Tag: Rugby

Super Rugby Round 1 Preview

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Super Rugby returns this weekend with most of the teams in action.  Check out preview of all the matches below, with odds from Tom Waterhouse.

Crusaders v Rebels, Christchurch, Friday 5.35pm

Crusaders – $1.15

Rebels – $5.75

This is a tough one to predict first up.  The Rebels have never won outside of Australia, but they do have a relatively strong record against the Crusaders, who for all of their success in Super Rugby competitions are slow starters.  Nonetheless, we’re going with a Crusaders win here, mainly because of the excitement in Christchurch at the moment with the opening of the Cricket World Cup bringing loads of positivity and a big crowd.

Brumbies v Reds, Canberra, Friday 7.40pm

Brumbies – $1.33

Reds – $3.40

None of the opposition teams in Week 1 are favourites with the bookmakers.  This is no exception.  The Reds are without Quade Cooper, James O’Connor and former All Black Adam Thomson, and instead will rely on Karmichael Hunt to guide them around the paddock.  That’s probably too much to ask in your first rugby game of any significance.  Therefore, we’re going with the Brumbies by a narrow margin.  Keep an eye out for David Pocock who makes a return after a long injury lay off.

Lions v Hurricanes, Johhanesburg, Saturday 4.10am

Lions – $2.10

Hurricanes – $1.75

The Hurricanes leak more points than the District 5 did before Charlie Conway joined.  Expect no different when they take on the Lions in Johannesburg early Saturday morning.  But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll lose.  If the star-studded backbone can make up for the weak forward pack the amount of points they concede might not matter.  In TJ Perenara, Beauden Barrett and Cory Jane the Hurricanes have enough class to get home in this one.

Blues v Chiefs, Auckland, Saturday 5.35pm

Blues – $2.00

Chiefs – $1.80

Surprisingly, the Blues only lost one home game last year, to the Chiefs mind you, however, that was with a full complement of All Black stars who are sitting this one out.  The Blues are less affected by dubious rest policy, but we’re still thinking the Chiefs might get up and take this match out.  They have belief, they have the titles under their belt, and they have Sonny Bill Williams.

Sharks v Cheetahs, Durban, Sunday 2.10am

Sharks – $1.20

Cheetahs – $4.50

The Sharks will win easily.  They are comfortably the frontrunners of the South African Conference, and even early season rust won’t stop them from overrunning the notoriously weak Bloemfontein outfit. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t recommend considering the Cheetahs on too many occasions this year in your weekly tips or office sweepstake.

Bulls v Stormers, Pretoria, Sunday 4.10am

Bulls – $1.35

Stormers – $3.25

This might just be the closest of the opening round games.  The Bulls boast seven Springboks in their forward pack and the IRB Junior Player of the year in Handre Pollard so it’s a brave man who bets against them at Loftus.  We’ll back the Bulls by 7, only to be consistent with our majority home team picks.

Waratahs v Force, Sydney, Sunday 4.05pm

Waratahs – $1.16

Force – $5.35

The Super Rugby defending champions are heavily backed favourites for week 1.  The Force look weak on paper this year, and although we back them to win some games in Perth, the Tahs will be too comfortable at home.  Expect Izzy Folau to carve up the dry afternoon turf and set the early pace for try-scorers too.

Rugby: Super Rugby 2015 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

It’s that time of year again.  Right in the heart of summer, the Super Rugby season gets underway on Friday night.  We’ve got a run down of each side and their 2015 chances, with odds from Luxbet.

New Zealand Conference

BLUES

Squad: Charles Piutau, Lolagi Visinia, Tevita Li, Ben Lam, Frank Halai, George Moala, Hamish Northcott, Pita Ahki, Francis Saili, Dan Bowden, Ihaia West, Simon Hickey, Jimmy Cowan, Jamison Gibson-Park, Bryn Hall, Joe Edwards, Luke Braid, Brendon O’Connor, Jerome Kaino (capt), Steven Luatua, Hayden Triggs, Patrick Tuipulotu, Josh Bekhuis, Culum Retallick, Charlie Faumuina, Angus Ta’avao, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Tony Woodcock, Sam Prattley, Keven Mealamu, James Parsons.

