(If you are looking for our picks for the 2009 Tri-Nations, click here.)
The 2008 Tri-Nations is all over red rover and what a tournament it was! The final accuracy ranking of our experts is as follows:
1. Jekyll (96)
2. Eurochick (65)
3. Rocky (61)
4. Dr Dave (56)
5. Mr Gum (50)
Our token female did rather well beating 3 out of the 4 men on the panel. Fortunately for my ego I was not one of them. Our lone Springbok supporter was hamstrung by his blind allegiance to the Boks (and his “I’ll never pick the Wallabies” attitude) – he finished last.
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We have assembled an expert panel of the greatest minds in rugby fan-dom to bring you our weekly picks for the imminent 2008 Tri-Nations series. The accuracy of each expert will updated weekly to help you distinguish the wizards from the shysters. (To learn more about our panel, see the bottom of this page.)
3N Game 9: NZ v AUS at Brisbane (13 Sept)
| Rank | Expert (Score) | Pick | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jekyll (86) |  |
by 12 |
| 2 | Rocky (61) |  |
by 2 |
| 3 | Eurochick (50) |  |
by 8 |
| 4 | Dr Dave (40) |  |
by 7 |
| 5 | Mr Gum (34) |  |
by 7 |
Comment from Jekyll: I’m not sure that whipping a Samoan B-side was particularly good preparation for facing a Wallaby-team stung by the Boks. But NZ coach Graham Henry seems to be of the view that any match practice is better than no match practice. At least Stephen Donald finally got some decent minutes. Will the Wallabies bounce back? Will the ABs cave in another Australian-hosted match? I think not. There are some fatal flaws in the Wallaby offense which you can bet have been spotted by the AB brains-trust. Robbie Deans is nobody’s fool, but neither is he a miracle-worker. I said weeks ago that the All Blacks started rough and would only improve throughout the 3N. One thing All Blacks don’t like doing is giving up Cups. Both teams will come out firing on Saturday, but the superior discipline of the ABs will reveal itself after 50 minutes.
Comment from Rocky: Wallabies by 2 in an absolute humdinger of a battle. Everything is on the line. Tahu will have a blinder if he gets a run and the wallaby forwards will want to prove that they haven’t gotten lucky at the start of the international season
3N Game 8: AUS v RSA at Jo’burg (30 August)
| Rank | Expert (Score) | Pick | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jekyll (86) |  |
by 15 |
| 2 | Rocky (61) |  |
by 10 |
| 3 | Eurochick (50) |  |
by 12 |
| 4 | Dr Dave (40) |  |
by 4 |
| 5 | Mr Gum (22) |  |
by 7 |
Comment from Jekyll: Under normal circumstances one might expect the Boks to bounce back after their past two defeats on home soil, but these are not normal circumstances. Their injury list is growing longer and an otherwise talented team is hamstrung by a clue-less coach. The wheels have fallen off the sinking ship and the yellow-jumpered vultures are circling. As long as the Wallabies keep their heads, they’ll be feasting on Bok-tucker this Saturday.
Comment from Rocky: I think that this test will be a battle of the walking wounded. I’m exited about Tahu in the centers with Mortlock and the loss of Vickerman will be big. But the Walabies have 2 advantages; their tails are up and Peter De Villiers.
3N Game 7: AUS v RSA at Durban (23 August)
| Rank | Expert (Score) | Pick | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jekyll (70 ) | |
by 10 |
| 2 | Eurochick (50) | |
by 2 |
| 3 | Rocky (45) | |
by 10 |
| 4 | Dr Dave (30) | |
by 4 |
| 5 | Mr Gum (22) | |
by 7 |
Comment from Jekyll: History says Australia are going to stumble in the Republic. History is bunk! South Africa are imploding and doing nothing mid-week to indicate that they’re learning from their losses. They are now staring at their third 3N loss in a row and losing Habana to injury certainly does not help. Meanwhile the Wallabies are in the stands observing, studying the game, looking to their new coach for a tactical plan which will no doubt be brilliant. This will be a test of Bok pride versus Aussie cunning. The Durban crowd will be loud and in your face. Home court advantage is a huge factor in Durbs. The noise could unsettle the visitors and officials. But as long as the Wallabies keep their cool, they’ll bring it home easily.
3N Game 6: NZ v RSA at Cape Town (16 August)
| Rank | Expert (Score) | Pick | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jekyll (58 ) |  |
by 10 |
| 2 | Eurochick (40) |  |
by 6 |
| 3 | Rocky (35) |  |
by 5 |
| 4 | Mr Gum (22) |  |
by 7 |
| 5 | Dr Dave (20) |  |
by 3 |
Comment from Jekyll: Just as the ABs had something to prove two weeks ago in Auckland, so too do they come to this match with the sting of Carisbrook on their minds. As for home ground advantage, remember, this is Cape Town, not Jo’burg or Durban. Newlands has been about the most All Black-friendly place to play in South Africa. The ABs have lost there only once (in their last game, in 2005). As for the Boks, I just don’t see how pounding the Argies on Saturday could be construed as good preparation for facing the far more disciplined and motivated All Blacks this weekend. As usual, Springbok coach Peter de Villiers is working the press to influence referee Matt Goddard, claiming the ABs cheat here and they cheat there. This strategy worked in Dunedin but I doubt he can get away with it twice.
3N Game 5: NZ v AUS at Auckland (2 August)
| Rank | Expert (Score) | Pick | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jekyll (46) |  |
by 10 |
| 2 | Eurochick (30) |  |
by 6 |
| 3 | Rocky (25) |  |
by 5 |
| 4 | Mr Gum (12) |  |
by 7 |
| 5 | Dr Dave (10) |  |
by 7 |
Comment from Jekyll: It’s a whole different game this week. I’m expecting a big bounce back for the ABs. They have the greater motivation – everything is on the line in this game; the 3N and Bledisloe Cups, Henry’s job, and home pride. They will throw everything at Matt Giteau; they will wrap up Tuquri like they did Habana.
