17 April 2019, by: Quintin van Jaarsveld

SUPER RUGBY PREDICTIONS – ROUND 10

The Lions face an uphill battle when they come up against the Chiefs in Waikato in the opening fixture of Round 10 of Super Rugby on Friday morning (SA time).

The second half of the season starts with six matches, three on Good Friday and three on Saturday, as pacesetters the Crusaders and Bulls enjoy a bye, along with the Jaguares.

The Chiefs and Lions kick-off the action followed by the Sunwolves hosting the Hurricanes and the Sharks squaring off with the Reds in Durban.

Saturday sees the Highlanders battle the Blues in Dunedin, the Waratahs welcome the Melbourne Rebels to Sydney and the Stormers take on the Brumbies in Cape Town.

The Lions have a mountain to climb in Waikato, a challenge made all the more difficult with Springboks Malcolm Marx and Elton Jantjies being benched as per World Cup protocol. The Lions missed 36 tackles and leaked five tries in the loss to the Brumbies, who are ponies compared to the lethal Chiefs, who edged the Blues in an instant classic last weekend. The Lions are actually better placed – ninth to the Chiefs’ 11th – but the Johannesburg side have regressed terribly over the past two rounds while the New Zealanders have won three in a row.

Prediction: Chiefs by 15. (Suggested BET – Chiefs -6.5)

Both teams have had a week off, so they’ll well and truly climb into each other. The Sunwolves have played some of their best rugby this season and have claimed the scalps of the Chiefs and Waratahs as a result. They came unstuck against the Rebels last time out (42-15) and are up against one of the top teams in the tournament in the ‘Canes, whose 31-28 win over the Highlanders was their fifth of the season. There’s a big class discrepancy, even with Beauden and Jordie Barrett and Ardie Savea on an All Blacks rest week, and that should be reflected in the scoreline.

Prediction: Hurricanes by 18. (Suggested BET – Hurricanes -16.5)

Which Sharks side will show up? That’s the big question. The erratic hosts have been red-hot one week and ice-cold the next. They’re coming off their worst performance in years, a crushing 51-17 loss to the Jaguares, which was their third defeat in five fixtures at home this season.

With no home ground advantage, then, and with all the pressure being on the Sharks to redeem themselves, the Reds will feel they have a real opportunity here, even though they were easily beaten by the Bulls last weekend (32-17). The Sharks know they HAVE to deliver this week and I expect that desperation to drive them toward victory.

Prediction: Sharks by 10. (Suggested BET – Reds +12.5)

The Blues came up just short in a thriller against the Chiefs last weekend, which snapped a four-match winning streak. There was no real loser, though, such was the quality of the performances of both sides. The Blues will still feel they have momentum on their side, whereas the Highlanders were handled by the Crusaders (43-17) and sit at the foot of the New Zealand Conference. Only seven points separated the sides in Round Six and I see the Blues winning a close one once again.

Prediction: Blues by 3. (Suggested BET –  Blues Win)

A massive match in terms of the Australian Conference, with the Rebels leading the way on 23 and the Waratahs in second on 16 with a game in hand. The crunch clash comes at the absolute perfect time for the ‘Tahs, with them being fresh off a bye and playing at home and with the Rebels coming off a heavy home defeat to the Stormers. The Israel Folau saga will weigh on the Waratahs and the loss of the try-scoring machine is a massive one, but it’s still worth backing them as underdogs.

Prediction: Waratahs by 1. (Suggested BET – Waratahs Win)

Last week’s heroics in Melbourne would’ve done wonders for the morale of the Stormers and their homecoming from a long four-week Australasian tour will add further fuel to their fire. That they effectively shut out the more dangerous Rebels spells trouble for the Brumbies, who benefitted from poor defence in their win over the Lions. All signs point to a home win.

Prediction: Stormers by 11. (Suggested BET – Stormers -7.5)

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Quintin van Jaarsveld

Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.