Bumboys to get Caned?

Hurricanes vs Brumbies

The Canes have an outside chance at best of making the playoffs, whereas the Brumbies not only have a solid lead at the top of the Aussie conference table, but are hunting for a top 2 spot, which means this is a huge game for them. Doesn't guarantee they'll win, of course, but it does guarantee a serious effort from them.

Here are the half-time margins for the games the 'Canes have played in NZ against teams NOT from South Africa...

1 pt
3 pts
25 pts ('Canes trailed)
4 pts ('Canes trailed)
4 pts

The 'Canes defense licks balls (their points differential is +5 vs the Brumbies +53), that's why they haven't pulled away from any Australasian teams before well into the 2nd half this season. So here we have a team laying 3.5 pts against an opponent that hasn't had to travel from South Africa. Can someone therefore tell me where the advantage is, based on the Canes previous 1st half efforts, in laying the points here, esp. given the disparity in the quality of defenses present? No-one? Thought not.

Brumbies +3.5 for the 1st half.

The sieve that is the Canes defense means that doesn't bother me, Alistair. A horrible, horrible Blues team only trailed these useless mugs by 4 at halftime. I'll take the best Australian team without their 1st choice flyoff to go 1 pt better than that, 24/7/365.

flyoff = flyhalf

I might add, fwiw, the Canes have also ditched their flyoff from the last however many games (from memory, Barrett played in at least their last 6). His replacement is capable, but he's still coming in cold. So the operation of both backlines feature a ? of some degree.

I have no idea why I'm typing flyoff instead of flyhalf.

I think you have a good reasoning but got to remember the canes have found some form lately and will be very hard to beat in the capital

 

Last week was, imo, a game Otago lost rather than the Canes won. But whatever one's opinion in that regard, I don't see how anyone can make the case that last week was an emphatic win by the Canes. That's not saying it wasn't a good win to get, but it could easily have gone the other way (Otago lost their way the moment they got up 14-3, that loss in squarely on them). The week before that the Canes played the horrible Blues, and yet still only pulled away in the 2nd half. Their 2 games prior to that they got the shit hammered out of themselves.

I'm not impressed by this team. The only time they've looked good in NZ has been against South African teams a long way from home. But why Hammet would want to change a winning combination by getting rid of Barrett, well we'll have to see the wisdom of that decision.

fwiw - I missed including the Canes half-time 5 pt deficit vs Otago from last week. That means in 6 games in NZ vs non-SAF teams, they've only covered this spread once, by 1 pt, against the worst Australasian team going.

Bumboys 10-0 Hurricunts, inside the 1st 10 mins

10-5

13-5

13-15