Super Rugby is back! But with an interesting twist. With the ongoing virus situation, both Australia and New Zealand have formed their own version of Super Rugby in each country. In Australia's version, the new season will see 5 Aussie teams battle it out in a 12-week competition. Which means, the Western Force are officially back after being forced to exit Super Rugby and they'll enjoy a first-week bye. In Round 1, we have a State of Origin matchup first up as the Reds take on the Waratahs. Then, the Brumbies will battle the Rebels in Canberra on Saturday night.
Super Rugby Preview Round 1 Betting Tips
QLD Reds vs NSW Waratahs
(Fri, Jul 3 7:05pm)
It's a perfect start to the new Super Rugby Australia competition as two fierce rivals meet at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night. Starting with the Reds, they were showing good signs of form in the cancelled Super Rugby season with 2 wins from 7 matches under coach Bran Thorn. They arguably had one of the toughest schedules with a South African trip and a clash in Argentina. So they should enjoy the lack of travel factor in the Australian version. But it will be interesting to see how the squad responds after Izaak Rodda, Harry Hockings, and Isaac Lucas all walked out on the club in the virus break. So they'll look to lean on the experience of James O’Connor and Bryce Hegarty.
The Waratahs will be looking forward to a restarted season after winning just 1 of their 6 games in the cancelled version of Super Rugby. Similarly to the Reds, they have lost experience during the break with Kurtley Beale walking out on the team. So Michael Hooper will be extra important for the NSW side. They'll also look to improve their defence after leaking a massive total of 214 points in their last 6 games.
While the QLD Reds deserve favouritism on their home turf, the Waratahs are a real bogey side for them. As such, the Tahs have won 16 of the last 21 meetings and in fact, they haven't lost against the Reds since 2013. So the line does offer value for the 'Tahs in what should be a close contest.
ACT Brumbies vs Melbourne Rebels
(Sat, Jul 4 7:15pm)
The Brumbies are the early favourites to win the Super Rugby Australia competition as on paper, they are simply the best side. So they'll look to continue their form of earlier this year in Super Rugby. They won 5 of their 6 games and that included a massive win over the Chiefs in New Zealand. The Brumbies enjoy an excellent record in Canberra and that makes them hard to beat on Saturday night. They do have a few injury issues to watch out for. Caderyn Neville will be out for the first month and Nick Frost will miss Round 1 as well.
Meanwhile, the Rebels are a really interesting team. They have plenty of talent around the park but consistent performances is their biggest downfall. With showed in this year's Super Rugby competition as they won 3 games and lost 3 as well. So starting Round 1 with a massive upset over the Brumbies in Canberra will be on their agenda. Considering, they've won 2 of the last 3 clashes in Canberra will give them a good amount of confidence coming into Saturday night's affair.
These two sides met earlier this year at this venue and the Brumbies raced to an early 19-0 lead in the 39-26 victory. So it's hard to look past by the Brumbies on their home turf as they'll be looking to make a statement to kick off this new season.
