Super Rugby Week 1 Betting Tips
Super Rugby Pacific returns this week, and the 2025 season is back with a bang in this southern hemisphere club competition.
There are some mouth-watering openers to get stuck into, with three games in Christchurch, Sydney and Auckland to look forward to in Week 1, including a repeat of last season’s final.
Tip 1 - Hurricanes to win @ 27/25
This year’s season kicks off with an intriguing showdown at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch, as the Crusaders host rivals the Hurricanes on Friday morning.
The Canes had the upper hand in this fixture last season, winning both of their encounters against the Crusaders, including a 14-0 victory on their last visit to Apollo Projects Stadium.
Last year was one to forget for the Crusaders, as they only managed four wins from their 14 regular season games.
Head coach Rob Penney has plenty of work to do to take this great club back to the top of Super Rugby, and it’s hard to see them making a winning start against last season’s semi-finalists.
Tip 2 - Highlanders to win @ 37/20
2024 wasn’t a year to remember for the Waratahs either, and the Sydney outfit face a tough opener against the Highlanders at Allianz Stadium on Friday morning.
Winning just two of their 14 regular season games last term, the Tahs finished rock-bottom of the Super Rugby Pacific ladder.
Defence was the key issue for the Waratahs, with only Moana Pasifika and the Rebels conceding more points over the course of the regular season.
Conceding an average of 31 points per game makes it hard to win any game in Super Rugby and that’s what the Tahs were letting pass them last term.
The Highlanders saw their last season end at the quarter-final stage with defeat to the Brumbies, and they look like a side that can kick on under returning head coach Jamie Joseph.
With the experienced coach back in the hot seat, the Highlanders are good value to make a winning start to 2025 against a leaky Waratahs defence.
Tip 3 - Blues -5.5 handicap @ 5/6
Saturday sees a repeat of last season’s final as reigning champions the Blues host the Chiefs at Eden Park.
In their all-or-nothing final, it was the Blues who were victorious in the final in Auckland, winning the showpiece event convincingly 41-10.
The Chiefs were strong throughout much of the season, but the Blues really had their number.
With an aggregate score of 72-27 over their last two meetings with the Chiefs, there is just something about facing the Hamilton outfit that brings the very best out of the Blues.
Considering how one-sided the recent meetings have been between these two attacking sides, the Blues look to be more than capable of falling on the right side of the -5.5 handicap on their own patch at Eden Park this weekend in what is the pick of the opening fixtures.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation