Sad News for Brumbies Young Gun

After week off in Honkers for the 7s, I have gone another week with next to no rugby.
 A sad week for rugby, I have just read the shocking news that Shawn Mackay has died in a Durban hospital after fighting for his life all week in a coma.  He was hit by an armed response vehicle in [...]

Red Faced Steyn

What a weekend of rugby, but started off on the worst foot.
The Cheetahs shouldn’t even be in this competition.  Watching them against the Blues was painful and embarrassing.  The Blues should hang their heads that they only won by 34 points.
At least the Cheetahs can win at one thing, and that’s taking the mantle off [...]

Reeg’s Rant – “Man Perm”

Well another weekend I still haven’t seen much ruggers.  Only caught the glimpses of the Tah’s match and was pretty pissed by the time I saw the Force match, so cant really add much light on that game.  It was all a blur of Cameron Shepherd and Nick “Man-Perm” Cummings.
The weekend started with an upset, [...]

Super Trials and Kangaroo Courts

Last year I was taking in the results of the Trial games into my calculations for the Super 14 games-proper. Which I think judging by this years trial games is a mistake. Stormers beat Saracens 43-33 which tells us what? That northern hemisphere rugby is still really second division. Revelation? [...]

Super 14 – Round 14 – Part 2

Crusaders take on kiwi bottom of the table team.  Everyone’s predicting a drumming, but against reasonable teams, the Crusaders have been relatively quiet.  Reckon they’ll be nervous about injuries again and will be playing conservatively, whereas the Dunedin crew has nothing to loose.  On that basis the 3.40-1, odds on Crusaders by less than 12.5 [...]

Super 14 – Round 13 – Part 2

The Blues have the slimmest of chances of making the semi’s and this weekend will be crucial for them.  Blues have an awful track record at House of pain, having only won there once before.  Blues scraped through a great game last weekend against the reds, which won’t exactly fill them with joy.  Highlanders have [...]

Super 14 week 12 – Part 2

The less said about the Lions playing in Wellington the better. Last year the Lions won by 23, expect the Hurricanes to return the favour. Hurricanes by 23.
 
Now onto the tough stuff.
 
Waratahs travel to Loftus to make it 4 out of 4 against for the Saffer teams. Their only defeats have come from Kiwi teams [...]

Super 14 -Round 11 – Part 1

Week 11 of Super 14 and semi-finals places are getting a little bottlenecked. Certainly making the Case for a rejigged and extended Grand-final comp where the top 6 get through. So many teams have a chance at the top 4 and its just your luck if you get, say, the Crusaders in your [...]

Round 10 – Rugboracle Picks – Part 2

God, what a distasterous start.   Crusaders smashed by the Chiefs and now the Reds on fire to beat the spent force.
Brumbies get out the silver service for the Sharks at Canberra Stadium tomorrow and by all accounts it bound to be a close affair.  Sharks have seemingly limped across the line each week and soon [...]

The Great Fanzone Wallpaper massacre – Part 1

Been poking my nose into super 14 sites and checking out their fanzone Wallpapers. These are some of my fav’s from the Saffer sites. Kiwi-zone tomorrow.
First off the sharks desktop which is possibly some attempt at a premonition of them playing the final at Jade (or whatever its called now) stadium, nuclear smog included. JP [...]

Round 9 – Rugbyoracle picks

Sharks just won by a mullet.  A small mullet though, just a couple of tufts at the end that could just as easily be rolled up into a Phil Collins ponytail.   Its difficulty to follow a game via website text on your mobile phone on a packed commuter train, so I’m not sure if I [...]

Round 8 – take 1

Depending on your outlook it’ either a great weekend for getting good odds or a terrible one, where any side could win. 
I’ve just added 2 new indicators to the Oracle , points for and against and that has taken its projections outside of the favorites for half the games.
Friday we have Highlanders v Lions [...]