset, but that ignores everything both the Bulls and Crusaders have shown us this season. The Crusaders have an amazing pedigree, and so an upset wouldn’t be a total shock, but you have to back the Bulls to continue their great season.

Every week I expect the Stormers’dream season to come to a crashing halt, but every week they continue to step up. It’s easier to imagine the Waratahs pulling off the upset here than the Crusaders, but this is actually the game with the highest betting odds. I’m expecting the Stormers to continue their fairy tale season one more week.

CRUSADERS to beat Brumbies by 8

HURRICANES to beat Waratahs by 5

SHARKS to beat Force by 15

BLUES to beat Chiefs by 13

REDS to beat Highlanders by 9

CHEETAHS to beat Lions by 20

STORMERS to beat Bulls by 31

There are two virtual quarter finals this weekend, with the winners of the Crusaders v Brumbies and Hurricanes v Waratahs games progressing to the semi finals. The Stormers will have to win to guarantee their place, but that is looking even more likely with media speculating the Bulls are to rest up to 13 of their starting lineup. The Bulls are 8 points clear on the leader board so will finish in first position and host a semi final regardless.

A Reds bonus point win and a draw in one of the ‘quarter finals’, or perhaps a record thrashing of the Stormers could see them sneak a place. In other words, their season is over, as are the seasons of the Sharks, Force, Blues, Chiefs, Highlanders, Cheetahs and Lions.

If my above picks play out the final four, in order, will be the Bulls, Stormers, Crusaders, Hurricanes. Alternatively one or both of the New Zealand teams could be replaced with their Australian opponents. Either way, both semi finals will likely be in South Africa.

HURRICANES to beat Reds by 9

BULLS to beat Crusaders by 7

WARATAHS to beat Chiefs by 5

BRUMBIES to beat Highlanders by 15

BLUES to beat Lions by 21

FORCE to beat Cheetahs by 10

STORMERS to beat Sharks by 3

There are some great matches in round 13 of the Super 14. Most rounds have contained a lot of mismatches, but this round seems to have some evenly matched clashes in store, or at least there should be. It’s hard to decide between the Hurricanes v Reds, Bulls v Crusaders and Stormers v Sharks as potential games of the round.

The Hurricanes host the Reds and desperately need to beat the Reds to stay in the hint. The Reds will be hurting from the thrashing they received from the Brumbies last week and the Hurricanes have lost pivotal centre Conrad Smith. However, I’ve picked the Hurricanes as they should be the more desperate team. Hopefully they play better than they did against the Chiefs last week.

The Crusaders need to do the impossible and beat the Bulls in Pretoria to get into the semi finals. However they were pretty desperate last week two, and even with Richie McCaw celebrating 100 Super Rugby games they still couldn’t beat the Stormers. I’ve picked the Bulls but would love to see an upset.

If form and ladder standings are anything to go by the Brumbies should thrash the Highlanders as should the Waratahs beat the Chiefs. The Chiefs are home at Waikato Stadium in what used to be a tough place for opposition teams to win at. However, they are yet to win there this year. Expect a low crowd turnout.

Last week I picked the Blues to beat the Cheetahs and they let themselves down in a shocking performance. However, they should still be good enough to take care of the Lions. The Force should beat the Cheetahs this week, although they’ll probably be beginning to show the effects of their road trip and lack of depth in this game.

Lastly The Sharks versus the Stormers will be a great match between two form teams. In the last 7 weeks the Sharks have only lost to the Bulls and are playing at home, while the Stormers are having an amazing season. I’ve picked the Stormers to continue their phenomenal run to the finals.

WARATAHS to beat Highlanders by 15

CRUSADERS to beat Stormers by 6

HURRICANES to beat Chiefs by 17

REDS to beat Brumbies by 5

BLUES to beat Cheetahs by 13

FORCE to beat Lions by 8

BULLS to beat Sharks by 10

This week we find out if the Reds and Stormers are contenders or pretenders this week. Both are up against Super 14 royalty in the Crusaders and Brumbies, both of which will be desperate for a win for their own 2010 hopes. The Crusaders will be looking to bring the A game, so at home would hope to be better than the Stormers. The Reds v Brumbies will be a big game, and I’ve picked the Brumbies losing streak to stretch another week.

