The Mitre 10 Cup action continues this weekend with five games set to take place between Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th of August.
There's an action-packed Mitre 10 Cup schedule this weekend with five games taking place across Saturday and Sunday. The headline clash of the weekend could well be the cross-conference tie between Premiership outfit Wellington and Championship side Otago. Another game that could be a cracker is Saturday's opener between Manawatu and Waikato.
Manawatu v Waikato
Saturday 18 August
Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North
04:35
To Win (80 Mins)
Manawatu 6/10
Draw 18/1
Waikato 15/10
We get proceedings underway with an all-Championship affair as Manawatu and Waikato do battle out in Palmerston North. Both sides didn't produce the best of 2017 campaigns with Waikato relegated from the Premiership and Manawatu missing out on the Championship finals.
Both sides have rather decent squads with the visitors able to call upon the exciting Sevu Reece, while the hosts will be able to field the juggernaut that is Ngani Laumape.
Verdict: Manawatu 6/10
Home ground advantage should be enough to see Manawatu open up their campaign with a win.
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Auckland v Counties Manukau
Eden Park
Saturday 18 August
07:05
To Win (80 Mins)
Auckland 4/10
Draw 20/1
Counties 2/1
Next up we have an all-Premiership clash with the always underwhelming Auckland taking on a Counties Manukau side that just missed out on the Premiership semi-finals last season. The hosts suffered a narrow defeat to Counties during their opener last year going down 16-14 in Counties territory.
On paper, Auckland looks to have the better squad but we all know that they haven't been able to deliver the goods regardless of how many stars are in their side for many a moon. One Auckland star who's is likely to deliver this Saturday is eigthman Akira Ioane, who was in sensational form for the Blues during their ill-fated Super Rugby campaign.
Verdict: Auckland 4/10
This is likely to be a very tight affair but one that I can see Auckland edging it.
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Bay of Plenty v Taranaki
Saturday 18 August
Rotorua International Stadium
09:35
To Win (80 Mins)
Bay of Plenty 11/4
Draw 20/1
Taranaki 3/10
Saturday's schedule comes to a conclusion with a tie between Bay of Plenty and Taranaki. The hosts enjoyed a solid season last year, finishing second in the Championship before going down to Wellington in the final. Taranaki also gave a good account of themselves in 2017 as they made it to the Premiership semi-finals where they went down 29-30 to Tasman.
Taranaki have lost an incredible amount of star players to All Black call-ups this year and they will be highly reliant on their youngsters during this campaign. Bay of Plenty, on the other hand, have almost a full-strength squad to call upon.
Verdict: Bay of Plenty 11/4
I'm going to have a small play on the hosts causing a massive upset here. They have a competent side who may well box above their weight division in 2018.
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Wellington v Otago
Sunday 19 August
Westpac Stadium
04:05
To Win (80 Mins)
Wellington 1/5
Draw 20/1
Otago 3/1
We get Sunday's proceedings underway with what should be an absolute humdinger of a game between the recently promoted Wellington and an Otago side that produced some eye-catching rugby in 2017.
This weekend's hosts have an extremely talented squad which features prop To'omaga-Allen as well as dynamic forward Vaea Fifita, who were both overlooked for All Black selection. They also have some handy backs in the form of Captain Matt Proctor and Wes Goosen.
Otago aren't as flash a squad but they do have a few solid players in the form of Ngani Laumape and Michael Collins.
Verdict: Wellington 1/5
I can see Wellington running riot here and winning this one by more than 16 points.
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Southland v Hawke's Bay
Sunday 19 August
Rugby Park
06:35
To Win (80 Mins)
Southland 28/10
Draw 20/1
Hawke's Bay 3/10
The curtain comes down on the opening round of the 2018 Mitre Cup with a game between Championship sides Southland and Hawke's Bay. The hosts enjoyed an extremely underwhelming 2017 campaign finishing at the foot of the Championship table with no wins to their name.
Hawke's Bay didn't have a much better time of it last season as they were only able to register two wins and finish second to last on the Championship standings.
Verdict: Hawke's Bay 3/10
They've made some smart signings during the off-season and I can see them having no problems overcoming a very mediocre Southland outfit.
Written by Darry Worthington for Hollywoodbets
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