Last Year: 10th

X-Factor: Charles Piutau is now a well established All Black squad member and will be hoping to use the 2015 Super Rugby season to springboard his chances for Rugby World Cup selection.  The exciting winger will make up part of an exciting back three for the Blues with Tevita Li, Frank Halai and George Moala all possibilities to join him.

2015 Chances: Pretty slim.  First five-eighth has always been a stick area for the Blues and this year they’re putting their money on youngsters Simon Hickey, Ihaia West and the returning Dan Bowden.  None of this numbers draws much excitement and could be another painful year for the City of Sails residents.

2015 Odds: $19.00

CHIEFS

Squad: Tim Nanai-Williams, Tom Marshall, Hosea Gear, James Lowe, Bryce Heem, Anton Lienert-Brown, Seta Tamanivalu, Charlie Ngatai, Sonny Bill Williams, Andrew Horrell, Aaron Cruden (co-capt), Damian McKenzie, Augustine Pulu, Brad Weber, Liam Squire, Sam Cane, Sean Polwart, Liam Messam (co-capt), Tevita Koloamatangi, Michael Leitch, Johan Bardoul, Brodie Retallick, Matt Symons, Michael Allardice, Mike Fitzgerald, Ben Tameifuna, Mitchell Graham, Jamie MacIntosh, Pauliasi Manu, Nathan Harris, Rhys Marshall, Quentin MacDonald.

Last Year: Qualifiers (5th)

X-Factor: It’s hard to overlook the World Rugby Player of the Year (Brodie Retallick) but the return of Sonny Bill Williams is likely to get most of the newspaper share.  After two seasons in the NRL, SBW returns to help the All Blacks go back to back at the World Cup.  Despite the season away he still has plenty about his game to like.  Look out for the offloads.

2015 Chances: Second favourites with the bookmakers on account of their fine record over the last three years.  Will go close again.

2015 Odds: $5.50

HURRICANES

Squad: Nehe Milner-Skudder, Matt Proctor, Jason Woodward, Cory Jane, Julian Savea, Vince Aso, Conrad Smith (capt), Reynold Lee-Lo, Ma’a Nonu, Willis Halaholo, Beauden Barrett, James Marshall, TJ Perenara, Chris Smylie, Victor Vito, Blade Thomson, Ardie Savea, Callum Gibbins, Iopu Iopu-Aso, Brad Shields, Mark Abbott, Jeremy Thrush, James Broadhurst, Christian Lloyd, Geoffrey Cridge, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Chris Eves, Ben Franks, Ben May, Reggie Goodes, Dane Coles, Motu Matu’u.

Last Year: 7th

X-Factor: It’s difficult to pick international stars as the players to watch when we know they’ll sit ut portions of the tournament in order to manage workloads ahead of the Rugby World Cup.  Nevertheless, Julian Savea cannot be ignore.  The best finisher in the World is the modern day Jonah Lomu and an important part of the Hurricanes side.

2015 Chances: The Hurricanes should be there or thereabouts come the business end of the competition.  Can be incredibly inconsistent at this level and tend to leak a few too many tries, but we expect them to finish in the top 8, and push for the qualifying rounds.

2015 Odds: $16.00

CRUSADERS

Squad: Israel Dagg, Johnny McNicholl, Nemani Nadolo, Jone Macilai, Robbie Fruean, Kieran Fonotia, Tom Taylor, Dan Carter, Colin Slade, Andy Ellis, Mitchell Drummond, Kieran Read (capt), Luke Whitelock, Matt Todd, Richie McCaw, Jordan Taufua, Jimmy Tupou, Luke Romano, Sam Whitelock, Dominic Bird, Scott Barrett, Owen Franks, Nepo Laulala, Wyatt Crockett, Joe Moody, Tim Perry, Ben Funnell, Codie Taylor, Ged Robinson.

