Super Rugby Pacific Round 9 | Tips & Preview

The Highlanders got back to winning ways in Round 7, beating Moana Pasifika 39-19. It was a red-hot start to the game from the Landers, as their main strike weapon Caleb Tangitau did it again, opening the scoring by bustling through a couple of would-be tacklers for his sixth try of the season. Tangitau then added his second try 20 minutes later, before Jona Nareki pulled off a 50-22 and then scored off the ensuing lineout to make it 22-0 and all but secure the win inside the opening half. The Highlanders then scored the next two tries, making it 32-0, shortly before a power outage at North Harbour Stadium resulted in the final 20 minutes of play not being televised. It didn’t matter all that much, as the Landers stayed comfortably in front for the rest of play, with a six-tries-to-three victory keeping them within reach of the top six. While their tries were well-worked, it was the Highlanders’ defence that was most impressive, holding out Moana to just 19 points, despite the hosts finishing the game with 60% possession and racking up more than double the amount of carries than the Highlanders. The visitors, in response, completed 182 tackles, led by TK Howden’s 15 and Tanielu Tele’a’s 14, while Sean Withy was relentless defensively off the bench. Tele’a also had some sharp runs, while Nic Shearer impressed at halfback and Tangitau continued to show his danger on the wing.

The Brumbies suffered a shock 28-30 loss to the Waratahs in their last outing, making it three losses from their last four games. As 13.5-point favourites, ACT would have been feeling confident heading into this game but they were regularly put on the back foot by the visitors, starting in the opening minutes as the Tahs opened the scoring with a five-pointer. While the Brumbies responded through Lachie Shaw and then on the stroke of halftime through Charlie Cale, they never hit the lead. They were then really put on the back foot courtesy of three successive penalty goals from the visitors, making it a 21-30 scoreline, and while Luke Reimer closed the gap to just two points with two minutes on the clock, the Brumbies weren’t able to find the winning blow in the final seconds. Their forwards were on top of the Tahs’ throughout much of the contest, but ACT’s attack was largely toothless, recording just three line breaks and often struggling to make inroads. Rob Valetini tried hard with his 20 carries and Corey Toole tried to make the most of his little ball, but this may prove to be a costly loss for the Brumbies.

Mitch Dunshea and Cameron Millar are set to return from injury for the hosts, while Allan Alaalatoa and Lachie Lonergan make their season debuts for the Brumbies in a big boost to their front row stocks. Timoci Tavatavanawai also comes back into the starting team for the hosts and he’s going to wreak havoc for the hosts. The Landers’ pack will have their hands full but they have good depth on the bench and I expect them to really test the Brumbies, with their backs’ firepower set to be the difference.

Best
Highlanders ($2.05)

Value
Power Plays — Caleb Tangitau 2+ Tries & Highlanders Win by 1 – 20 ($8.00)

Try Scorer
Caleb Tangitau ($9.75 First, $1.85 Anytime)

Same Game Multi
Caleb Tangitau Try / Jack Taylor Try / Charlie Cale Try ($13.60)

Moana Pasifika made it six losses on the bounce, losing to the Highlander 19-39 two weeks ago. It was a strange match, with a power outage at the 60-minute mark resulting in a long break and the rest of the game going untelevised, but by that point Moana were effectively out of the contest despite staging a comeback early in the second half. It was a horror opening 40 from Tana Umaga’s team, conceding four tries, including three in the final 15 minutes, for a 0-27 halftime deficit. That shortly became 0-32, but Moana worked their way back into the fight from there, scoring three of the next four tries to at least add a bit of life to the contest, but their sluggish first half meant that they were never really a chance of getting back in the game. MP weren’t without their chances, with 11 entries into the Landers’ 22, but their ball security and their discipline was poor conceding 14 turnovers and 14 penalties in the loss. When they were made to defend, that wasn’t pretty either, with a tackle completion rate of just 79%, although Niko Jones wasn’t afraid to get stuck in with 11 tackles. Tevita Latu had another dangerous attacking game as did prop Paula Latu, who also helped Moana have the better of scrum time late on.

The Chiefs also enter this game off a contest with the Waratahs, and they made the New South Welshmen look second-rate in a 42-14 thumping last Saturday. There weren’t a lot of particularly flashy moments from the Chiefs in this game — instead, their forwards simply bullied their counterparts around the park and controlled the set piece for a convincing win in Hamilton. Samipeni Finau was everywhere and at his bruising best on defence, while his loosies partners Kaylum Boshier and Luke Jacobson also got stuck in at every opportunity. Samisoni Taukei’aho carried relentlessly and Quinn Tupaea and Kyren Taumoefolau threatened all night long, scoring two tries apiece to help the Chiefs stroll to victory.

