Round 8 of the Super Rugby Pacific competition boasts plenty of highlights, and some potentially crucial matches.
Check out our complete preview and Super Rugby Pacific Round 8 Tips below.
Two of Super Rugby Pacific’s strugglers meet in Dunedin on Friday, when the Highlanders host Moana Pasifika.
The Highlanders are still yet to record their first win of the campaign, but they did return their best performance of the season last week, to go within a couple of points of the Crusaders in Christchurch.
Moana Pasifika has won just once, and their -106 points differential is one of the worst in the competition.
This is the opportunity that the Highlanders have been waiting for.
A great opportunity awaits both the Force and the Rebels in Round 8 of Super Rugby Pacific.
The Force have continued to punch above their weight this season and are unlucky not to have won more than two times, while they’ll also enter this match refreshed following a week off.
The Rebels have been nothing short of terrible this season and were lucky to win once.
I think that this looks to be an open and shut case.
One of the better games of the week will almost certainly materialise between the Hurricanes and Crusaders in Wellington on Saturday.
The ‘Canes were desperately unlucky not to beat the Chiefs in Round 7, walking away on the wrong end of a single point defeat, and I am confident that result will have only spurred them on.
The Crusaders won in Round 7, but it was far from convincing, and against a side who is yet to win in 2022 – the Highlanders.
I personally don’t think that the Crusaders are playing nearly as well as they can, and I am going to back the upset this week.
This is set to be an outstanding clash, and at publish, hardly anything separates the Chiefs and Blues in match betting.
The Chiefs have continued to improve as the season has progressed, and they have taken some very notable scalps during Super Rugby Pacific. They takes their place in Round 8 full of confidence following a tough win over a good Hurricanes side.
The Blues have also performed consistently this season, winning five of six matches, and ultimately sitting fourth on the ladder.
I cannot split them, so I am going to take the value around the Blues to win as slight outsiders.
Understandably, betting suggests the most one-sided match of the round comes up on Saturday night, when Fijian Drua take on the competition-leading Brumbies.
The Drua have played with plenty of heart during their debut season, they simply lack the experience, depth and discipline of most of their rivals.
The Brumbies meanwhile have been nothing short of outstanding, which is telling in their position on the ladder, and they are unlucky not to remain undefeated.