The New South Wales Waratahs may be unbeaten after a month’s Super 12 rugby but tournament heavyweights Canterbury Crusaders are the favourites with bookmakers to win their sixth southern-hemisphere provincial crown.
The Waratahs, yet to progress past their lone semifinal showing three seasons ago, have some convincing to do, and have another chance to give their title claims more credibility against South Africa’s Northern Bulls in Sydney on Saturday.
The Sydney franchise can jump up to nine points clear of the inactive Crusaders against the eighth-placed Bulls this weekend, having successfully come through their traumatic build-up to last week’s win over the Western Stormers.
The Waratahs prevailed despite the considerable distraction of lock Justin Harrison’s race comments storm, which earned him a three-week suspension by the Sanzar judiciary.
”If you look at our wins, three of the four [Chiefs, Cats, Sharks] have been against teams coming in the bottom four,” Waratahs centre Morgan Turinui said on Thursday. ”Our form line hasn’t really been franked yet by wins against probably top-quality opposition.
”After we play the Bulls, we’ve got the Crusaders at home and the Wellington Hurricanes and Brumbies both away, so probably after those two games you will be able to say where we really sit on the ladder,” he said.
Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie has brought in Brendan Cannon to replace fellow Wallaby Adam Freier as starting hooker for the first time this season, in a move to help keep the forward pack fresh, while prop Matt Dunning’s return from a sprained ankle adds further experience to the front row.
Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer hopes to field his near-strongest team against the Waratahs and back up their upset 21-12 win over the in-form Hurricanes last week to help resurrect their Super 12 campaign.
The likely return of Springbok Bakkies Botha could bring more stability in the lineouts, where the Bulls struggled in the second half against the Hurricanes.
The second-placed Brumbies look hot favourites to beat the bottom-placed Coastal Sharks in Durban on Saturday, but Australia’s most successful franchise have never beaten the Sharks away from home.
The South Africans prevailed over the Brumbies 35-26 in 1997, 21-16 in 1999, 17-16 in 2001 and 25-17 in 2003.
But the Brumbies are striking the Sharks at their lowest ebb. This week, Sharks coach Kevin Putt was sacked, with Springbok great Dick Muir taking charge.
The injury-hit Brumbies are steadily getting back to strength and fullback Mark Gerard is expected to play after three weeks out with a hamstring injury.
Coach Colin Cooper said his Hurricanes received a kick in the pants in last week’s loss to the Bulls, and have a chance to redeem themselves against the Stormers in Palmerston North on Friday.
”We’re hurting a bit,” Cooper said. ”We had enough ball but we made too many errors [against the Bulls] and it’s those errors we’ve got to sort out.”
Werner Greeff replaces Gaffie du Toit at fullback for the Stormers, while Springbok flyer Breyton Paulse returns to the side that lost to the Waratahs.
The seventh-placed Stormers haven’t tasted success since their opening-round defeat of the Sharks, while the Hurricanes are seeking a third straight win over the Stormers.
Cats coach Chester Williams is confident his side have turned the corner after their spirited effort against the Brumbies last weekend as they shape up to New Zealand’s Otago Highlanders in Bloemfontein on Friday.
”We may have lost against the Brumbies, but there were a lot of positives we can take out of the game,” said Williams. ”It’s now up to the players to build on those positive elements.”
Highlanders coach Greg Cooper has reintroduced All Blacks prop Carl Hoeft and openside flanker Josh Blackie as he urges his fifth-placed side to maintain their winning momentum against the ninth-ranked Cats.
Apart from the Crusaders, the Auckland Blues, Waikato Chiefs and Queensland Reds have this weekend off. — Sapa-AFP