Last Year: Beaten Finalists

X-Factor: With a host of Crusaders stars resting this year Nemani Nadolo is the x-factor after a breakout 2014.  Joint top try-scorer last year with 12, the Fijian has explosive speed and will be one of the top try-scorers again this year.

2015: Chances: Good as always.  Sure they’ll lose some AB’s, and they’ve lost Andy Ellis.  But they’re well-coached, well used to winning and brilliantly lead by Kieran Read.  Will go close.

2015 Odds: $5.50

HIGHLANDERS

Squad: Ben Smith (co-capt), Trent Renata, Kurt Baker, Patrick Osborne, Waisake Naholo, Richard Buckman, Malakai Fekitoa, Jason Emery, Shaun Treeby, Marty Banks, Lima Sopoaga, Hayden Parker, Aaron Smith, Fumiaki Tanaka, Nasi Manu (co-capt), Gareth Evans, Shane Christie, John Hardie, Dan Pryor, Elliot Dixon, Joe Wheeler, Mark Reddish, Tom Franklin, Alex Ainley, Ross Geldenhuys, Josh Hohneck, Brendon Edmonds, Kane Hames, Ma’afu Fia, Pingi Tala’apitaga, Liam Coltman, Ash Dixon.

Last Year: Qualifiers (6th)

X-Factor: 2014 was the year of Malakai Fekitoa.  Relatively unknown at the start of the year, Fekitoa reached the lofty heights of All Black mainstay, and even developed his game to play both midfield positions.  A strong runner, he also added some nice deft touches and kicking options later in the year too.

2015: Chances: They won’t win it, but they could upset some more favoured teams along the way to finishing around 10th.

2015 Odds: $41.00

Australian Conference

REBELS

Squad: Cruze Ah-Nau, Paul Alo-Emile, Luke Burgess, Cam Crawford, Steve Cummins, Jack Debreczeni, Tamati Ellison, Tom English, Colby Fainga’a, Scott Fuglistaller, Jed Gillespie, Mike Harris, Bryce Hegarty, Scott Higginbotham, Keita Inagaki, Mitch Inman, Sam Jeffries, Luke Jones, Tom Kingston, Pat Leafa, Sean McMahon, Ben Meehan, Tim Metcher, Sefanaia Naivalu, Cadeyrn Neville, Jonah Placid, Jordy Reid, Radike Samo, Tom Sexton, Dom Shipperley, Toby Smith, Nic Stirzaker, Lopeti Timani, Telusa Veainu, Laurie Weeks, Ben Whittaker.

Last Year: 15th

X-Factor: The Rebels coach, Damien Hill, recently said that “[In Scott Higginbotham] you’ve got one of the best ball-running, lineout jumping options in Australian rugby.  We won’t argue, he’ll be huge (figuratively) for the Rebels this year.

2015 Chances: Will struggle.

2015 Odds: $126.00

FORCE

Squad: Robbie Abel, Chris Alcock, Nathan Charles, Adam Coleman, Angus Cottrell, Pek Cowan, Tetera Faulkner, Ross Haylett-Petty, Chris Heiberg, Matt Hodgson, Oliver Hoskins, Steve Mafi, Ben McCalman, Brynard Stander, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Heath Tessman, Francois van Wyk, Rory Walton, Sam Wykes, Marcel Brache, Luke Burton, Nick Cummins, Pat Dellit, Sias Ebersohn, Kyle Godwin, Dane Haylett-Petty, Zack Holmes, Brad Lacey, Ryan Louwrens, Alby Mathewson, Luke Morahan, Albert Nikoro, Ian Prior, Junior Rasolea, Mitch Scott, Akihito Yamada.

