MITRE 10 CUP 2019 PREVIEW
THREE TEAMS WE THINK WILL DOMINATE?
TARANAKI
Hurt is a great motivator and the ‘Naki will transfer their hurt on to rivals in the Championship. Extra motivation exists with the Log most likely being available for extraction from Dunedin in round five.
Whilst they will be pushed by the likes of Otago and Hawke’s Bay, the Bulls’ are the bigger brother and are odds on to pull a U-turn on their 2018 fortunes. A fantastic roster that knows it can do better.
TASMAN
The Makos may still continue to fall short when it matters against the Canterburys of this world but it is clear lots of points are in them.
They have built more depth in the past 12 months and they will likely benefit from having fringe players at both national and franchise level. Will Jordan would be a classic example–having now tasted life with the Crusaders.
CANTERBURY
If there’s one union that won’t pat themselves on the back for reaching the final in 2018, it’s this crowd and they’ll be ‘hurting’. As ruthless as they are, the Cantabs will be steeled for this campaign and if Auckland happens to be their No 1 contender, they’ll be even more motivated.
THE DARK HORSE IN THE PREMIERSHIP WILL BE..?
WAIKATO
What 2018 proved was Waikato systematically produce effective and aggressive forward units and have the requisite flair to unlock defences. Just because they were relegated recently doesn’t mean they will be slowly working their way back up. They will fancy their chances.
THE DARK HORSE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP WILL BE..?
NORTHLAND
The beauty of Northland’s Super Rugby players are that they don’t have All Black status and this bodes well for Mitre 10 time.
Collectively they play with a discernible pride and they have more than enough technically gifted players throughout the team to transfer ability into results.
