So the new Super Rugby in season 2011 is upon us and one that is the harbinger of a new era in the code in the Southern Hemisphere, especially here in Australia. We have a new competition structure a new team and an extended season. As an Australian fan, my view is that all these new developments are tremendously exciting. It may be old hat to our brothers in South Africa and New Zealand, who have their own domestic competitions, but the conference and home and away concepts I am predicting will be a boon to our rugby in Australia. This and the addition of the Rebels will make rugby union feel like a properly national football code for the first time that I can remember.
So that’s the entre, what about the tipping competition? That is the reason for this post, after all.
The concept, like most tipping competitions, is fairly simple: guess as many of the correct results in the Super rugby season and the margins. Our comp is running through the services of the fine people at SuperBru and our pool is (amazingly enough) Green and Gold Rugby.
Making Your Picks
It’s pretty simple really, you choose who you think will win and by how much for each game in the tournament. The deadline for your picks is by kick-off of each game listed on the SuperBru site. It is recommended not to leave it to the last minute, however.
Scoring Points
The points scoring is perhaps a little more complicated than some may be used to. Here is how it works (shamelessly stolen from the SuperBru site):
Win Points (WP)
You’ll score a Win Point if you correctly predict the winner of a game (or a draw, where applicable), irrespective of margin. The amount of win points received is dependent on the stage of the competition and is as follows:
| Value | Rounds |
| 1.0 | 1 through 18 |
| 2.0 | 19 through 20 |
| 3.0 | 21 (Final) |
Margin Points (MP)
You score these points if your margin prediction is within 5 points of the actual score margin, thus picking up a MP worth 0.5 pts
Bonus Points (BP)
These are points given out in each pool for the most accurate pick in for a given game in a given pool, meaning that you picked the correct winner and margin, you get a bonus point. If others have also picked correctly, you share the BP.
Grand Slam Point (GSP)
If you have a hot round and pick all games correctly, you will get 2 additional points during the qualifying games (rounds 1 through 18).
So those are the basics of the competition. I’ll be back later in the week to talk about the games themselves and put up the odds from the bookies.
