It's a one-horse race

It is becoming a bit of a ‘one-horse race’ in our “readers versus staff” prediction game, with Johan Greyling now the runaway leader with just five weeks remaining.

Greyling, the joint top scorer for the week with eight, is now 11 points clear of second-placed John Granger – who like the Bulls is in serious danger of losing his title.

The big mover this week is Steve Farrell, joint top scorer with Greyling. Farrell, now flying the editorial flag, has raced into third place, just one point behind Granger and one ahead of fourth-placed Rudolf Mehl.

For the rest it is a case of saving some face in the remaining weeks – although there is an interesting ‘basement battle’ between Hennie van Staden and Jan de Koning. Van Staden has sneaked ahead of De Koning, who has opted to use a few Bull-like cliches to explain his last place on the standings.

“There is no reason to panic, as I am building for the future and I am new to this losing thing,” De Koning said.

“There are lots of positives to take from this performance,” he added, after collecting just three points at the weekend.

Standings after Week Nine:
68 – Johan Greyling
57 – John Granger
56 – Steve Farrell
55 – Rudolf Mehl
53 – Phil Coetzer
49 – Rob Peters
44 – Hennie van Staden
42 – Jan de Koning

Results for Week Nine:

Johan Greyling:
H’landers v Sharks – Sharks by 15 = 1
Crusaders v Lions –  Crusaders by 25 = 2
Blues v Brumbies –  Blues by 15 = 0
Force v Waratahs –  Tahs by 10 = 2
Stormers v Ch’tahs – Stormers by 15 = 2
Bulls v Hurricanes – Hurricanes 10 = 1
Total for the week = 8
Total after nine weeks = 68

John Granger:
Highlanders v Sharks – Sharks by 10  = 1
Crusaders v Lions – Saders by 40 = 1
Blues v Brumbies – Blues by 14 = 0
Force v Waratahs – Force by 7 = 0
Stormer v Cheetahs – Stormers by 7 = 2
Bulls v Hurricanes – Bulls by 10 = 0
Total for the week = 4
Total after nine weeks = 57

Rudolf Mehl:
Highlanders v Sharks – Sharks by 11 = 1
Crusaders v Lions – Saders by 21 = 2
Blues v Brumbies – Blues by 5 = 0
Force v Waratahs – Force by 7 = 0
Stormer v Cheetahs – Stormers by 7 = 2
Bulls v Hurricanes – Bulls by 5 = 0
Total for the week = 5
Total after nine weeks = 55

Phil Coetzer (rugby365):
Highlanders v Sharks – Sharks by 10 = 1
Crusaders v Lions – Crusaders by 40 = 1
Blues v Brumbies – Blues by 12 = 0
Force v Waratahs – Force by 8 = 0
Stormers v Cheetahs – Stormers by 10 = 2
Bulls v Hurricanes – Bulls by 5 = 0
Total for the week = 4
Total after nine weeks = 53

Rob Peters (iafrica):
Not submitted
Total for the week = 0
Total after nine weeks = 49

Steve Farrell (rugby365):
Highlanders v Sharks – Sharks by 18 = 1
Crusaders v Lions – Crusaders by 30 = 2
Blues v Brumbies – Blues by 5 = 0
Force v Waratahs – Waratahs by 6 = 2
Stormers v Cheetahs – Stormers by 10 = 2
Bulls v Hurricanes – Hurricanes by 12 = 1
Total for the week = 8
Total after nine weeks = 56

Jan de Koning (rugby365):
Highlanders v Sharks – Sharks by 20 = 1
Crusaders v Lions – Crusaders by 10 = 1
Blues v Brumbies – Blues by 5 = 0
Force v Waratahs – Force by 5 = 0
Stormers v Cheetahs – Stormers by 20 = 1
Bulls v Hurricanes – Bulls by 15 = 0
Total for the week = 3
Total after nine weeks = 42

Hennie van Staden:
H’landers v Sharks – Sharks by 7 = 2
Crusaders v Lions – Crusaders by 20 = 2
Blues v Brumbies – Blues by 7 = 0
Force v Waratahs – Force by 3 = 0
Stormers v Cheetahs – Stormers by 10 = 2
Bulls v Hurricanes – Bulls by 7 = 0
Total for the week = 6
Total after nine weeks = 44