Chiefs vs Hurricanes
The Chiefs recent resurgence has thrown Super Rugby Aotearoa wide open and this is so refreshing because after the first few rounds we thought that the Crusaders were going to run away with the title once again. The Chiefs have won four on the trot and will be keen to face the Hurricanes minus their skipper Ardie Savea. The loss of their skipper will severely hurt the Hurricanes as Savea has arguably been the player of the tournament. The Chiefs will be riding the high confidence wise as they beat the Crusaders last week and it remains to be seen if they stick with Damian Mckenzie at flyhalf. The position of Mckenzie is always up for debate, is he more suited to flyhalf or fullback? Well all I can say is wherever he plays he is the star as he has won the last three matches with his late penalty kicks. The Hurricanes will look to new skipper Dane Coles for leadership and inspiration but he will do well do match the inspiration of Ardie Savea. Savea injured his knee in the last match but soldiered on 20 minutes after the initial injury that no doubt further damaged his knee. The Chiefs winning ways has seen the home crowd numbers sky rocket and that is always a boost to the team and the return of turnover king Lachlan Boshier will make the backrow very formidable.
TIP: The Hurricanes rely on the boot of Jordie Barrett for territory and for long range penalty kicks so the Chiefs will be aware of giving Barrett too much ball. The Chiefs are confident and this has shown in their trademark offloading game coming to the fore. There is no better team in linking the backs and forwards like the Chiefs, it makes defending against them a nightmare. The biggest surprise for me has been the emergence of lock Naitoa Ah Kuoi who has been a beast in the Retalick mould and has been involved in all the rough stuff and is getting better with each game. The bookies have the Chiefs as slight favourites for this one and I’m in agreement with them, the best odds on a Chiefs victory is at , Worldsportsbetting 1.53, Playabets 1.44 and Sunbet 1.52
HEAD TO HEAD STATS
Chiefs vs Hurricanes
- In the last 5 meetings between the two there has just been one Chiefs victory and four wins for the Hurricanes.
- The last two matches have been won by the away team on the day.
- The Chiefs last won a home match against the Hurricanes in 2018.
Latest results for both teams
The Chiefs won their last match against the Crusaders 26-25 while the Hurricanes lost their last match 27-30 against the Crusaders.
PREDICTION
The loss of Ardie Savea can’t be explained as he is the cog in everything the Hurricanes do and the return of Lachlan Boshier for the Chiefs will make the difference in this match. The Hurricanes do have an excellent backline but their inexperienced halfback combination will be up against an All Black pairing of Mckenzie and Brad Weber and no doubt that the Chiefs will be targeting this channel. The Chiefs pack is much stronger than the Hurricanes and this forward dominance will lead to the Chiefs winning this contest. I predict a Chiefs victory by more than 7 points
- Probable Starting XVs
Chiefs
15 Chase Tiatia, 14 Jonah Lowe, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Alex Nankiville, 11 Etene Nanai-Seturo, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber (co-captain), 8 Luke Jacobson, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Mitchell Brown, 5 Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 4 Samipeni Finau, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Aidan Ross
Hurricanes
15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Salesi Rayasi, 13 Peter Umaga-Jensen, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Wes Goosen, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Luke Campbell, 8 Devan Flanders, 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 6 Reed Prinsep, 5 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Xavier Numia
Odds for this bet
These are the best odds on the Chiefs win:
Worldsportsbetting 1.53
Playabets 1.44
Sunbet 1.52
Odds comparison on Chiefs handicap victory
The complete odds on the Chiefs handicaps are as follows:
Worldsportsbetting (-5.5) 1.90
Sunbet (-5.5) 1.89
Playabets (-5.5) 1.85
Predictions and Odds in details
The Chiefs have found that winning like losing becomes a habit. When they were on their 12 game losing streak they lost matches right at the death and couldn’t buy a victory. The exact same thing is happening now that they on a winning run as all their victories have been come from behind wins. Their match winner in their games has been Mckenzie and he can’t stay out of the action and has played the full 80 minutes in all their wins. The Hurricanes have opted for youth at flyhalf and I feel this will be their downfall as the experienced Weber and Mckenzie will direct all their attacks down this channel. I think the first half will be tight but the Chiefs will run away with the victory in the second half. The value for money bet is the Chiefs victory on the handicap (-5.5) with the best odds available at Worldsportsbetting 1.90 Sunbet 1.89 and Playabets 1.85.
Sports crazy fan that follows all major sport but the game with the oval ball is my real passion. Was an age level rugby coach and a huge supporter of the Springboks and diehard Liverpool man. I’m an experienced punter and sports writer whose predictions/tips are sure to stir up the emotions. I love the occasional wager on the underdog.
