HIGHLANDERSThe first of Sunday's Super Rugby Pacific matches sees the Highlanders clash with Brumbies in Melbourne, a big test for the Australian side who have lost just one match so far.

 

 

 

 

Highlanders v Brumbies , Sunday 24th April, Melbourne, KO 06:00 (South African time)

 

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
Assistants: Graham Cooper, Reuben Keane
TMO :James Leckie

 

Weather Forecast – Melbourne

 

Highlanders:

 

The Highlanders were edged out by the Hurricanes 22-21 in Dunedin last week. They were 2.5 point underdogs so the handicap was accurate and they came desperately close to pinching it at the death after having a try turned down by the referee and then the TMO.

 

The Highlanders only win so far came in their seventh outing when they beat Moana Pasifika 37-17 in Dunedin, picking up a bonus point along the way. They had threatened to break their duck in a 17-14 loss to the Crusaders, 1 of 4 losing bonus points they picked up against New Zealand sides.

 

The Highlanders now have 9 log points against their name and finished Round 9 third from bottom of the overall standings. They have a number of winnable looking games to come but given they have lost so much round they are 40/1 shots in the outright betting.

 

Brumbies:

 

The Brumbies sat out Round 9 and their most recent action delivered a 33-12 bonus point win over Fijian Drua in a game staged in Brisbane.

 

The Brumbies won their first 6 matches before they were beaten 21-7 by the Reds at Suncorp.

 

In terms of the overall standings the Brumbies and the Blues now have identical records, 7 wins, 1 defeat and 31 log points, some tough tests lie ahead and they are currently trading at around 14/1 in the outright betting to win the tournament.

 

Team News (subject to change)

 

Highlanders: Ethan de Groot, Liam Coltman, Jermaine Ainsley, Bryn Evans, Sam Caird, Hugh Renton, James Lentjes, Gareth Evans, Folau Fakatava, Marty Banks, Mosese Dawai, Scott Gregory, Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Freedom Vahakolo, Mitch Hunt

 

Reserves: Andrew Makailo, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Josh Johneck, Max Hicks, Billy Harmon, Kayne Hemmington, Sam Gilbert, Christian Lio Willie

 

Brumbies: Scott Sio, Lachlan Lonergan, Sefo Kautai, Darcy Swain, Caderyn Neville, Rob Valetini, Jahrome Brown, Pete Samu, Nic White (c), Noah Lolesio, Andy Muirhead, Irae Simone, Len Ikitau, Cam Clark, Tom Wright

 

Reserves: Folau Fainga'a, James Slipper, Tom Ross, Tom Hooper, Luke Reimer, Ryan Lonergan, Rod Iona, Hudson Creighton

 

 

The Betting Need to open an account? Claim your 1st deposit bonus of up to R2,000 here

 

 

Highlanders -0.5 points at 9/10

Brumbies +3.5 points at 9/10 (available at time of posting but line will come in) 

 

Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.

 

Betting Angle

 

There was some +6.5 Brumbies earlier in the week but the money has come for the visitors on the back of team news. This is close to a choice game in places (it is being played in Melbourne) and I don’t think the +3.5 Brumbies is going to hang around much longer.

 

I will also be looking at points lines (markets usually only out Saturday morning) and any points bets will be posted in the forum

Watch the Highlanders v Brumbies video preview for the views of @ThoughtsonSports and @Chad_Reich

 

BET: 5 units Brumbies +3.5 at 9/10 at Sunbet

 

Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.

 

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