Last Year: 8th

X-Factor: Nick Cummins doesn’t just have x-factor in television interviews – the Honey Badger as he’s affectionately known – is an accomplished finisher and after a quick stint in Japan has brokered a deal to make himself available for Super Rugby 2015.

2015 Chances: Enjoyed a relatively strong season last year despite not having many big name players.  Won’t be underestimated this year though, so we’re not expecting them to be factors in the tournament.

2015 Odds: $81.00

REDS

Squad: Curtis Browning, Ben Daley, Saia Faingaa, Lolo Fakaosilea, Liam Gill, James Hanson, Greg Holmes, James Horwill, David McDuling, Ed O’Donoghue, Eddie Quirk, Andrew Ready, Beau Robinson, Jake Schatz, James Slipper, Rob Simmons, Hendrik Tui, Adam Thomson, Quade Cooper, Anthony Faingaa, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Nick Frisby, Will Genia, Karmichael Hunt, Samuela Kerevi, Chris Kuridrani, Campbell Magnay, James O’Connor, Duncan Paia’aua, Ben Tapuai, Jamie-Jerry Taulagi, Lachie Turner.

Last Year: 13th

X-Factor: Karmichael Hunt will have plenty of eyes on him when he lines up for the Reds for the first time in 2015.  In fact, he’s lining up on a rugby pitch for the first time after successful stints in the NRL and AFL.  It takes a special player to play in all three formats and Special K is exactly that.

2015 Chances: Could spring a few surprises but likely to miss out on the top 6.

2015 Odds: $16.00

BRUMBIES

Squad: Allan Alaalatoa, Ben Alexander, Rory Arnold, Fotu Auelua, Jarrad Butler, Sam Carter, Sean Doyle, Blake Enever, Scott Fardy, Les Makin, Stephen Moore, Joshua Mann-Rea, David Pocock, Siliva Siliva, Scott Sio, Jordan Smiler, Jean-Pierre Smith, Ruan Smith, Tom Staniforth, Nigel Ah Wong, Robbie Coleman, James Dargaville, Michael Dowsett, Rod Iona, Tevita Kuridrani, Christian Lealiifano, Jesse Mogg, Henry Speight, Lausii Taliauli, Joe Tomane, Matt Toomua, Nic White.

Last Year: Semi-Finals

X-Factor: Tevita Kuridrani is one of the most underrated Australian backs in the game.  Every time he pulls on a Wallabies jumper he looks dangerous, yet doesn’t always get the game time he deserves.  It will be interesting to see how his hard line ball running goes in a World Cup year.

2015 Chances: Well coached, and very difficult to beat at home.  Should make the top 6.

2015 Odds: $12.00

WARRATAHS

Squad: Michael Alaalatoa, Mitchell Chapman, Dennis, Tala Gray, Stephen Hoiles, Jed Holloway, Michael Hooper, Sekope Kepu, Tolu Latu, Pat McCutcheon, Wycliff Palu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Jacques Potgieter, Hugh Roach, Benn Robinson, Paddy Ryan, Will Skelton, Jeremy Tilse, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Kurtley Beale, Peter Betham, Matt Carraro, Bernard Foley, Israel Folau, Rob Horne, David Horwitz, Jono Lance, Kotaro Matsushima, Brendan McKibbin, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Nick Phipps, Ben Volavola.

Last Year: Winners

X-Factor: Israel Folau is quite simply one of the world’s best.  A devastatingly good 2014 saw him jointly top the try-scoring charts and guide the Warratahs to the title.  Folau breaks tackles at will with his languid angled running, and has proved difficult to stop in domestic and international rugby.

