[Rugby] Union / League / Super / Sixes Sevens Pro14 / Cups & Tours / Olympics

[aoluain]

Ah the Tigers couldnt do it in the end, it was close but not enough time for them to make the
benefit of the Knights Yellow card on the 73rd minute. Another loss, not good.


First two matches of Round 10 in the URC played last night and they went the way of the favourites.

Dragons 21 - 44 Stormers
Edinburgh 40 - 14 Zebre

6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 spots on the ladder are closely fought now for the finals with
only 2 rounds to play. My main concern is that Connacht get into the top 8 but they
play Munster this round and thats not going to be a win.

[Timelord2067]

Yeh - five from eight wins over the weekend. I don't take much notice of stats such as the Titans having won their last five encounters with the Cowboys. I guess I'm going to have to start paying closer attention to such details.

[aoluain]

not bad ↑

My 4 match parlay in last weekends URC Round 16 came off too. Stormers, Ulster, Munster
and the Lions all had easy enough wins.

2 rounds left to get into the top 8 and my team Connacht are currently in 9th, they have to play
the Stormers ^5th next and then Leinster ^2nd.

Benetton in 8th also have tough matches ahead...

Also this weekend is Round 18 of 18 of the English Premiership Rugby, its very close
in their table Northampton Saints 60, Saracens 56 and Bath on 55

[Timelord2067]

The Sharks are sitting at the top of the NRL ladder with the Dolphins in fourth place. It's becoming clear that the Sea Eagles along with the Bulldogs, Knights and Dragons are in a fourway tustle for the coveted eighth spot.

I see in your report the top of the English Rugby ladder has a very clear first, second and third place holders while so far in the Aust NRL ladder, the top seven are in close proximity points wise.

Tonight, the Women's teams of the NRL state of origin square off in Brisbane (being a native Queenslander, I'm biased towards the home team). This year, the women's game has extended to a best of three competition.

[aoluain]

In the English premiership this weekend throws up 2 interesting matches, the top 4
are in action against each other!

Saracens² play Sale⁴
Bath³ play Northampton ¹

The two home teams are favourites!

After this round we will have the Playoffs between 4 teams and then the Final, Northampton
are already listed for the playoffs.


Round 24 of 26 this weekend in France's Top14!

Toulouse who are top of the table I would imagine are going to rest their top players
ahead of the European Championship final on the 25th. They are underdogs this weekend
away to Montpelier.

[aoluain]

Massive win today for the Broncos by the tiniest of margins, 1 point. Such a strange
game, it was 0-12 to the Broncos at half time. In the second half the Sea Eagles scored
12 points without any reply from the Broncos until the 75th minute they score a field goal
and then its defend like crazy, final score Sea Eagles 12 - 13 Broncos!

Timelord I hope you had the Broncos backed?


URC is on this weekend, its round 17 of 18 and as usual theres a lot to play for.
Places for the the finals are really competitive from 6th place to 10th place with
only 5 points separating those teams.

Edinburgh lost this evening to Munster and are now in 6th on 49 points and they have
a tough final round away to Benetton who will also be looking to secure a spot in the finals.

[Timelord2067]

Yes, strange game indeed, but the Broncos dig deep in the weeks before the State of origin series as well as this week - the so called Magic Round is being played in Brisbane (all eight games).

My picks this week are raiders, Broncos, Knights, Sharks, Cowboys, Panthers, Storm and the Dolphins of course.

[aoluain]

Yes, strange game indeed, but the Broncos dig deep in the weeks before the State of origin series as well as this week - the so called Magic Round is being played in Brisbane (all eight games).

My picks this week are raiders, Broncos, Knights, Sharks, Cowboys, Panthers, Storm and the Dolphins of course.

Going well Timelord !

Wins today also for Knights, Sharks and Cowboys, that means you are in the
Green so far this round.

Another loss for the Rabbitohs even after a half decent performance and scoring
22 points but it wasnt enough.


First match today in the United Rugby Championship must have been a cracker!
Bulls v Benetton - 91 points scored between them, home team scoring 56. I need
to watch those highlights.

[Timelord2067]

Seven from eight wins is very pleasing after such a dismissal start to the season. Cameron Munster is out for eight to ten weeks with a groin injury which looked as painful as it probably was. Munster is out for the entire stat of origin and puts Melbourne's prospects under a cloud.

The so called magic round was definitely a success with many people out and about in Brisbane (plus there was also the Women's first state of origin game as well as an AFL game at the Wollongabba Cricket Ground).

[aoluain]

Busy busy in Brisbane so!


Update on the URC after round 17 of 18

Connacht at home lost to the Stormers which means they are now outside the top 8 cutoff
for the finals and have to play Leinster next at the end of the month.

Lenister themselves lost to Ulster but they are focusing on a massive final coming this weekend
so they rested key players ahead of that.

The table as it stands fo the spots to reach the finals . . .




Over at the Premiership Rugby in England its the Play offs coming up or "Semi Final" at the end of
the month.

Northampton Saints v Saracens
Bath v Sale

[Timelord2o67]

In the European Challenge Cup I've put a couple of dollars on the Sharks over Glouster.

