Super 15 2011

[Quaggas]

Gotta stop supporting the Lions and start going with the noggin.

 

[Athlai]

Highlanders having a huge season so far.

 

[TT Boy]

Gotta stop supporting the Lions and start going with the noggin.

Last time they won a Super Rugby match was in May 2009. Not going for them again!

 

[TT Boy]

Highlanders having a huge season so far.

Great win. Bulls had a 18 match winning streak at Loftus.

Saw Tony Brown was on the Highlanders bench, guy has been around Donkey's years. He was well seasoned when he was turning out for the Sharks and Stormers which was over 3 years ago.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Great win. Bulls had a 18 match winning streak at Loftus.

Saw Tony Brown was on the Highlanders bench, guy has been around Donkey's years. He was well seasoned when he was turning out for the Sharks and Stormers which was over 3 years ago.

Played in the 99 WC. One of Volts personal heroes if memory serves.

Good to see him back because he had a serious internal injury a few years back. Had to have his spleen removed, I think.

 

[Athlai]

Grew up watching and loving Tony Brown. Him tackling Jonah in one match is one of my favourite rugby memories. Such an awesome tackler.

 

[Somerset]

Received a huge shock when I woke up this morning and heard the result of the Bulls v Highlanders match - for a side thats generally struggled in recent seasons, to be the first side to beat the defending champions at home since 2008, thats a tremendous effort. Saw a few highlights tonight, looked like Adam Thompson had another great match, so I'd say hes got the early favouritism for the ABs ahead of Messam or Vito for the back-up blindside flanker/number eight behind Kaino and Read.

 

[Somerset]

Week Three Points:
HeathDavisSpeed 5
Ripper868 5
Somerset 5
TT Boy 5
Athlai 4
BoyBrumby 4
Hurricane 4
Quaggas 4
Social 3
(Samuel_Vimes 3)

Standings after Week Three:
Somerset 15
BoyBrumby 14
HeathDavisSpeed 14
Ripper868 14
TT Boy 14
Samuel_Vimes 13
Social 13
Quaggas 12
Athlai 11
Hurricane 11

 

[Somerset]

Week Four Fixtures:
Crusaders vs Brumbies
Rebels vs Sharks
Stormers vs Highlanders
Hurricanes vs Chiefs
Force vs Blues
Cheetahs vs Lions

Bulls, Reds and Waratahs all have byes this week.

 

[ripper868]

Week Four Fixtures:
Crusaders vs Brumbies
Rebels vs Sharks
Stormers vs Highlanders
Hurricanes vs Chiefs
Force vs Blues
Cheetahs vs Lions

Chhetah lions the toughest to tip since they played last year.

 

[Athlai]

Crusaders vs Brumbies
Rebels vs Sharks
Stormers vs Highlanders
Hurricanes vs Chiefs
Force vs Blues
Cheetahs vs Lions

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Crusaders
Sharks
Stormers
Hurricanes
Blues
Cheetahs

 

[Quaggas]

Vote early, vote often:

Week Four Fixtures:
Crusaders vs Brumbies
Rebels vs Sharks
Stormers vs Highlanders
Hurricanes vs Chiefs (hey, it's worked thus far)
Force vs Blues
Cheetahs vs Lions

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Week Four Fixtures:
Crusaders vs Brumbies
Rebels vs Sharks
Stormers vs Highlanders
Hurricanes vs Chiefs
Force vs Blues
Cheetahs vs Lions

 

[Hurricane]

Week Four Fixtures:
Crusaders vs Brumbies
Rebels vs Sharks
Stormers vs Highlanders
Hurricanes vs Chiefs
Force vs Blues I struggled with this one.
Cheetahs vs Lions Also this one

 

[Hurricane]

@Somerset (or anyone else)

Can you make a post on why home field advantage seems to apply in Rugby. In cricket it is obvious. In ice hockey it makes sense as there are specific rules in favour of the home team. Why does it apply in Rugby.

 

[Smudge]

Come on, Hurricane. It's reasonably obvious - do you really need it explained to you?

- home team doesn't have to travel
- home team has home supporters to build them up
- home team (more often than not) is familiar with weather conditions, prevailing winds etc.

 

[Athlai]

That and the drive to Mercury Bay always made our team nauseous.

 

[Somerset]

Come on, Hurricane. It's reasonably obvious - do you really need it explained to you?

- home team doesn't have to travel
- home team has home supporters to build them up
- home team (more often than not) is familiar with weather conditions, prevailing winds etc.

Yup thats a pretty good summary. Remember that travel's a big factor in Super Rugby given you can play in three different countries in consecutive weeks, and the conditions at altitude in South Africa in Pretoria especially or at the cauldron that is Eden Park () - ok, perhaps Jade Stadium or the Cake Tin are better examples, show how hard it can be to win away from home against certain teams.

For the tipping competition I've used home team default picks because I imagine the home teams win 60-70% of matches and that keeps people in the competition, rather than giving them 0 or one less the lowest score.

 

[Somerset]

Crusaders
Sharks
Stormers
Hurricanes
Blues
Cheetahs