2015 Chances: Excellent chance of repeating their 2014 win.

2015 Odds: $4.50

South African Conference

SHARKS

Squad: Lourens Adriaanse, Mouritz Botha, Renaldo Bothma, Dale Chadwick, Michael Claassens, Marcell Coetzee, Kyle Cooper, Lionel Cronjé, Jean Deysel, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Thomas du Toit, Andre Esterhuizen, Monde Hadebe, Conrad Hoffmann, Ryan Kankowski, Patrick Lambie, Khaya Majola, Franco Marais, SP Marais, Beast Mtawarira, Tera Mtembu, Lubabalo Mtyanda, Waylon Murray, Lwazi Mvovo, Odwa Ndungane, Etienne Oosthuizen, Paul Perez, JP Pietersen, Cobus Reinach, S’bura Sithole, Matt Stevens, Frans Steyn, Stefan Ungerer, Marco Wentzel, Heimar Williams, Jack Wilson, Cameron Wright, Fred Zeilinga.

Last Year: Semi-Finals

X-Factor: Bismarck du Plessis is an incredibly gifted athlete.  He has size, presence, and feet, and is equally happy on defence or attack.  The brute of a man sometimes attracts controversy for his aggressive approach, but just to be clear, he has x-factor by the bicep load.

2015 Chances: They’ll be the best of the South African bunch and should be around at the business end of the tournament.  Need to get themselves home finals if they want to seal the deal.

2015 Odds: $8.00

LIONS

Squad: Marnitz Boshoff, Andries Coetzee, Robin Coetzee, Ruan Combrinck, Ross Cronje, Faf de Klerk, Steph de Witt, Ruan Dreyer, Corne Fourie, Stokkies Hanekom, Elton Jantjies, Jaco Kriel, Robert Kruger, Ruaan Lerm, MB Lusaseni, Malcolm Marx, Lionel Mapoe, Sampie Mastriet, Derick Minnie, Howard Mnisi, Franco Mostert, Martin Muller, Julian Redelinghuys, Mark Richards, Courtnall Skosan, Warwick Tecklenburg, Armand van der Merwe, Schalk van der Merwe, Jaco van der Walt, Jacques van Rooyen, Anthony Volmink, Harold Vorster, Warren Whiteley (capt).

Last Year: 12th

X-Factor: The Lions have two main contenders for their most important player.  But neigher of them have x-factpr per se.  Marnitz Boshoff is one of the premium goal kickers in the competition.  Very rarely misses and often keeps his side in the hunt.  Their baby faced captain on the other hand Warren Whitely is the engine room of the pack.  Both crucial to their chances.

2015 Chances: No chance.

2015 Odds: $151.00

CHEETAHS

Squad: Caylib Oosthuizen, BG Uys, Danie Minnie, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Martin Bezuidenhout, Stefan Coetzee, Coenie Oosthuizen, Maks van Dyk, Ewald van der Westhuizen, Carl Wegner, Lodewyk de Jager, Francois Uys, Armand Koster, Boom Prinsloo, Carel Greeff, Jean Cook, Tienie Burger, Oupa Mohoje, Willie Britz, Sarel Pretorius, Shaun Venter, Tian Meyer, Joe Petersen, Willie du Plessis, Francois Brummer, Raymond Rhule, Cornal Hendricks, Danie Dames, Francois Venter, Rayno Benjamin, Michael van der Spuy, Johan Sadie, JW Jonker, Willie le Roux, Clayton Blommetjies.

Last Year: 14th

X-Factor: His South African coach recently hailed him as the world’s best fullback, which is no mean feat when others include Israel Dagg, Ben Smith and Israel Folau.  But Willie le Roux might just be able to back up that claim with a strong 2015.

2015 Chances: Also no chance.

2015 Odds: $151.00

BULLS

Squad: Arno Botha, Jacques du Plessis, Dean Greyling, Grant Hattingh, Nico Janse van Rensburg, Werner Kruger, Lappies Labuschagne, Hanro Liebenberg, Bandise Maku, Victor Matfield, Morne Mellett, Trevor Nyakane, Marvin Orie, RG Snyman, Pierre Spies, Deon Stegmann, Adriaan Strauss, Flip van der Merwe, Marcel van der Merwe, Callie Visagie, Jaco Visagie, Bjorn Basson, Ulrich Beyers, JJ Engelbrecht, Wayne Gelant, Francois Hougaard, Travis Ismaiel, Jesse Kriel, Duncan Matthews, Akona Ndungane, Burger Odendaal, Rudy Paige, Handre Pollard, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Jan Serfontein, William Small-Smith, Jamba Ulengo, Piet van Zyl, Jurgen Visser.

