Friday 14 April
Moana Pasifika 16/10 | Draw 22/1 | Reds 5/10
Handicap
*TBA
The Reds will be looking to bounce back from a poor derby performance when they take on the still winless Moana Pasifika at Apria Park in Friday’s early kick-off. This will be Moana Pasifika’s first official home fixture for the season having played the rest of their games out of Mt Smart in Auckland.
This weekend’s visitors were absolutely dire in Round 7 as they went down 24-52 at home to domestic rivals the Brumbies. Having taken a 7-0 lead early in the fixture, the Reds saw the game turn on its head when Angus Blythe hit Corey Toole late and Blythe was given a red card. While they did manage to stay in the game, taking a 17-14 lead into half-time, they were shattered during the final quarter of the game and let in a load of tries.
Moana Pasifika were brave in defeat, going down 38-21 to the Crusaders. This weekend’s hosts actually enjoyed a stellar start to the game and took a 17-21 lead into half-time courtesy of two tries from barnstorming center Levi Aumua.
The last quarter of a game once again exposed Moana Pasifikas weaknesses as they shipped three tries while not adding to their points tally of 21. This is something they will need to sort out if they are to break their duck this weekend.
I reckon we’ll get a real solid showing from the hosts. Their home crowd will be right behind them and this should strengthen their resolve in the final quarter of this fixture. The Reds are also playing horrendous rugby at the minute and giving away more penalties than a Granit Xhaka circa-2017.
