Post your Super Rugby predictions

Post your Super Rugby predictions

Remember to think less of any regular TSFers who don't make predictions. They are inferior. They are cowards.

Sure this is a little late as Super Rugby has had its staggered African start, but the important stuff all happens in the NZ conference

Players

Australian Conference Best Player: Kurtley Beale
I think re-Tah'd Beale will have a big impact. He looks fitter than normal at this time of the year.. he may even make Foley look like a decent player again.

South African Conference Best Player: Siya Kolisi
A risky pick because Marx will probably continue to be a freak. Also his impact will depend on the Stormers who I am not convinced by. However he had promising moments in 2017 and at 26 he might be ready to peak.

New Zealand Conference Best Player: Jordie Barrett
Another risky pick - he'll be missing the first two games at least and he might have 'second year syndrome'. He'll start at fullback but I think by the end of the year he'll be in the midfield.

Leading Try Scorer: Rieko Ioane
The best winger in the world will continue to be the best winger in the world

Rookie of the Year: Jonathan Ruru
If Umaga gives him a chance..

Overall Player of the Year: Jordie Barrett
NZ conference player of the year is the same thing isn't it?

Teams

Australian Conference Winner: NSW
They finished 16th last year so they are certain to improve on that

South African Conference Winner: Lions
An easy choice. They are the only SA side that plays the style pick up enough away wins in Australasia

New Zealand Conference Winner: Crusaders
Booo Hsssss

Regular Season Table topper: Crusaders
Slightly risky to pick them in the NZ conference and on the table. They do have early season injuries but I think the damage will be limited and they'll be the most consistent.

Champions: Hurricanes
Might even pip the Crusaders int he regular season. I expect them to time their run well

The Blues:
If they don't make the playoffs Umaga should be sacked.

The table will look bad for us in the first couple of months. Only one home game and two byes in the first 6 weeks.
However 6 of the last 7 matches are at home. There is potential for a late charge.

I'll make a relatively positive prediction - beaten semi finalists

@duluth

PLAYERS
Australian Conference Best Player: Hoopah!

South African Conference Best Player: Malcolm Marx

New Zealand Conference Best Player: Brodie Retallick

Leading Try Scorer: Owen Franks (call me a coward ... )

Rookie of the Year: Stephen Perofeta (does he count as a rookie?)

Overall Player of the Year: BBBR

TEAMS
Australian Conference Winner: Brumbles

South African Conference Winner: Lions

New Zealand Conference Winner: Crusaders
Booo Hsssss indeed

Regular Season Table topper: Crusaders

Champions: Crusaders

The Blues: play-offs

@booboo said in Post your Super Rugby predictions:

Rookie of the Year: Stephen Perofeta (does he count as a rookie?)

He was in the squad in 2017 and got on the field in the regular season as well as that Lions game
So strictly speaking no. 'Breakthrough player' maybe?

@duluth can't say I've taken enough notice to know who are the rookies ...

@booboo

Yeah I had to look up the rookies. There's surprisingly few new players who you'd expect to get significant game time

PLAYERS
Australian Conference Best Player: Israel Folau (after his break last year he'll be firing on all cylinders)

South African Conference Best Player: Handre Pollard

New Zealand Conference Best Player: Rieko Ioane

Leading Try Scorer: Israel Folau (easier schedule than the NZ teams).

Rookie of the Year: Asafo Aumua

Breakthrough Player of the Year: Akira Ioane (expecting a big season from Akira as he takes the torch from the departing Jerome Kaino). Also watch out for Izaia Perese of the Reds - should give QLD the outside back threat they've been missing since Digby left.

Overall Player of the Year: Aaron Smith - expecting a bounce back season.

TEAMS
Australian Conference Winner: Tahs

South African Conference Winner: Lions

New Zealand Conference Winner: Hurricanes

Regular Season Table topper: Hurricanes

Champions: Hurricanes

The Blues: miss playoffs again. Tana will survive with the injury list and tough schedule working against him. Perofeta to have growing pains at 10. Hopefully proven wrong and Blues make the playoffs but I'll believe it when I see it. First 4 weeks are key.