Last Year: 9th

X-Factor: At just 20 years of age, Handre Pollard has already chalked up an impressive 9 test matches including when he helped stop the All Blacks impressive 22 match unbeaten record in Johannesburg.  Pollard was last year awarded the IRB Young Player of the Year acclaim, and we’re excited to see what he can do in his third year of Super Rugby.

2015 Chances: Should do okay in 2015 if they can get a couple of wins on the road.  Have a handy draw to help them on their way.

2015 Odds: $13.00

STORMERS

Squad: Ruan Botha, Schalk Burger, Manuel Carizza, Nizaam Carr, Rynhard Elstadt, Eben Etzebeth, Oliver Kebble, Steven Kitshoff, Jean Kleyn, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Wilco Louw, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Siyabonga Ntubeni, Neil Rautenbach, Michael Rhodes, Jurie van Vuuren, Frans van Wyk, Alistair Vermaak, Duane Vermeulen, Michael Willemse, Demetri Catrakilis, Kurt Coleman, Damian de Allende, Juan de Jongh, Robert du Preez, Ryno Eksteen, Nick Groom, Pat Howard, Huw Jones, Cheslin Kolbe, Johnny Kotze, Dillyn Leyds, Godlin Masimla, Louis Schreuder, Jaco Taute, Kobus van Wyk, EW Viljoen.

Last Year: 11th

X-Factor: Duane Vermeulen was one of the best players in World Rugby last year.  His combative and aggressive approach unsettles plenty of opposition players and saw him nominated for the IRB Player of the Year award.  Some say he should have won, so he might have some frustration to take out on Super Rugby players.

2015 Chances: Could be the dark horses of the South African conference.  Don’t write off.

2015 Odds: $14.00

Wallabies New Era Suffers Second Straight Loss

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Wallabies coach Michael Cheika was left asking fans to keep the faith after their second consecutive three point loss to European opponents on Sunday morning.  The Wallabies went down 26-23 to Ireland in a see-sawing battle that left many fans wondering if Cheika has enough time to mould his Wallabies squad together before next year’s Rugby World Cup.  Despite clearly identifiable positives in the performances of Matt Toomua, Nick Phipps, and debutant winger Speight, the Australian rugby public will still be questioning the make-up of their best side as well as looking for reasons why the Wallabies always seem to finish on the wrong side of close games.

On one end of the spectrum was the Nick Phipps try; a culmination of brilliant handling, clever offloading and committed support play.  But this was matched with general sloppiness when they fell 17 points behind early.  Yet, the fight back from that deficit was an encouraging aspect of the match, featuring some of the Wallabies best rugby of the tour.

The scintillating comeback saw the Wallabies respond to the 17 point Irish head-start with 20 unanswered points.  Three long range tries featured in the burst that make up most of the positives the team will take away.  The Wallabies will also take some satisfaction that they were not completely destroyed at set piece.  The side already has a soft reputation with teams thinking they can overpower them comfortably.  A similar performance would have been catastrophic to their future chances.  Instead, the forward pack were brave, staunch.

Unfortunately, World Rugby Player of the Year nominee Jonathan Sexton kicked well from both general play and at goal to ultimately resign the Wallabies to another end of season tour loss.  This time though, losing to the best team in Europe (one that is unbeaten in seven matches and will go into the Six Nations as favourites) won’t feel as bitter as losing to the inconsistent French.

The Wallabies need to bounce back quickly.  They have only five more matches to play before the Rugby World Cup.  A win against England at Twickenham this weekend will certainly help the confidence.

