Super Rugby News
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Ben O'Keefe has fucked the Reds hard core in this game.
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@antipodean said in Super Rugby News:
Ben O'Keefe has fucked the Reds hard core in this game.
Yea but it's the Reds so fuck 'em
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Ben Lam and Ricky Riccitelli have re-signed with the Hurricanes.
Lam, 26, has signed a two-year extension beyond the 2018 season while Riccitelli, 23, has committed to the end of 2021. -
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@bones haha wtf....a result surely die hard Bulls fans didn't even see coming?
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@taniwharugby I think the sharks didn't even score in the second half. And were out of the game before half time.
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The only time the Sharks have performed this year is against NZ teams.
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@african-monkey well yeah kinda thought after the tour to NZ they might get past the Bulls who haven't looked great
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Bulls 'upset' the Rebels 28-10
Sharks beat the Stormers 24-17 -
I wonder if there will soon be some jockeying to get into 6th position, and face the Waratahs or Rebels in quarters, given the poor form of all 4 Australian franchises recently? Seems like Crusaders and Hurricanes are fighting for 1st and 4th unless the Lions step up a gear and top both. Looking at the remaining matches it looks to me like the Bulls, Chiefs and Highlanders will be fighting for 5,6,7 with the second Aussie team in 8th. The Sharks or Jaguares would need a fantastic run home to sneak into the quarters.
It all makes the choice of who to rest when, very intriguing indeed. And the Highlanders v Rebels and Lions v Bulls matches in the last round might have some huge complications in jockeying for positions. i.e. win and get a worse draw for finals series...
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@arhs The Lions have quite a tough schedule over the next few weeks - away from home against the Reds, Canes and Highlanders. Plus I don't think they're as dominant against their SA compadres, so right now I'm not overly worried about them.
So far, the top four NZ teams have all won their home derby games against one another and beaten all other comers - except for the Canes losing to the Bulls in Round 1.
So might end up a four-way dogfight, though Chiefs and Highlanders still have their SA tours to make. Hurricanes have to play all three of their NZ rivals away from home. Chiefs, Crusaders and Highlanders each have two of their remaining derby matches (excluding the Blues) at home.
All in all, as a Crusaders fan I'm pretty happy with our position, but basically no-one can afford many slip-ups.
I reckon the team that tops the table will probably do it with three losses - certainly not more than four and possibly just two (or one if you're the Canes).
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A wrist injury is set to sideline Hurricanes hooker Asafo Aumua for the next three months. Aumua has had surgery on the fracture and faces six weeks in a cast. The Hurricanes then expect the 20-year-old to require a further six weeks rehabilitation. The injury was suffered in the team's 38-37 win over the Sharks and leaves them pretty thin at hooker. Captain Dane Coles is also out until July, at the earliest, with a knee injury, so Canterbury's Nathan Vella has been drafted in as the Hurricanes' third hooker, behind Ricky Riccitelli and James O'Reilly.Aumua and Coles both attended Monday's All Blacks "foundation" day in Wellington, even if neither are close to playing. On the Coles front, Plumtree said even a return in late July "was a bit of an unknown." Eleven Hurricanes were at the foundation day, including halfback TJ Perenara and wing Nehe Milner-Skudder. One's very near to a return to playing, while the other's not due back until late June. Perenara is able to do things such as lift weights, but his knee ligament injury will keep him out of footy for another four to six weeks.In terms of the June break, the Hurricanes expect a ruling within a day or two about whether flanker Brad Shields will be free to play for England. Shields has sought a release from New Zealand Rugby, who are understood to be close to a decision.Milner-Skudder, meanwhile, will either play in Thursday's Hurricanes Development XV game against Japan A in Levin, or when the Hurricanes host the Sunwolves at Westpac Stadium on Friday. "His return to play will probably be 20 or 30 minutes. It will either be off the bench for us, or a start up there [in Levin]," said Plumtree. Milner-Skudder's comeback from shoulder surgery will be offset by the absence of fellow wing Wes Goosen. He broke his jaw in the team's 25-13 win over the Chiefs and faces six weeks out. Second five-eighth Ngani Laumape definitely won't play against the Sunwolves. He still needs his two All Blacks-mandated weeks off, while first five-eighth Beauden Barrett and lock Vaea Fifita are both due another one. A decision about whether Barrett or Ihaia West will play first-five on Friday still hasn't been made, apparently.
