The penultimate round of CAS Rugby. It seems that the CAS Rugby will pass sooner than this year's winter.
Some interesting games this week. Though, with last week's unpredicted draw, who knows what may surprise us this week.
At least the weather looks good and the grounds should not be replete with ooze and mud.
The big one is undoubtedly Waverley versus Barker at Queens Park. It will be interesting how Waverley comes back from their unexpected draw last week. At home I am sure Waverley will attempt to use their typical chaotic flamboyance to good effect against Barker. However, with their well-funded cohesion Barker may to control the game with the smarts of their stylish 5/8 guiding his powerful forwards around the park. A bit of heart versus head in deciding the winner, but this game should be fascinating. Tough and skillful with a fascinating uncertainty about the result. It could be a brutal game, though most watchable. Waverley is at home and will be playing for pride, though I think Barker have more to win. I do not know who to pick, but this is one game Knox supporters would be wish for a decisive Waverley victory.
Trinity hosts Cranbrook in what should be a good open game. Trinity returns home after a bit of a touch-up last week at Wahroonga. I was surprised at how weak Trinity looked; though they did have some strong players. Especially in the forward pack. However they come up against quite a strong group of forwards with Cranbrook. Trinity will cause some early issues with some big forward runs and can capitalize on errors, but I think Cranbrook is a more complete side and will come out on top by 10 points at least. Of note is that Cranbrook has good depth - with their seconds topping the table. This should be an attractive game to watch, with Trinity well in it until the final 20 minutes. Though it will be won in the forwards, the backs should get enough space to amuse the fans,
St Aloysius is up against Knox. This is seemingly going to be a bit of a one sided affair unfortunately ( I fear that the scrums may end up being uncontested). On paper Knox are too big, too strong and too skillful. However Knox always seems to struggle at Willoughby. And Aloys always play with passion and style. But this week it is hard to predict anything but a victory for Knox. Their forwards will create a platform to allow their backs to run amuck (even though Knox do tend to use their forwards to score their tries). Their will be flashes of class from Alys, especially from their 10, and they will probably surprise Knox at times. I wouldn't say threaten victory, but if Knox are distracted and are thinking about the last round, they will see points scored against them. The easiest game to predict: Knox by a sizeable margin. One interesting aspect of Aloy's Rugby; though currently in a bit of a parlous state I believe that they are the only CAS school to have had a player represent the Wallabies at the last two Rugby World Cups.
A bit of a ramble and I probably didn't say much, but my thoughts on this week.
