Super Rugby Round 18 (AU Round 8)
 

Covid won one game in round 17, beating the Blues and Crusaders who were given an official draw. AOTEAROA is now over.

Five AU rounds remain: rounds 8, 9, and 10, followed by 2 two playoff rounds.

The Force hasn't lived up to its name, but then they were just thrown together, so we shouldn't expect much.

Good health,

Ray Stefani

Super Rugby Round 19 (AU Round 9)
 

I don't think we have to worry about the Force's playoff chances, but playing them sure helps other teams.

With only two games per week, you may only have one value bet. Luck can't even out over several bets, so it may be best not to bet unless you have a really strong feeling about a game.

After AU Round 10, the playoffs start with one game for each of the final two weeks.

Good luck and stay well,

Ray Stefani

Super Rugby Round 20 (AU Round 10)
 

We are down to the last AU round before the playoffs. The Reds and Brumbies are in the playoffs, so they don't care what happens in their match, but they sure don't want any injuries.

With a win and bonus point against the hapless Force, the Rebels will make the qualifying final versus the Reds. We'll see if the Force can surprise us and muster a decent enough game to end with at least some credibility, by stopping that bonus point.

Good luck and good health,

Ray Stefani

Super Rugby Round 21 (AU Qualifying Final)
 

The Force showed a lot of integrity, considering the way they played their final match after poor results earlier. They didn’t just deny the Rebels of a bonus point: they nearly kept the Rebels out of the playoffs altogether. It took that last minute try and score-difference-tie-breaker conversion to put the Rebels through.

The last games should be pretty entertaining. Then comes the real guesswork. What will Super Rugby look like in 2021?

Stay well,

Ray Stefani

Thanks for all your input Ray
Much appreciated

At this point in time Ray with Covid-19 continuing to make international travel an unlikely conveyance through the early part of next year,,at the very least,,it seems likely that both NZ & Australia will open the 2021 season with “local” franchise competitions

Then possibly conclude with a trans-Tasman finals-type playoffs series.
Maybe Japan could also be included in this,,should the pandemic,,politics & timing allow.

Super Rugby Round 22 (AU Final)
 

Here comes the last prediction for the “season” or whatever we just had. We should see a really competitive final.

So, what will 2021 bring for super rugby. Here is what I would like to see, so much so, that I sent a detailed suggestion to SANZAAR. Considering that travel restrictions won’t be ending any time soon, I’d like to see the season start with simultaneous 10-week domestic double round robins for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. If Australia sticks with the Force, then NZ and Australia would both have completely domestic competition. SA has to decide if they like SANZAAR or SANZAR, the extra “A” being Argentina in their 10 weeks.

Next, the top three in each country would be shuffled into three groups where the number three from one country would play at the number two in another country with the winner would play at the number one in the third country. The three number ones would play a round robin for the championship. I gave them some ways to work around quarantines. It was worth a try.

IF SA bugs out, then the Trans-Tasman AU-NZ version of what I wrote above could be played, as was suggested in comments.

Stay well everyone and I’ll see you next “season”.

Ray Stefani

Super Rugby 2021, Round 1
 

Hi to all,

Here we go for another fun Super Rugby season. I suppose we can’t call the organization SANZAAR anymore because the SA (South Africa) and an A (Argentina) are gone. It’s NZAR, I suppose.

We will start the way we ended last season. There will be separate double round-robin tournaments for Australia and New Zealand. That will take 10 rounds each of two games per week. The schedule is slightly off so we start with one round of two Australian games, nine rounds of four games each and one round when New Zealand finishes their tournament.

After those 40 games comes a remarkable 25 game Trans-Tasman competition. Each Australian team plays each New Zealand team over 5 weeks of 5 games each. For weeks 1, 2, 4 and 5, teams play twice at home and twice away. In the middle comes week 3, where all games are played at one location over a weekend. The details haven’t been revealed.

The season will end with a championship game between the top two teams in the combined table, as hosted by the top team.

I am trying to imagine having a COVID breakout and trying to clear a stadium of rugby fans. There would probably be more scrums than in the game.

Good luck and good health to all!

Ray Stefani

Super Rugby-Round 2
 

Here is our first full week of four matches.

For the first 3 rounds or so, always be cautious to see if if the teams are playing as expected from last season's ratings, since players, coaches and strategy can change. We are off to a good start, considering that both favourites won last week.

Stay well,

Ray Stefani