Super Rugby Fixtures & Odds: Week 11 Preview
Well done to the Brumbies, who were the only Australian side to pull off a win over a New Zealand side in Super Rugby Pacific’s Super Round last weekend.
They beat the hapless Highlanders 28-17 in Melbourne, surprising betting sites in the process.
The Reds were looking good to join them after leading the Hurricanes 17-0, but unfortunately the Queenslanders forgot that rugby games are 80 minutes long and conceded 30 straight points to end up losing comfortably.
They were the standout results in a round where all the other games went according to the form book, so it’ll be interesting to see what bearing they have as we enter the second round of Trans-Tasman competition.
You can find all the odds for these games on the best rugby betting sites, so here’s some more info for the weekend (all times NZT):
Friday 29 April
21:45 Queensland Reds v Chiefs, Suncorp Stadium
The Reds’ stunning collapse against the Canes last weekend was a disaster, so you’d think there’d be no way they’d repeat that if they manage to get ahead this Friday night.
They are at 11/5 with William Hill, plus they have the added advantage of facing a very understrength looking Chiefs team.
Last year’s Super Rugby Aoteaora finalists are missing captains Brad Weber and Sam Cane, as well as 10 other players with injury.
While the Chiefs will be expecting a win in this one, it is worth considering that the Reds won the last meeting between the two last year.
Saturday 30 April
00:00 Western Force v Blues, HBF Park
The Blues head over to Perth as the leading team in Super Rugby Pacific, although they are coming off a scratchy win over the Drua last weekend.
While it is likely a few key players will be rested for this one, they still go in as massive 1/25 favourites with Bet365 against a Force team that hasn’t won a game in five weeks. To be fair to the home side, who are at 9/1, two of those losses were by one point.
The Force can count on a decent home crowd, as they always do, so this one might be a bit more of a banana skin game for the all-conquering Blues than it first appears.
16:35 Fijian Drua v Highlanders, ANZ National Stadium
Super Rugby returns to Fiji for the first time since 2019, as the Drua make their long-awaited homecoming against what will surely be a huge and passionate crowd in Suva.
This fixture couldn’t have been timed better either - the Highlanders are in miserable form and their games so far have given the Drua multiple blueprints to work off to try and claim an historic victory.
Still, the Highlanders do possess enough experience to be 1/16 with 888sport, while the Drua are at 18/5.
There are fair expectations of an upset though, it’s currently around 30 degrees in Suva each day so that is some serious acclimatisation for the Highlanders to deal with as well.
19:05 NSW Waratahs v Crusaders, Leichhardt Oval
The Tahs ultimately got flogged by the Chiefs 51-27 last weekend in a game that saw a red card dished out in the opening two minutes.
Unfortunately for the Tahs it was to prop Angus Bell, but the good news is that the judiciary has cleared him to play this weekend.
Their task won’t get any easier against a Crusaders team that toyed with the Rebels before putting them away handily, which is why they are 1/40.
The Tahs are available at 20/1, but have shown enough that they will be able to put up a decent fight against a top quality team like the Crusaders – as long as they can keep 15 men on the park.
21:45 Melbourne Rebels v Moana Pasifika, AAMI Park
So, here’s where it gets very interesting. Moana Pasifika were supposed to have a game against the Force last weekend that would have given us a much clearer idea of where they’re at, but it was unfortunately postponed due to Covid.
The Rebels actually looked pretty good for a while against the Crusaders, so they’ll be fancying their chances as 1/2 favourites.
But really, there is very little to go on given Moana Pasifika’s incredibly truncated season so far, a lot of the time their own worst enemy has been themselves as they’ve been on the wrong end of some horrendous penalty counts.
Sunday 1 May
16:00 Brumbies v Hurricanes, GIO Stadium
Another one that could really go either way here. The Brumbies probably deserved to win by more against the Highlanders last weekend and have won four out of their last five, so they deserve the title of top Australian team.
However, the often-inconsistent Canes have quietly gone on a three-game winning streak and come into this one at 8/13.
The Brumbies do hold a pretty good trump card in that they are playing in inhospitable Canberra, they’re at 11/8 and a win here will see them hold on to second at least, or possibly take top spot if the Blues lose against the Force. Stranger things have happened!
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