The round kicks off with the Highlanders hosting the Waratahs down in Invercargill. Southland Rugby is on a high at the moment, and the fans will be out supporting the large Southland contingent in the Highlanders team. However, I’m picking the Waratahs to still be way too strong.

An injury decimated an out of form Chiefs side should help keep the Hurricanes’ slim semi final hopes alive with a 5 pointer. However, perhaps it could be business as usual for the Chiefs who traditionally spend the business end of the Super 14 wrecking fellow NZ teams’ chances. Even against a struggling Hurricanes side that would take a major about turn by the Chiefs though.

I’ve picked touring teams the Blues and Force to beat the Cheetahs and Lions respectively. However, it’s always a bit difficult to pick against any South African team at home.

Now back at Loftus, the Bulls should start the charge to the Super 14 finals by taking care of the Sharks this weekend.

CHIEFS to beat Cheetahs by 11

STORMERS to beat Reds by 5

CRUSADERS to beat Force by 21

HURRICANES to beat Highlanders by 9

WARATAHS to beat Brumbies by 5

BULLS to beat Lions by 31

SHARKS to beat Blues by 9

My picks haven’t been worth the free internet space they have been written on the last two weeks. Hopefully Round 11 of the Super 14 bucks the trend. Despite dropping three All Blacks to the bench, I still think the Chiefs should take the Cheetahs. Sitiveni Sivivatu is back, and he is a huge player for the Chiefs. The Crusaders, Hurricanes, and Bulls should also be set to win their respective games.

One of the tougher picks this week is the Stormers versus Reds, both of whom are in great form and both beat the 2009 grand finalists last week. Despite the Reds being at home, I’ve picked the Stormers to continue their run of wins. I’ve picked the Sharks to beat the Blues based on the home ground and travel factors. However, on their day the Blues are able to beat anyway so could be a game to watch.

STORMERS to beat Chiefs by 7

BRUMBIES to beat Hurricanes by 5

BLUES to beat Force by 10

CRUSADERS to beat Cheetahs by 23

BULLS to beat Reds by 6

SHARKS to beat Lions by 8

These games keep getting harder and harder to pick. Some important games this weekend. The Chiefs and Hurricanes are on their last chances against contenders Stormers and Brumbies respectively. I’ve picked the home teams for each game except the Bulls and Sharks games.

BULLS to beat Chiefs by 7

HIGHLANDERS to beat Force by 5

BLUES to beat Stormers by 8

CRUSADERS to beat Waratahs by 10

BRUMBIES to beat Cheetahs by 17

REDS to beat Lions by 5

Some important match ups this week. First up the Chiefs get to shape their season by pushing their own claims and hurting leading contenders, the Bulls. Unfortunately I just can’t see the Chiefs stepping up, even though the Bulls have never beaten them in New Zealand and showed their fragility on the road against the Blues last week. The Chiefs have just been too decimated by injuries and their set piece was really shown up against the Highlanders. Matfield and co will have a field day.

Other important games include potential contenders the Stormers v Blues and Crusaders v Waratahs . I’ve picked the Blues to continue their last week’s form. At home it’s difficult to pick against the Crusaders, and they should be able to bring the Waratahs back down to earth having topped the table last week.

Brumbies should be too strong for the Cheetahs, while the Highlanders v Force is harder to pick. Finally, the Reds get to show they have actually turned a corner by doing the necessary and beating the Lions at home.

CRUSADERS to beat Hurricanes by 6

STORMERS to beat Force by 8

BULLS to beat Blues by 5

CHIEFS to beat Highlanders by 11

WARATAHS to beat Cheetahs by 15

SHARKS to beat Reds by 11

Difficult to pick many of the home teams this week and the margins are hard to call. The game of the round should be Hurricanes versus the Crusaders, which is traditionally the signature game of the New Zealand derbies. Hopefully the Hurricanes buck their form slump to make it a good close game.

HIGHLANDERS to beat Lions by 12

BRUMBIES to beat Chiefs by 5

CHEETAHS to beat Reds by 8

HURRICANES to beat Sharks by 11

WARATAHS to beat Blues by 5

BULLS to beat Force by 15

Some very tough picks this week. Brumbies, Cheetahs, Waratahs were all very close to call. When in doubt, just pick the home team!