Super Rugby Pacific Round 14 | Tips & Preview

The Chiefs picked up a valuable win over the Reds on the road last Friday, prevailing 31-21 to stay within reach of the first-place Hurricanes. As expected against the gritty Queenslanders, it was a close, hard-fought contest and it wasn’t until the 79th minute that the Chiefs closed things out, with their standout Wallace Sititi marching over the line off the back of a scrum to make it a 10-point game and seal the victory. In his final contribution of the match, the star No.8 capped off a stellar performance in Brisbane, scoring two tries, along with 14 carries and 21 tackles, with his physicality and eagerness to be in the thick of everything causing a lot of trouble for the hosts. There were some contentious refereeing decisions, especially in the second half, but the Chiefs deserved to win this battle, with their attacks often looking dangerous and their set piece performing well. They were able to mount the pressure on the hosts, who gave away 12 penalties but, more importantly, the Chiefs missed just nine tackles for a 95% completion rate to hold QLD to just three tries. Sititi and Luke Jacobson were the busiest on defence, and Fiti Sa and Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi continued the hard work off the bench, while on attack, Isaac Hutchinson, Damian McKenzie and Xavier Roe were a handful for the Reds.

The Highlanders utilised a hot start to get past the Waratahs, with a 31-26 win in Dunedin. The hosts could not have come out of the blocks any better, with Jonah Lowe opening the scoring, before Caleb Tangitau followed suit to make it 14-0 in the opening 15 minutes. Next, it was Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens’s turn, completing the hat-trick for the Highlanders’ back three inside 20 minutes, but a yellow card to Timoci Tavatavanawai allowed the Waratahs to get back into the fight somewhat. The visitors scored almost immediately after the midfielder’s sinbinning, but Lowe crucially scored his second try just minutes before halftime to give the Landers a very comfortable 28-7 lead. It was a nervous second half from the Highlanders, who conceded a try less than five minutes into the period before Jona Nareki was sent off for a shot to the head, resulting in the hosts finishing the game with just 14 men. That allowed the Waratahs to score two tries in the final 10 minutes to make it a 28-26 game, but Cameron Miller did his job after Tavatavanawai won a huge breakdown penalty, as the first five-eighth slotted a penalty goal to clinch the win. Tavatavanawai was the clear standout for the hosts, and Millar was assured in the #10 jersey. Tangitau was the most dangerous out wide and the combo of TK Howden and Nikora Broughton were again the pick of the bunch up front.

The Chiefs are resting Quinn Tupaea and Josh Lord, which sees Lalakai Foketi and Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi come into the starting lineup. Josh Jacomb starts at #10, with McKenzie at fullback and, for the Landers, Tanielu Tele’a replaces the suspended Nareki. The hosts will be getting some strong reinforcements off the bench, with Samipeni Finau and Daniel Rona both returning from injury, and that will see them finish well for a big win. Their forward pack will have the upper hand for 80 minutes and they have the firepower to make them pay in the backs.

Best
Chiefs -16.5 ($1.90)

Value
Power Plays — Damian Mckenzie 1st OR 2nd Try Scorer & Chiefs Score 40+ Points ($11)

Try Scorer
Samisoni Taukei’aho ($11.50 First, $1.94 Anytime)

Same Game Multi
Samisoni Taukei’aho Try / Caleb Tangitau Try / Josh Jacomb Try ($14.63)

The Fijian Drua went into their bye week on a high after beating the Highlanders 24-14. It was a grind of a contest, as the teams traded blows for the opening half of play, before the Drua got out to a double-digit lead with a couple of quick tries in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, firstly through Sikeli Rabitu and then Elia Canakaivata. Things got a little dicey in the final 20 minutes, as Rabitu was sin-binned for playing the ball on the ground, but the Drua defence held on again at home, shutting out the visitors in the second half for a well-earned win. He didn’t appear on the scoreboard but Frank Lomani was the pick of the bunch, setting up Rabitu’s second try and providing security in the back three with his running and kicking game. Rabitu had a strong night too, but his yellow card could have been costly, and Kitione Salawa and Canakaivata were at the front of the Drua’s impressive defensive effort.

The Waratahs came agonisingly close to a win in Dunedin last week, but they couldn’t complete the finishing touches in a 26-31 loss. It was a horror start that was ultimately to blame for the Tahs’ loss, as they conceded four tries in the first half to head into the sheds down 28-7. They got the second half off to the right start, as Apolosi Ranawai powered his way over the line from close range. NSW then built some pressure from there, before Jona Nareki was sent off for a high shot on Jack Barrett, and that set up a dominant ending to play for the visitors. After a couple of tries to Sid Harvey and Joseph Sua’ali’i were ruled out by the TMO, Clem Halaholo finally cracked the defence to make it 19-28. Harvey then dotted down off a nice set play in the 79th minute to make it a two-point game, but the Tahs couldn’t keep possession as the hooter sounded, conceding a ruck penalty to lose the game. With 61% possession and a huge finish to the game, the visitors will have been disappointed not to have come away with the win, with Harvey, Sua’ali’i and Max Jorgensen warming into the game well. Andrew Kellaway and Lawson Creighton also had their moments in what was a good showing from the backs, but a poor lineout and a terrible 75% tackle completion rate made for a horror first half and, with that, a frustrating loss.