The big news for Moana is the return from injury for Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa, but they’re going to need to be at their best to even get close to the Chiefs on Saturday. Damian McKenzie returns from a concussion to start at #10, with Cortez Ratima in the starting team this week. Despite resting the likes of Taukei’aho and Josh Lord, Jono Gibbes is not holding back with this lineup and that spells trouble for the hosts.

Best
Chiefs -31.5 ($1.90)

Value
Chiefs 41-50 ($5.00)

Try Scorer
Kyren Taumoefolau ($7.25 First, $1.42 Anytime)

Same Game Multi
Kyren Taumoefolau Try / Cortez Ratima Try / Tupou Vaa’i Try ($7.48)

The Fijian Drua continued their horror run of form away from home last week, crashing to a 26-69 loss to the Crusaders. It’s now 25 successive road losses for the Drua, who never looked like they had a chance in Christchurch last Friday, as the hosts scored over a point a minute for the opening 35 minutes, resulting in a 12-38 halftime hole for Glen Jackson’s side. As the Crusaders scored in the opening two minutes of the second half, it became clear that a second half comeback was not on the cards, as the Crusaders continued to slice through their defence at will. Scoring four tries, it wasn’t a bad attacking display from the Fijians, with Elia Canakaivata having another bustling showing, while Virimi Vakatawa had some exciting touches, but their lineout was sloppy and their ball retention was terrible, giving up a massive 26 turnovers, allowing the Crusaders to run riot.

The Force put together their best performance of the season last week, taking down the Reds 42-19 on the road. It was a performance that could change the trajectory of WA’s season, picking up a win on the road against perhaps Australia’s top Super team, and they did it in convincing fashion. It was a tense opening 30 minutes, and with Franco Molina’s second try of the game, the Force got their noses in front at 14-12. Mac Grealy then finished off a long-range set play on the stroke of halftime to increase the visitors’ lead to nine points at the break, before Darby Lancaster skied up to take a cross-kick and score the first try of the second half, making it 28-12. That was a comfortable lead for WA and a yellow card for Harry Wilson, followed by a try through Brandon Paenga-Amosa all but sealed the win. Molina then completed his hat-trick after the hooter to add salt into the Queensland wounds, capping off what was a huge night from the Argentinian lock. It was a thoroughly deserved win from the Force, with Paenga-Amosa and Vaiolini Ekuasi wearing Queensland’s defence down and the likes of Lancaster, Grealy and Ben Donaldson took advantage, with tidy performances in the back line.

After being a late scratching last week, we are set to see the debut of Zac Lomax off the bench this week, while skipper Jeremy Williams returns from injury to start in the second row alongside Molina. It’s a good Force 23 heading to Lautoka and while Churchill Park has proven to be a very tough place to win at, WA have every chance of doing just that. They will be high on confidence after last week’s win and their pack will really challenge the Drua’s.

Best
Force +4.5 ($1.90)

Value
Force 1-12 ($3.80)

Try Scorer
Brandon Paenga-Amosa ($15 First, $2.40 Anytime)

Same Game Multi
Ilaisa Droasese Try / Brandon Paenga-Amosa Try / Mac Grealy Try ($14.23)

The main event of Round 9’s action comes on Saturday night, with a top-of-the-table clash between the Hurricanes and the Blues. Both teams enjoyed a week off in Round 8, and the Hurricanes would have been feeling good across their bye, coming off a 52-14 beatdown of the Reds. The teams traded tries in the opening 10 minutes, but the Hurricanes were far too good from that points on, recording a 24-14 halftime lead before scoring 28 unanswered points in the second half to romp home and get another bonus-point win. It was another big night from Fehi Fineanganofo, who scored a hat-trick and was constantly dangerous on his wing, helping this Hurricanes attack reach sixth gear. The scary part was that it came in a rather sloppy performance from the pack, with the team conceding 20 turnovers and 11 penalties, meaning the Canes were made to do plenty of defending, and the always-busy Du’Plessis Kirifi stood up on that front with a team-high 23 tackles, with Caleb Delany (22 tackles) also putting in a big effort. Fineanganofo, Josh Moorby and Bailyn Sullivan all had good runs, while Cam Roigard and Ruben Love formed an elite halves pairing.

