The Hurricanes will be wanting to extend their lead at the summit of the New Zealand Conference when they take on the Chiefs on Friday night to open the action in Round 9.
The Blues are good value to finally get their second win of the season when they do battle with the Sunwolves in Tokyo and the Rebels will be looking to close the gap on the Waratahs with a win over Jaguares.
The Brumbies will be looking to break Australia’s drought against the Kiwis when they take on the Highlanders and the Waratahs and the Reds resume hostilities in their traditional grudge match. The Sharks and the Bulls finish out the round and the Sharks will be looking for consecutive wins after upsetting the Blues.
The Hurricanes are well placed to make a charge up the New Zealand Conference as they only sit one point behind the defending champions, the Crusaders.
The Wellington side were outplayed in their round eight clash with the Sharks and only securing a 38-37 win thanks to the brilliant work of Ihaia West.
West slotted the winning conversion five minutes from time after inside centre Ngani Laumape had crossed to put the Hurricanes in the lead for the first time.
The Chiefs can consider themselves equally lucky when a penalty try in the closing moments of their clash with the Blues gifted them victory.
The Chiefs are looking for their sixth consecutive win but will need to find a way to limit the space of All-Blacks half Beauden Barrett.
Barrett has been instrumental in the Hurricanes push for another Super Rugby title and looms as a key figure against the Chiefs.
The Auckland Blues head to Japan under immense pressure in the New Zealand Conference after failing to get the points last week against another Kiwi side. Former All-Black Tana Umaga is under serious pressure to retain his head coaching role with the Blues only registering a single win for the competition.
In the corresponding match last year the Blues were belted by the Japanese side 48-21 and Umaga can ill-afford a repeat of that result. The Sunwolves have yet to register a win in the competition but will fancy their chances after toppling the Blues at the end of the 2017 season.
The Blues will be without several of their stars for the trip to Japan with Jimmy Tupou, Sonny Bill Williams and Malani Nanai all on the sidelines.
The Sunwolves have conceded an average of 45-points per game this year and on paper, the Blues should be able to record a comfortable victory.
The Rebels will be searching for a vital win when they clash with the South Americans in Melbourne. The Melbourne side needs a win to maintain their position in the Australian Conference with both the Brumbies and the Waratahs starting to fire. The Rebels will head to South Africa after this round and with two matches on the road coach David Wessels knows his side can ill-afford to drop points at home.
Jaguares have surprised a few sides at home this season but have struggled to replicate their form on the road and the trip to Melbourne could be a long night at the office if the Rebels can produce the form that made them one of the leading teams in the competition.
The Rebels should be able to record a comfortable win at home and the Victorian side should be able to put on some points in what should be an entertaining affair.
The Brumbies face a daunting task to become the first Australian side to win a fixture against a Kiwi team in nearly two years.
The Highlanders are fresh off a bye and will be looking to their star trio of Lima Sopoaga, Aaron Smith and fullback Ben Smith to produce their best against the Aussie side.
The Brumbies are starting to play to their potential and are coming off an outstanding performance against the Queensland Reds (45-21).
David Pocock continues to improve with each game back from injury and the Wallabies backrower found himself on the scoreboard against the Reds.
The Brumbies were composed in attack against the Reds and you get the sense they could be the Aussie franchise that breaks the 34 game trans-Tasman losing streak.
The Canberra side will be feeling confident of an upset and they are worth backing to cause a massive upset that would be a huge boost to the competition.
Brad Thorn has done some amazing work reviving the fortunes of the Queensland Reds this season with some impressive victories against some of the heavyweights of the Australian conference. Thorn continues to show faith in investing in youth, with some of the younger members of his squad continuing to perform under the Super Rugby spotlight.
The Reds are coming off a loss to the Brumbies in Canberra and were far from disgraced. Queensland were able to claw out an early 15-0 lead before their more experienced opponents got back into the contest.
The Waratahs will be happy to return to Sydney with their third consecutive win after an outstanding performance against the Sunwolves in Japan.
The NSW side will be without star Israel Folau this week, with the Wallabies star currently recovering from injury. These two sides return to the SCG to commemorate the history of NSW rugby.
A state of origin style atmosphere brings out the best in sides from north of the border and Brad Thorn will have his young side focused on causing an upset at one of the traditional homes of NSW rugby. There’s plenty of value in backing the Reds and I think their brand of rugby is good enough to cause a huge upset.
The Sharks were brilliant in their last round clash with the Hurricanes losing a pulsating encounter by one point.
While the Sharks struggled in Australia, they were able to win against the Blues and pushed the Hurricanes to the final minutes of the game.
Robert du Preez has been a star for the Sharks, helping his side stay in the game against the Hurricanes with 30+ points.
The Bulls are coming off a bye last round but were impressive in their round seven victory over the Stormers. Tim Agaba and Travis Ismaiel should both be available for selection after missing the win against the Stormers with injury.
While they didn’t get the desired result last round against the Hurricanes, the Sharks have been impressive. The results in New Zealand leave them well placed to push for finals football and they’ll be too slick for the Bulls.