It’s a reasonably stable 23 for the Drua, with just two changes to the starting XV, but the same can’t be said for the Waratahs. Injuries have forced Angus Blyth, Pete Samu, Andrew Kellaway, Ethan Dobbins and Folau Fainga’a out of the team, for a new-look forward pack, headlined by the return of skipper Matt Philip. Teddy Wilson and Jack Bowen form a new halves pairing and Harry Potter starts for the in form Harvey. Those are some real blows for the Tahs and I don’t see them getting at all close in Suva, which makes the 8.5-point line a great play. The power and pace that the Drua play with will wear the visitors down and this will end up being a comfortable win for the Fijians. NSW are just 2-15 in their last 17 road games and the Drua have covered 7 of 11 games all-time in Suva.

Best
Fijian Drua -8.5 ($1.85)

Value
Fijian Drua 11-20 ($3.60)

Try Scorer
Isikeli Rabitu ($15 First, $2.50 Anytime)

Same Game Multi
Isikeli Rabitu Try / Ioane Moananu Try / Elia Canakaivata Try ($23.76)

The Blues blown off the park by the Crusaders last week, losing 20-36 in Christchurch. There was a moment of hope for the Aucklanders late in the game, as the Crusaders were shown a red card and a yellow card within the space of three minutes, with Hoskins Sotutu scoring moments later to make it 20-31 with 10 minutes to play. That was all she wrote for Vern Cotter’s men though, with the Crusaders rubbing salt in the wound with the final try of the game to hand the Blues what could prove to be a costly defeat. Now two points behind the second-place Chiefs, who have a game in hand, a top-two finish is looking unlikely for the Blues, and they have a shaky lineout partially to blame. They lost four of their own throws and missed a total of 26 tackles to record a rather sloppy performance at Te Kaha, although there were some real standouts. Sotutu carried all night long, AJ Lam had perhaps his best game of the season and the lock pairing of Sam Darry and Patrick Tuipulotu were again industrious.

The Hurricanes made no mistake in cruising past Moana Pasifika last week, waltzing their way to a 50-17 win. Clark Laidlaw’s side always looked comfortable on the North Shore, with both his forwards and backs dominating their counterparts, allowing Josh Moorby to score four tries and seeing the team pick up another valuable five competition points. Moorby took his chances well and sliced through Moana’s defence often, and Billy Proctor was excellent on his inside. Du’Plessis Kirifi’s big effort on both sides of the ball was rewarded with a try and Kini Naholo was dangerous in his season debut, scoring a couple of tries off the bench.

This is a heavyweight clash in Auckland and both teams have named strong lineups, with Anton Segner, Beauden Barrett and Xavi Taele all coming into the starting team for the Blues. The Canes are also bringing back some big guns, with Xavier Numia, Asafo Aumua, Devan Flanders and Kini Naholo all promote off the bench, while the likes of Warner Dearns, Peter Lakai, Jordie Barrett and Ruben Love all come back into the XV from a week off. That forms an elite team that is going to be immense on both sides of the ball and I expect them to be most effective defensively. The Canes are leaking an average of just 17.4 points per game across their last seven games and against a decent Blues defence, I don’t expect their attack to run riot in Auckland, like we saw when these teams met in Wellington five weeks ago. This game will turn into an arm wrestle making the under the bet.

Best
Under 57.5 ($1.87)

Value
Hurricanes 1-12 ($2.90)

Try Scorer
Billy Proctor ($16 First, $2.45 Anytime)

Same Game Multi
Under 57.5 / Billy Proctor Try / Caleb Clarke Try ($13.64)

The Force were no match for the Brumbies last week, scoring just five points in the final 50 minutes of play to los 15-32. Coming off wins over the Crusaders and the Waratahs, there would have been optimism for a win in Canberra from Simon Cron’s team, but things quickly fell apart in the second half as the Force were starved of opportunities. They finished the night with just five entries into the Brumbies’ 22, and their ball was often slow when they did start to build phases, making for a disjointed attacking game. On the bright side, their set piece was impressive, and they were able to hold out the Brumbies for long periods of play, but heir discipline let them down as the game went on. Nick Champion de Crespigny was massive defensively again and Carlo Tizzano scored another try in a busy outing, while Dylan Pietsch was the most dangerous of the backs.

The Reds were left feeling somewhat hard done by in a 21-31 defeat to the Chiefs last week. It was a tight and rather scrappy game of rugby at Suncorp Stadium, and while the visitors were in front for much of the contest, the Reds were always there or thereabouts. A barrage of penalties against them ultimately kept them out of the fight in the final 20 minutes of play, but their displeasure towards the officiating began at the end of the second half as Seru Uru was ruled to have been held up, despite some replays suggesting otherwise. The penalty count racked up against the hosts in the second half to end at 12-5, as things got chippy between the teams, but the Reds’ discipline at the breakdown simply wasn’t good enough, and their set piece ran into some issues as well. Harry Wilson worked hard all night and Hunter Paisami had another strong ball-running game, while Uru made a couple of strong runs and Treyvon Pritchard showed off his footwork to score on debut and give the home fans something to cheer about.

In a cruel outcome for the Force, their halves pairing of Henry Robertson (ACL) and Ben Donaldson (quad) have both been ruled out with injuries, seeing Nathan Hastie and Max Burey come into the starting lineup. On the flip side, they are coming up against a severely undermanned Reds outfit, who will be without Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Fraser McReight, Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, Josh Flook and Filipo Daugunu. Louis Werchon and Carter Gordon come into the starting team to maintain a good 9-10 combo, while Tim Ryan rejoins the XV, but there are some cracks in Queensland’s 23.

Best
Force -2.5 ($1.95)

Value
Power Plays — Dylan Pietsch OR Zac Lomax 1st Try Scorer & Force Win by 1 – 12 ($15)

Try Scorer
Dylan Pietsch ($11 First, $1.94 Anytime)

Same Game Multi
Dylan Pietsch Try / Brandon Paenga-Amosa Try / Louis Werchon Try ($17.93)