Another exciting weekend of action awaits in the newly formed Super Rugby Pacific competition, with six games set to be played on Friday and Saturday.
Following a couple of delays, Moana Pasifika will finally make their competitive debut first-up on Friday afternoon, but they seriously have their work cut out for them with the Crusaders. Fijian Drua are in action against the Rebels, while the Western Force return to Perth for the first time this season and will host the Reds.
Three outstanding fixtures will also be contested on Saturday, peaking when the Brumbies and Waratahs reignite their historic rivalry in the nation’s capital.
We managed to find five winners from as many tips last weekend, and we are confident of a similar result below in our Super Rugby Pacific Round 3 Tips.
Following a couple of COVID issues, Moana Pasifika’s squad finally appears to be fit, and they will debut against the Crusaders on Friday.
Not a lot is expected of this franchise in their first-ever season, and particularly against an opponent of this calibre. At publish, they are trading at Super Rugby odds of $101, and that is probably unders.
The Crusaders weathered a spirited fight by the Highlanders before ultimately icing the result last Friday, and realistically, they are going to win this match by a lot.
The Fijian Drua suffered another hefty defeat in Round 2, and they will need to improve noticeably to compete with the Rebels on Friday evening.
Similarly to Moana Pasifika, the Drua aren’t expected to challenge for a trophy, nor win very often at all during their maiden Super Rugby campaign, but the weight of their losses has been a concern, and they have conceded a combined eighty two points, while scoring just 13 of their own. This is certainly their weakest opponent to date, however.
The Rebels also enter Round 3 winless, having been handed comfortable defeats at the hands of the Reds and the Force respectively. They are yet to score a try in Super Rugby Pacific, though that trend is almost certain to change this week.
I cannot wait to tune into the action from Perth on Friday night, and I personally believe that the Force a chance of winning their match with the Reds in front of their home crowd.
It has been a long time since the Force have stepped out in their home town, and it is fair to say that they have batted well above their weight since returning to top-tier Rugby. That was more than underlined via their dominance over the Rebels in Round 2, and they enter this match as seriously prepared underdogs.
The Reds did plenty wrong in their rain-affected match with the Waratahs last week, but they ultimately did enough to win, and they therefore remain undefeated.
Though I am confident in the Force’s winning ability, I’m going to take the slightly softer option at the line.
We’re off to Auckland for Saturday afternoon’s first match, and the Blues will be eager to record their first win of the season at the expense of the Chiefs.
Having enjoyed the bye in Round 1, the Blues were sent off relatively firm favourites in their match against the Hurricanes last weekend, but as expected, they were a little rusty and suffered a tight defeat. I have almost no doubt that they will improve noticeably for that run, and they are deserving of their favouritism this week in Super Rugby betting.
The Chiefs meanwhile had the bye in Round 2, and prior to that, proved too strong for the Highlanders at home. Given that opponent returned 70 good minutes of rugby against the Crusaders in Round 2, I have no doubt that this will be a competitive match as well.
I’m siding with the Blues, and I am confident that they can have a small line as favourites.
Round 3’s penultimate match takes us to Wellington, and an intriguing battle between the Hurricanes and the Highlanders.
The Hurricanes leaked 42 points to the Crusaders in Round 1, but they did manage to score 32 of their own, and they converted that high-scoring effort into a tight win over the Blues in Round 2. That result paid us out at very nice odds of $3.60, and while we’re not getting anything close to that in Round 3, I think that they can and will win again.
I always find the Highlanders to be extremely difficult to line up from a form (and betting) perspective. They’ll often come out and play extremely well against a team like the Crusaders, but completely fall apart against a far weaker side the week after. I thought that they were very good in parts last weekend, but I have to side with the ‘Canes at home.
In my humble opinion, the round reaches its exciting peak in Australia on Saturday night when the Brumbies take on the Waratahs in Canberra.
The Brumbies opened their account with a tight win over the Western Force; a result that has since been franked with that opponent coming out and putting paid to the Rebels. To be fair, that result was also underlined when the Brumbies recording a soft win over the Fijian Drua as well.
The Waratahs proved too strong for the Drua in Round 1, and it is fair to say that they were unlucky not to beat the Reds last weekend as well.
While the Brumbies do deserve their favouritism, I don’t have as much between these two clubs as the bookies seem to, and I am going to stick with the Waratahs at the line as outsiders.