Strong Finish Sees All Blacks Home

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It feels like the same tagline could have been used to describe each of the All Blacks Northern Tour matches.  Terms like “scrape home’ and “survived a scare” could have been paired with “brave opposition” and “last minute show of class” to illustrate exactly what occurred against England, Scotland, and now Wales.

As it was, a brave Welsh defensive effort that last all of 60 minutes was eventually broken down by moments of individual brilliance from Beauden Barrett, Kieran Read, and Aaron Smith.  There were times, two to be exact (when the Welsh led by a single point), where the Welsh faithful would have dared to dream a first win against the All Blacks since 1953 was possible, only to have the dream quickly turn into nightmare as tries to Barrett (2) and Read rudely interrupted the local hope.

Both tries were typical moments of skill and composure.  Barrett’s effort to take the All Blacks into a 70th minute lead was an excellent individual chip and chase with a cruel bounce of the ball seeing him past an incoming Leigh Halfpenny.  Read’s on the other hand was a close range charge down and gather, upsetting a Mike Phillips box clearance.  Read showed tremendous nous and patience close to the line in scoring the decisive game winner.

Before the late breakaway, the contest was dominated by strong defensive efforts from both sides.  The Welsh effort to keep the All Blacks scoreless in the first half was as impressive as it was slightly negative.  Without really threatening the All Blacks, and using a large number of stoppages to give running repairs to their forward pack, the home side clearly felt a disruptive rather than expansive game plan gave them the best chance of victory.

The approach worked for most of the first half as the Welsh flat defensive line squeezed the All Blacks and prevented them from finding any consistent width or space in which to play at their fast paced best.  Barrett and Halfpenny were the only point scorers in what made for relatively dour and error prone rugby.

The half time break at least provided a hint of inspiration for the sides as both crossed for early second half tries (Julian Savea and Rhys Webb) that entertained the 77,000 strong crowd but quickly reinstated the deadlock.  As the pressure began to tell, the kicking games of the sides started to reflect the ambition of the teams, and would eventually prove the difference.  The Welsh chose a territorial game and continuously booted quality ball away in attempts to drive the All Blacks into their own half.  The men in black however, opted for more positive kicking often behind the fast approaching rush defence.  The ploy was successful with a cross field Barrett kick leading to a Jerome Kaino try and a chip and gather effort from Barrett sending the Kiwi’s back to NZ with another test win.

Wales should take some heart from a defensive effort that definitely unsettled the All Blacks but will also rue missing out on a treasured win against the All Blacks, a win that at half time seemed entirely plausible.

All Blacks: 34 (Julian Savea, Jerome Kaino, 2 Beauden Barrett, Kieran Read tries; Beauden Barrett con, pen; Colin Slade 2 con) 

Wales: 16 (Rhys Webb try; Leigh Halfpenny con, 3 pens)

Below Par All Blacks Barely Avoid Scotland Defeat

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Question marks remain over a host of fringe All Blacks players after a disappointing performance against a brave Scotland side at Murrayfield on the weekend.  Barring a couple of stunt performances from Jeremy Thrush and Charles Piutau, the back-up group failed to take the opportunity to press their claims for starting spots against Wales next week, or longer term, spots in the 2015 World Cup squad.  The skittish effort was full of rust; untidiness; and confusion, and despite assurances from coach Steven Hansen that the side needed a hotly contested match, will have damaged the reputations of some of the All Blacks also-rans.

TJ Peranara, Ryan Crotty, Dominic Bird all failed to shine, and the increasingly fragile Dan Carter returned to action with plenty of kinks that need to be ironed out.   As a result of individual frailties and team inaccuracy, the All Blacks only scraped past the determined Scots, eventually eking out a 24-16 win.  Tries to forwards Victor Vito and Thrush helped the All Blacks cancel out a Tommy Seymour intercept try that had stirred a passionate Murrayfield crowd into daring to believe in a first ever win against the All Blacks.

