Friday 2nd April

News


Rugby World Cup tickets go on sale on the 27th of April…Jake White, the former Springbok coach, has been linked with two Australian clubs…John Mitchell, former All Black coach currently with the Force may be heading the other way after he finishes his contract as he is apparently looking at an offer in the Republic…Just a thought now, but both of these men could do a job for England, Jake White, massive ego aside has an impeccable record. Is it better to be average and patriotic? Having said that, both Toby Booth and Jim Malinder could both do a pretty good job, better than Mr Johnson anyway.

Magners League

Ulster and Cardiff looks like it could be interesting. But the best match is the one that was so good that they had to change the licensing laws for it. Yes, people all over Limerick will be raising a glass tomorrow (on Good Friday!) as Munster take on Leinster. There’s so much recent history here, Munster must still be smarting after their 30-0 drubbing, then there was the Heineken Cup last year…they’re still without Paul O’Connell too. Leinster don’t have BOD, and have gone for Nathan Hines on the flank which I don’t think is their best move. It’s going to be a battle of Biblical proportions, and with home advantage I can see the mighty wrath of Munster smiting Leinster.

Guinness Premiership

Gloucester and Saracens could be pretty entertaining. Wasps and London Irish should be fairly similar to Wasps last match against the Saints, but at home they’ll probably shade it this time. I reckon Leicester and Bath is going to be the most entertaining, Leicester are the pace setters but Bath’s season is starting to rumble again and I think they’ll run Leicester really close at Welford Road.

Super 14

There a couple of very interesting match ups this weekend. First up is the Hurricanes versus the Crusaders, an all New Zealand derby that could be the match of the weekend. The Crusaders are looking good but they are coming off a bye which can upset the rhythm of the team sometimes. The Hurricanes meanwhile have been pretty dire over the last couple of weeks but will be desperate to find some kind of form in front of their home fans and get themselves up the table. It’s hard to see them winning though.

The Sharks versus the Reds is a pretty intriguing sounding match, the Reds have shown a lot of promise, and this is going to be a test for their playoff credentials. The Sharks forwards are starting to look really good but they don’t have too much going on behind them. The Reds have it all going on at the back and are decent enough up front. The Shark’s home advantage and experience should take them through this even if they are tired from the trip back..

Finally, the Blues and the Bulls are going to slug it out. The Blues will probably rightly think they were robbed last week, while the Bulls were not at their best but had just got off the plane. They both have reasonably leaky defences, but I’d rate the Blues better on attack. The Bulls have been riding their luck a bit the last couple of weeks so I’m going with the Blues in a tight match.