Comment from Rocky: Again I’m picking the NZ side to win. 22 years is a long time to not win in Auckland. it will be tight probably by less than 5 as the Aussie side seems to be relatively injury free and the kiwi’s are scouring the world for a new hooker. I believe that they even approached Sean Fitzpatrick.
3N Game 4: NZ v AUS at Sydney (26 July)
| Rank | Expert (Score) | Pick | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jekyll (34) |  |
by 6 |
| 2 | Eurochick (30) | |
by 3 |
| 3 | Rocky (25) | |
by 10 |
| 4 | Mr Gum (12) | |
by 5 |
| 5 | Dr Dave (10) | |
by 5 |
3N Game 3: SA v AUS at Perth (19 July)
| Rank | Expert (Score) | Pick | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jekyll (17) | |
by 6 |
| 2 | Eurochick (15) |  |
by 2 |
| 3 | Mr Gum (12) |  |
by 10 |
| 4= | Dr Dave (10) |  |
by 7 |
| 4= | Rocky (10) |  |
by 3 |
Comment from Rocky: I think that the Boks will be tired after 2 torrid clashes with NZ. That said it is like another home game for them in Perthtoria.
3N Game 2: SA v NZ at Dunedin (12 July)
| Rank | Expert (Score) | Pick | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jekyll (17) |  |
by 12 |
| 2 | Eurochick (15) |  |
by 13 |
| 3 | Dr Dave (10) |  |
by 12 |
| 4 | Rocky (10) |  |
by 10 |
| 5 | Mr Gum (0) | |
by 10 |
Comment from Rocky: I reckon that this weeks match is likely to be another huge and tight match. There are a few injury clouds about and i think that John Smit will be a big loss for S Africa if he can’t play.
Comment from Mr Gum: AB’s were worthy winners last week and if the truth be told the scoreline should’ve been more in favour of NZ. With that being said, our coach’s dodgy selections and game plan certainly didn’t help the boks at all. However I’m consoled in the knowledge that NZRU can also do some pretty stupid things like not emplying Robbie. Looks like the Ozzie’s are ahead int he brains department. All they need to do is employ Jake White as co-coach and watch out the rest of the world!The Brad Thorn incident that everyone is complaining so much about is hardly an issue. Anyone who can up end Smit like that deserves a medal…..Don’t expect to see it again anytime soon. Brad had the sense to apologise and is probably saying a pray of thanks he doesn’t have to face the Springboks in the next match.
3N Game 1: SA v NZ at Wellington (5 July)
| Rank | Expert (Score) | Pick | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Mr Gum (0) | |
by 10 |
| 0 | Jekyll (0) | |
by 8 |
| 0 | Dr Dave (0) | |
by 17 |
| 0 | Rocky (0) | |
by 5 |
| 0 | Eurochick (0) | |
by 6 |
Comment from Gum: “Jekyll said if SA beat NZ by more than 7 points he would publicly announce than are worthy world champions…..that day is soon at hand….”
Jekyll replies: “In your dreams Gummy.”
What do the scores mean?
Well first of all, let’s get this clear. If you pick the losing team you get nothing, zip (unlike some other punting competitions). If you correctly pick the game outcome (win or draw) you get 10 points. If your predicted margin is within 5 of the actual margin, you get 5 points. Finally, there are 2 bonus points for the expert for the closest pick. These bonus points will be split if 2 or more experts pick the same margin.
Who’s in the Panel?
- Mr Gum, formerly of Durban, is a one-eyed SAFFA.
- Rocky, of Sydney, is a died-in-the-wool Tah supporter and the only active rugby player on the panel.
- Dr Dave, is a mathematician of no fixed address, but has lately lived in Spain.
- Euro-chick is the token female in our panel.
- Jekyll, of Hong Kong, writes the blogs for Rugby Asteroid.
In response to the Jekyll’s prediction of an AB bounce-back in Bledisloe 2 … I’m not sure the ABs yet have it all on the line. They can wait till game 3 to fire up, if they want. Once again, the brilliant minds that devise the Bledisloe have opted for an even number of games, hence the Wallabies need to win 3 of 4 to get the trophy – farcical really. Therefore, the ABs need not be so concerned with the Bledisloe trophy just yet … however, they will be driven by fierce pride and, despite my single-eyed Wallabies support, I can’t imagine that there will be anything other than a 1-1 deadlock come the final whistle in game 2.
And while I’m at it …
There may be a simple answer to this – because I admit that I have a relatively poor knowledge of NZ rugby players – but why were Jerry Collins and Doug Howlett not running out for the ABs in last weekend’s clash? Are they injured, retired or been eaten by sharks?
Where’ve you been? Jerry’s retired, and possibly on his way to play for his cousin in the glamour-club Toulon, while Dougie’s just had a monster season playing for Munster, winning the Heine Cup.
Yeah, like I said, what do I know about NZ players. So Jerry’s retired but still playing? He’ll probably spend 3 years whooping French butt in AB-quality form. And Dougie is killing them? So, why isn’t he getting a black guernsey? Spending his spare time sipping Dom Perignon?
It’s probably Guinness he’s drinking. It continues to be a source of wonder to me that Munster consistently manage to recruit top-class NZ players to the detriment of the ABs – think Christian Cullen, Rua Topoki, and Doug Howlett. Douggie, if you’re reading this, get on a plane. The team needs you!
All Blacks rule,no matter what you say!!