For all the heart of the Scotland side, there didn’t appear to be a huge chance of upsetting the All Blacks.  The All Blacks superior territorial game near the end, in addition to their powerful bench, meant they were always likely to overpower the improving Scottish side.  They deserve credit, however, for coming within ten points of the All Blacks for the first time since 1991, and unearthing a couple of future stars in the locking Gray brothers; Sean Lamont’s cameo was encouraging too.

The one regret for Scotland will be reliable captain Greg Laidlaw’s penalty miss that would have pushed them in front of, and heaped pressure on, the All Blacks with ten minutes to go.  The attempt sailed wide and with it the chances of an unexpected win.

Attempting to go one better than the strong Scotland effort this weekend will be Wales at Millennium Stadium.  To do so Wales will need to find an extra gear from the one they traditionally use against the Southern Hemisphere sides.  We’ll preview that match later this week.

All Blacks Change Plenty in Bid to Remain Perfect

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The All Backs have never lost to Scotland.  In 109 long years the brave Scottish are yet to break a duck that is beginning to resemble one of the most one-sided bi-lateral match ups in history.  Saturday’s Murrayfield encounter is the latest stanza in the meetings between the countries, and is a return to Scotland’s last resemblance of success against the All Blacks; a 23-23 draw in 1983.

However, the 2014 version shapes as an intriguing matchup between consistency and rotation.  The All Blacks escaped an England scare last week to reaffirm their position as World Cup favourites, and have made 13 changes to that side in an almost unrecognisable line-up.  Whereas, a much improved Scotland side dismantled a capable Argentinian side, scoring five tries in the process for the first time in a test in six years, and have made zero changes from that team.

The 13 changes made by Steve Hansen is the greatest number of changes he has made to a side from week to week in his tenure.  To an extent, that puts Scotland in the same vein as the USA, and opens the All Blacks up to complacency wobbles.  Leaving names such as Conrad Smith, Israel Dagg, Sonny Bill Williams, Julian Savea, Jerome Kaino, and Kieran Read have had many pundits questioning whether Hansen is treating the game with the requisite respect.  Complacency though, as a word, doesn’t exist in the All Blacks psyche, the team are too well organised and drilled to allow laziness to creep in.  Combine that with the depth in the All Blacks training squad and the versatility of a number of their players and the changes should have a minimal material impact to their performance.

Looking to exploit any potential All Black uncertainty is a Scotland side that under a new leadership group of captain Greig Laidlaw and coach Vern Cotter have drastically altered their game plan.  Last week’s effort was full of vigour and attacking intent, words that  much like the All Blacks example above, are rarely associated with Scotland.  Scotland looked dangerous with ball in hand throughout will look to tap into Cotter’s knowledge of All Black rugby or at the very least the absence of fear he brings to the environment.

Daniel Carter’s return to the All Blacks fold is an interesting aside to the main event.  That’s because even with three World class first fives (maybe four, if you count Colin Slade), the All Blacks are yet to settle on their number one option; durability concerns remain over Carter, and Barrett and Cruden have the goal-kicking yips.

With plenty of changes the All Blacks are obviously confident they can remain perfect against the Scots.  By no means however, does that mean it will be easy.  I’m picking the All Blacks by 16 in a scrappy match.

The Odds

New Zealand $1.04

Scotland $12.00

Odds courtesy of Sportingbet Australia.

The Teams

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain); 1 Alasdair Dickinson, 2 Ross Ford, 3 Euan Murray, 4 Richie Gray, 5 Jonny Gray, 6 Rob Harley, 7 Blair Cowan, 8 Adam Ashe.

Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Johnnie Beattie, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Sean Lamont.

All Blacks: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Colin Slade, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Dan Carter, 9 TJ Perenara; 1 Joe Moody, 2 James Parsons, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 5 Dominic Bird, 6 Richie McCaw (captain), 7 Sam Cane, 8 Victor Vito.

Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Augustine Pulu, 22 Sonny Bill Williams, 23 Julian Savea.