Closer to home in the Super Rugby Pacific competition, I've also put a couple of dollars on the Chiefs over the Hurricanes, Moana Pasifica to beat the Waratahs, the Highlanders to beat the Fijian Drua. Then lastly, the Blues to beat the Canterbury Crusaders.

[aoluain]

In the Challenge Cup the Sharks are favourite at 1.61, Gloucester are 2.43, yea I would go
with the Sharks too.

In the Champions Cup its a bit closer, Leinster are 1.83 to Toulouse at 2.10. I think I'll do a
small bet on Leinster to win here, they will be so up for this being beaten in the last two finals.


NRL

Couple of close matches this weekend but the ones I'll be keeping an eye in are:

Cowboys v Wests Tigers - this is a chance for the Tigers to get a win, The Cowboys
are only 3 places ahead of them. Tigers though are massive outsiders @ 4.70

Sharks v Panthers - can the Sharks hold back the Panthers?

Rabbitohs v Eels - can the Eels keep the Rabbitohs in last place?

[Timelord2067]

I just logged in to say the Bulldogs have just scored a converted try and in the time it's taken me to log in, they've scored again to take the game to 24 - 12 over the Knights (which is good because they are my first pic this week).

Other pics are Cowboys, Storm, Roosters, Sharks, Eels, Broncos and the Redcliffe Dolphins.

I do agree the Tigers are capable of surprising the fans, but I'll go for the Cowboys.

The Eels is a similar situation as with the Sharks over the Panthers ,



And the Bulldogs have scored for a third time.

[Timelord2067]

The Townsville Cowboys are emulating the Bulldogs from last night. Minutes to go, the Tigers are making a valiant comeback but it won't be enough to win or draw making it their eighth loss in a row with a bye next week.

Final score 38 - 28 42 - 28 with the second game with the SeaEagles and Storm about to clash. (Had to correct it with a try at full time)


Later on, the Sea Eagles overcame a late comeback by the Storm to win 26 - 20 in a very gritty match.

[aoluain]

Well it was expected that the Cowboys beat the Tigers, it was a high scoring match with
70 points scored overall, I will try and get extended highlights of that.

Cowboys needed that win to keep in touch with the top end of the ladder, Tigers are
slipping, I think they will end up in ""relegation"" territory this year.


The European Challenge Cup has just started, we are cheering the Sharks!

Its scoreless ATM and the odds are even

[Timelord2067]

Go the Sharks! (On both sides of the Planet no less)

I was hearing the scores during the second game last night and the Rebels were pumped into oblivion in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. I'll dig out some other scores and post them here. (One of the radio commentators was comparing the Cowboys to a sevens game)


https://www.rugby.com.au/fixtures-results?team=All&comp=All&tab=Fixtures

Yesterday, the Hurricanes beat the Chiefs 20 - 17 then the Brumbies beat the Rebels 53 - 17

Today, Moana and the Waratahs face off in Sydney. Then, the Blues are expected to be at the Crusaders in Auckland then here in a wet, cold bleak afternoon here in Brisbane, the Queensland Reds and Western Force square up. Hopefully, the Reds with the home advantage will be the winners at Lang Park.

Tomorrow, the Highlanders will probably send Fiji packing.

[aoluain]

Yes the South African Sharks won the European Challenge Cup Final! That was a hefty win
over a decent Gloucester team from England. Final score 22 - 38.


The prestigious top tier European Club Rugby tournament - The Champions Cup final played
today. Leinster v Toulouse, Final score Leinster 22 - 31 Toulouse.

That is the third final appearance in a row for the Irish side, and the third loss in a row too,
and to another French side.

A lost bet for me too, I really thought this was their year. They have to put everything into
the United Championship now.

[Timelord2067]

The Dolphins are leading 4 - 0 against the Auckland Warriors playing at home in the eighth game of the round. This year has been something of a shake up - if the Dolphins win, then that will be four from eight pics. The Broncos have just lost to the Titans at Lang Park on this fine Sunday afternoon.

Newcastle had the bye this week - regardless of whether or not the Dolphins win or not, the Dolphins will remain in fourth place on the ladder ahead of the Roosters, Broncos, Knights and Raiders rounding out the top eight.

In positions 9 - 12 we have the Sea Eagles, Bulldogs, Cowboys and Dragons. In the also rans are the hapless Warriors and Eels (who I should have known not to pick this round)

Then in the "relegation zone" we have the Titans, Tigers and Rabbitohs.

Currently Dolphins Ten - Nil with a very tetchy fan base boooing.

*Edit* ten - six after the Warriors snuck in for a quick try.

[aoluain]

Sharks 0 - 42 Panthers - WTF? How is that score even possible for the top 2 or 3 teams
of the year, not even the Sharks to score once.

Broncos v Titans - argh that was a close one. Jock Madden not to score that conversion
towards the end was a bummer. And those 3 tries from the Titans in the second half in the
space of 8 minutes did the damage.

Positions 5 to 12 on the ladder are getting very congested.

[Timelord2067]

These games are becoming very painful to watch (or listen to on the radio). I think only one of the 9th to 12th placed teams might break into the top eight (and it may be either the Sea Eagles or just one other) we'll see some tougher play after the State of Origin series.

... And I see the Eels have resumed their "relegation" status near the bottom of the ladder.