Nic White v. Finlay Christie
The Wallabies’ midback kicks will be critical if the rains scheduled for Auckland on Saturday come out. His ability to throw long puts a lot of pressure on Lolesio, but it is his famous competitive advantage that sets him apart. He seemed to put himself under the skin of Blues Finlay Christie’s midfielder in the Canberra game last month, and his form is just where he should be with Rugby Test around the corner. Christie’s game is based on speed: live on the fast ball, so the Brumbies can’t afford to let the Blues’ ball carriers cross the winning line.
Brumbies advantage
Simon’s anger against Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Simone, who is going to France, has a lot of work to do in the absence of the suspended Len Ikitau. The Blues love a sudden move in the middle of the field and have a lot of runners to use as decoy runners before throwing like Tuivasa-Sheck or Rieko Ioane.
Simon and Roger Tuivasa-SheckCredit: Getty
Simone’s connection to Ollie Sapsford’s new teammate will be crucial, as the Blues punished the Highlanders midfielder for some indecision last week. Tuivasa-Sheck’s footwork is another challenge, although Simone proved last week that he is not far behind on this front with a good try against the Hurricanes.
Blues advantage
James Slipper and Grandson Laulala
The Brumbies will likely have to ascend at the time of the scrum to get upset. Slipper may have imagined his chances against Ofa Tuungafasi after seeing him fight the Highlanders last week, but the Blues have demoted him to the bench in favor of the mighty Laulala. The Brumbies’ scrum was excellent when they defeated the Chiefs at Hamilton, but were unable to repeat that performance in their home defeat to the Crusaders. An upcoming call.
Draw
Pete Samu vs. Adrian Choat
Samu’s performance at No. 7 will be closely watched by Dave Rennie: he can determine the composition of the Wallabies bench if Samu and Fraser McReight actually compete for the same spot.
Pete Samu in the blast. Credit: Getty
After spending the season at No. 8, Samu has made the switch to accommodate Tom Hooper in form at No. 6, with Rob Valetini returning to complete the trio.
On paper, the Brumbies could feel an advantage here with the Blues captain and No. 7 Dalton Papali missing while recovering from appendicitis. His replacement was Adrian Choat. He was a disappointment, however.
Brumbies advantage
Prediction
As noted above, there are a number of one-to-one that go in either direction. The Brumbies will love his combination of work pace and punch in the back, and White’s full experience and play compared to Christie.
Loading
However, the Blues are a different team in Eden Park and a difficult team to contain for 80 minutes. Look at the names on the bottom line: Barrett, Tuivasa-Sheck, Ioane, Perofeta. At the level of Super Rugby, where there is this extra space, this quartet poses a danger to either side.
The Brumbies will also face a formidable bench, with Luke Romano, Karl Tu’inukuafe and Zarn Sullivan all able to climb into a tight game. It launches a crowd that could cause 30,000 people, and the blues have the advantage.
Watch all the matches of the Pacific Super Rugby at the Rugby House, Stan Sport. This week’s semifinals with Crusaders vs. Chiefs (Friday 17.05 AEST) and Blues vs. Brumbies (Saturday 17.05), both airing without ads, live and only on demand at Stan Sport.