PLAYERS
Australian Conference Best Player: Kurtley Beale

South African Conference Best Player: Kwagga Smith (assuming he'll be available for most of the season & not playing 7s)

New Zealand Conference Best Player: Beauden Barrett (he'll be back )

Leading Try Scorer: Rieko Ioane

Leading Points Scorer: Richie Mo'unga

Rookie of the Year: Jonah Lowe (if Boyd gives him a chance)

Breakthrough Player of the Year: Sam Lousi

Overall Player of the Year: Beauden Barrett

TEAMS
Australian Conference Winner: Waratahs

South African Conference Winner: Lions

New Zealand Conference Winner: Crusaders

Regular Season Table topper: Crusaders

Champions: Crusaders

PLAYERS
Australian Conference Best Player: David Pocock
South African Conference Best Player: No idea
New Zealand Conference Best Player: Richie Mo'unga
Leading Try Scorer: Waisake Naholo
Rookie of the Year: Will Jordan
Overall Player of the Year: Richie Mo'unga

TEAMS
Australian Conference Winner: Brumbles
South African Conference Winner: Lions
New Zealand Conference Winner: Crusaders after a slow start (Hooray)
Regular Season Table topper: Lions
Champions: Crusaders

Due to the number of derby games only three NZ teams to make the play-offs this year - two are the Crusaders and Hurricanes.

Prediction: Tahs will crash and burn.

In other news: the sun will come up.

SA rookie of the year : Willemsee (Stormers 10)
NZ rookie of the year : Papaali'i
Blues to finish 4th of the NZ conference (the Chiefs finishing 5th, they have lost too many experienced players - Cruden, TKB, Lowe, Leitch, Elliott ...).
Hurricanes will win the trophy.

Kwagga Smith to be the player of the tournament
Lions to take their maiden crown

Ardie Savea to grow another foot
Justin Marshall to have orgasm live on TV whilst mispronouncing a Samoan name has the player does something brilliant, leading to accusations of racism
Ngatai to have an injury plagued year
Rebels to fully justify the decisions made and finish higher than the Force this year
Richie to be seen in the stands at a game, leading to commentators wondering if he brought his boots "just in case"
Phil Kearns to agree on a decision going against the Tahs front row
Crockett to give away a penalty
NZ teams to be accused of doing off the ball shit
Aaron Smith, after taking intensive spelling lessons over the last 2 seasons, will join the hordes of players signing things for fans. An undercover NZRFU rep will pass him an after david, which he will accidentally sign.
Mehrtens to put on a bit of weight
Cullen to get a touch greyer
Ardern to be spotted in the stands, at which point a commentator will say something which he will be forced to issue an apology for.
MajorRage to go back to work approximately 2 hours before the super rugby season starts.
The reds to suck shit.

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I was kidding about Kearns, obviously.

Australian Conference: Waratahs top.

South African Conference: Lions top, but pushed by the Sharks.

NZ Conference: tough call between Crusaders and Hurricanes, may come down to availability of Crusaders' All Blacks. Other three to scrap it out.

Crusaders top.

NZ Conference order:

Crusaders
Hurricanes
Highlanders
Blues
Chiefs

To make the playoffs:

Crusaders
Lions
Waratahs
Hurricanes
Highlanders
Blues
Sharks
Brumbies

To win the competition: Hurricanes

NZ Forward Rookie of the year: Dalton Papali'i
Back Rookie: Braydon Ennor

Leading Try Scorer: Rieko Ioane

Player of the Year: Beauden Barrett

The Blues: Tough start, especially with injuries, but will win a few NZ conference games, win enough to make the playoffs and be a very dangerous quarter final opponent.

PLAYERS
Australian Conference Best Player: Folau. He's a brilliant runner of the ball, and that's all Super Rugby is

South African Conference Best Player: Pass. God it's amazing how far SA rugby has slipped off my radar

New Zealand Conference Best Player: While i would desperately love this to be someone in the midfield, because the All Blacks desperately need it, Super Rugby is a running game, and there isn't a better runner around than Reeeeko You-are-knee. Plus i picked him to be the breakout player last year, so I'm on a roll with him. As long as the Blues midfield remembers to pass

Leading Try Scorer: Folau

Rookie of the Year: Pass. I don't get to watch NPC rugby.

Overall Player of the Year: Ioane

TEAMS
Australian Conference Winner: NSW
Default really, surely they can't stink the joint out as bad as last year. The Rebels will be the big improvers seeing as they bought a new team,

South African Conference Winner: Lions
Can't see them falling in a complete heap

New Zealand Conference Winner: Hurricanes. Just over the Crusaders. Easily the two best teams in the comp

Regular Season Table topper: Hurricanes. Crusaders just won't get enough out of their veteran ABs to maintain a full season at the top.

