Brumbies vs Highlanders Prediction: A closer encounter than it looks on paper

GIO Stadium will be the venue for this quarterfinal encounter between Brumbies and Highlanders. Brumbies have won the last fixtures of this encounter. Can Highlanders turn the tables here?

Brumbies are off an incredible run of games, and in this one, they will look to keep things running. In their last matches into this quarterfinal encounter, Brumbies secured a six-win run, defeating Hurricanes, Fijian Drua, Waratahs, Crusaders, Rebels, and Western Force. Heading into this game, this team lost just one of their last 12 games, coming against Brumbies. In the regular season, Brumbies finished 3rd spot with 52 points, scoring 410 goals and 311 conceded. 

Highlanders will look to step up their game in this encounter following a 41-14 defeat against the Hurricanes. In the meantime, this team heads into this game with a total of 28 points from 14 matches, which leaves them finish 6th in the standings. In their last matches into this encounter, Highlanders have four wins and two defeats, losing one other to Blues. However, their games against Western Force, Moana Pasifika, Crusaders and Fijian Drua all ended in wins. While they come in as the underdogs here, we can expect Highlanders to show character, deliver quality performance and give this game all it takes to win. 

Brumbies are good favorites here, but I do not trust them. In their regular season, we didnt see much from them looking at their win margins. However, Highlanders did struggle sometimes, but we saw them also put in some quality plays. In the last meetings of this fixture, we saw Highlanders cover the spreads, and in this one, I expect a similar result in what should end in high points.