The Mercury

Super Rugby offers up super chances

- Sanele Tshabalala

“THERE is pleasure within pain, good within evil, beauty in ugliness and benefit within harm? This is so relative truths may be establishe­d; so there may be many things within one thing, and so they may find existence and become apparent.”

Siya Kolisi, well done, son. May your bones be in good health this year, and allow you to be a great leader of men. Salute!

Calling this year’s Super Rugby is no easy task. As usual the New Zealanders are in the mix and are rightly favourites, with four of their five teams in the favourites column.

Some things just change.

My beloved Canes are at a short 7/2, Chiefs and Crusaders at a cool 5/1, and Highlander­s just outside at 11/2 (take a young dip). don’t

Then there is a surprising addition of Lions close behind at 13/2, which shows the bookmakers, journos, players and public took note and have newfound respect for die manne van Jozi, papa.

Super Rugby needs some serious improvemen­t from our peoples and those island criminals, so let’s touch on teams most likely to add a couple more Ws OR Ls in their columns. Bones sees Red and ‘n bietjie blue, so look at the Reds and Jaguares improving this year.

Look into Siya’s Stormers and Brumbies seeing some flames this year, with the “no longer new” Sunwolves and Force to do much of the same. They will bring up the ass-end and battle it out for that “wooden spoon”.

Knockouts to feature Hurricanes, Highlander­s, Crusaders and Lions with Bulls, Reds, Waratah’s and Chiefs to battle out for the other spots.

By the time you read this, we will be one or couple games into the opening round.

To display some clairvoyan­t skills (ala Cape Town City and Rafa) you will know by now that you have missed an easy spread of 3-4 points for the Blues at the Rebels yesterday morning, possibly missing the banger of Chiefs away to Highlander­s, and you may also miss our home-brewed Sharks (depending if you are the boss or not) away in Queens-john to the Reds.

So I say away teams Sharks and Blues to do the business, while Highlander­s takes a tight one at the dladla (home).

Look into the spreads for some extra value in the case of Blues and Highlander­s and +4.5 points at 1/1 for the Sharks.

Joy shall be found in Hurricanes, Lions, Jaguares and Bulls all away from home, with Canes on the spread of 25 odd points. Crusaders and Waratah’s should both hold it down at home and possibly both on the handicap of -14.

The Six Nations grace our screens again (unlike Super bowl and All-star weekends, and so much top British boxing coming up – SuperSport has dropped the ball, yet they are upping prices!)

Anyway, the title race now looks straightfo­rward after Wales dropped the ball, or kicked it rather – Jamie Roberts you ‘Dizzy Monk’!

Get England at home with a spread over 40 points and the Bones be liking France to come close, if not an upset, along with the boys in skirts to hold down the fort against the Welsh who porned it a fortnight ago.

Never forgetting our weekly main-stay eams competing in Euro on Thursday.

Though caught in a rut they’re deffos not just Champs league and trophy amiss come May-day’. The ‘Bones intuition of ‘Blue’ (previously mentioned) must refer to Everton and Blues, throw in Spurs and Hull, as variety is the spice of life! Sangoma is Audi (Out).

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