Champions: Crusaders. Fuck it. The Canterbury Plains Patriots just know how to win big games.

The Chiefs:
The worst squad in NZ now. Lacks quality all over the park. Sam Cane and Brodie Retallic can't beat every team into submission by themselves. Nor do i want them to, they have bigger fish to fry later in the year. I'm not a big fan of our coach either. Will finish 10-12.

PLAYERS

Australian Conference: Folau. I'd pick him for us and I'm sure he's going to have a big one.

South African Conference: Marx. Ditto.

New Zealand Conference: Laumape. This one, I'll admit, is more of a hope than anything else, but I think he is ready to make the step to becoming the midfielder that we can build things around.

Leading Try Scorer: I think this will be someone from the Canes, who gets to enjoy the space that Laumape creates, could even be J Savea, which would be a bummer if he gets in scoring tries made due to another.

Rookie of the Year: Aumua, as soon as he's fit.

Breakout: A. Ioane. I think (hope) he's going to step up this year.

Comeback player: Pollard - he's been missed.

Overall Player of the Year: Marx.

TEAMS

Australian Conference: Tahs (I'm guessing)

South African Conference: Lions

New Zealand Conference Winner: Crusaders, just over the Canes

Regular Season Table topper: Tricky. Lions, just.

Champions: Lions, just because I can't be bothered picking the fucking Crusaders.

The Chiefs:

as @mariner4life said, I also think we have the worst or 4th worst squad in NZ now - we need a huge Super from Hames, Laulala, and Harris with no major injuries to any of them, and in the backs we are very dependent on DMac to perform (god help us). We have class and experience in Cane, Retallick, Ngatai, and ALB, but we also have lots of hopefully class in many others (Seu, Alaimalo, TTT, Stevenson, Falcon). The coach sucks, and we have a number of players who have been proven to be not quite good enough (Coach favorite M. Mckenzie, welcome back). We also have some who should have stayed in Japan (I love you Messam, but you were past it last year).

I hope I'm proven wrong (especially about Messam), but I pick us to be fourth or last in the NZ conference. We'll definitely be last if we have a major injury to (won't say any names but you know who I'm talking about).

Man am I glad SR for us is here...I am bored shitless with the 6N .

Just looking forward to what new and exciting players this season thows up.

PLAYERS
Australian Conference Best Player: Israel Folau

South African Conference Best Player: Postmodern Neo-Marxist

New Zealand Conference Best Player: Jordie Barrett

Leading Try Scorer: Vince Aso

Leading Points Scorer: Richie Mo'unga

Rookie of the Year: Aumua

Breakthrough Player of the Year: Akira Ioane

Overall Player of the Year: Jordie Barrett

TEAMS
Australian Conference Winner: Waratahs

South African Conference Winner: Lions

New Zealand Conference Winner: Hurricanes

Regular Season Table topper: Lions

Champions: Hurricanes

Australian Conference Best Player: Hooper - Hes due to be a nuisance.

South African Conference Best Player: Damian de Allende

New Zealand Conference Best Player: Jordie Barrett

Leading Try Scorer: Wes Goosen - He is an excellent finisher and as Aso showed, you just have to be on the end of that back line.

Rookie of the Year: Alex Fidow

Breakthrough Player of the Year: Richie Mo'unga

Overall Player of the Year: BBBR or Cane - I'd Imagine Brodie is champing at the bit and Cane really showed he is an amazing player last year. Our best AB I thought. With that piss poor squad they are going have to sure a lot of shit up. Hansen should just hold a 3 month camp for just those two and save them for later in the year.

TEAMS
Australian Conference Winner: ACT - just because the Tahs look the strongest and thats when you should bet the house against them.

South African Conference Winner: Lions - Head and shoulders above the pack

New Zealand Conference Winner: Hurricanes - too much fire power.

Regular Season Table topper: Hurricanes

Champions: Hurricanes

The Blues: Blues will lose and win enough to make the last game of their regular season a mathematical chance of making the playoffs and they will lose that handsomely. Tana will replace Boyd at the Canes and win back to championships.....

@majorrage said in Post your Super Rugby predictions:

The reds to suck shit.

Happy with this prediction.

@majorrage said in Post your Super Rugby predictions:

Ngatai to have an injury plagued year

Crockett to give away a penalty

Check, check ...