The Blues had a 40-15 win over the Fijian Drua before their bye last week, making it four wins on the trot for Vern Cotter’s men. It was a tense first half at Eden Park, with the Blues having to deal with long passages on defence, and that resulted in leaking a couple of tries, while scoring two of their own through Malachi Wrampling and Bradley Slater to hold a 14-12 lead at the half. The Drua then hit the lead through a penalty goal shortly after the second half kicked off, but that was all she wrote for the visitors, as Beauden Barrett and the Blues really got going. Slater scored his second on the back of a lineout maul, before Codemeru Vai, Payton Spencer and Caleb Clarke rounded out the scoring with tries of their own in a dominant second 40. While their attack did warm up to finish with 40 points, this game was won by the Blues’ defence, being forced to make 201 tackles and conceding just six penalties in the process. Their set piece was also rock-solid, allowing them to quickly work their way down the field when they did have the ball, which Barrett then took advantage of in another impressive 80-minute performance. He unlocked the likes of Vai, Clarke and Spencer, while the defence was led by Pita Ahki, Wrampling and Sam Darry to keep a lid on the Drua’s scoring.

It’s a steady XV for the Canes, with Callum Harkin’s return from injury being the main change. For the Blues, Zarn Sullivan comes back from injury to start at fullback, while Finlay Christie starts at halfback and Codemeru Vai starts on the right wing. Both teams will be going all out to finish the round on top of the table and the Hurricanes are deserved favourites at home, but this dynamic and athletic Blues pack will give the Canes plenty of trouble. Despite their youth, the visitors’ pack has been one of the surprises of the season and they continue to be underrated by the market, and as 8.5-point underdogs, the Blues are the play.

Best
Blues +8.5 ($1.95)

Value
Blues ($3.40)

Try Scorer
Caleb Clarke ($2.15 First, $11 Anytime)

Same Game Multi
Fehi Fineanganofo Try / Caleb Clarke Try / Finlay Christie Try ($17.89)

The Reds’ roller coaster season continued last week, this time reaching a new low in a 19-42 loss to the Force. While the final margin wasn’t as ugly as Round 7’s 14-52 defeat to the Hurricanes, this was a highly unexpected loss, as Queensland entered the game as 12.5-point favourites against a Force team that was just 1-5 heading into this contest. It wasn’t a particularly poor start to the game, with a couple of quick tries from Tim Ryan and then Joe Brial getting the Reds out to a 12-7 lead 25 minutes into the game, but things came crashing down shortly after, as the visitors scored the next 28 points to get out to an unassailable 12-35 lead. The Reds’ attack looked lost for most of the game and they couldn’t hold onto the ball when they did get opportunities, conceding 18 turnovers. That meant that they spent the vast majority of the game on defence (36% possession) and while the likes of Fraser McReight, Aidan Ross and Seru Uru defended staunchly, the Force eventually wore the hosts down.

The Crusaders said goodbye to Apollo Projects Stadium in thrilling fashion last Friday, crushing the Fijian Drua 69-26. It was a trademark Crusaders cakewalk in Christchurch, as their forward pack dominated across the park, allowing a well-drilled back line to carve up the visitors’ defence, resulting in 11 tries. Codie Taylor scored four of which in a historic try-scoring performance from the hooker, while wings Sevu Reece and Chay Fihaki each recorded doubles to underscore just how dominant of a win this was. Reece was always looking to get himself involved, as was the destructive Leicester Fainga’anuku, while Fihaki was a constant threat on his wing. Up front, Corey Kellow worked hard on attack and defence and Antonio Shalfoon had another busy evening to help the Crusaders record a statement-sending win.

Codie Taylor, Will Jordan and Braydon Ennor are all out with injuries for the Crusaders, seeing Johnny McNicholl make his season debut at fullback and David Havili return from injury to slot into second five-eighth. For the Reds, Les Kiss has remained solid with his team despite last week’s disappointment, with Matt Faessler and Tim Ryan joining the starting team in the only changes. Queensland will almost certainly be better in this hitout, but as just 4.5-point favourites, I have to bet against them. The Reds have lost their last five home games against the Crusaders and they won’t finish within arm’s reach on Saturday.

Best
Crusaders -4.5 ($1.85)

Value
Crusaders 13+ ($3.00)

Try Scorer
Sevu Reece ($9.00 First, $1.78 Anytime)

Same Game Multi
Sevu Reece Try / Leicester Fainga’anuku Try / Josh Flook Try ($12.98)