Former Kiwi star Karl Te Nana believes New Zealand fans "don't understand how good the Australian teams are" as Super Rugby trans-Tasman prepares for liftoff on Friday night.
Despite all the positivity surrounding the success of Super Rugby AU, bookmakers on both sides of the ditch are writing off the Australian sides as a serious title threat in the crossover competition.
All five clubs are at long odds for their opening weekend games, even the champion Reds who must dust themselves off quickly to play the Reds in Dunedin.
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And the five favourites for the title are all Kiwi clubs, headlined by the defending champion Crusaders at skinny $1.83 odds.
The Reds are seen as Australia's best bet at $13 while the Waratahs - winless in Super Rugby AU - are a $501 longshot for the brave punter.
But Te Nana - a former NZ sevens captain and Highlanders winger - told Stan Sport's Rugby Heaven that the Aussies deserved more respect.
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"The Brumbies and the Reds have really got the goods to threaten our teams," Te Nana said.
"The general Kiwi public don't understand, I think, how good these Australian teams are.
"It's going to be interesting to see how they front up.
"Last year with the Wallabies, Super Rugby AU has gone to another level this year, how good Australian rugby is becoming.
"Not only in Super Rugby but I think the Wallabies are going to be dangerous as well."
Te Nana predicted that the two domestic champions - the Reds and the Crusaders - would square off in the trans-Tasman final on June 19.
"The Crusaders are monsters and the way the Reds are going, the way they were able to stick in the fight and score that match-winning try, man, I just think that mentally and physically they've got it."
Te Nana, who now works as a rugby pundit for Sky Sport NZ, said the Kiwi players were relishing at the prospect of testing themselves against the Australians after two years of hammering away in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
"You don't realise what you've got till it's gone," Te Nana said.
"And not playing the Aussies in Super Rugby has been an eyeopener for the teams and the lads. I know it's going to be a really competitive competition."
Te Nana said the five Aussie teams all had their own styles of play while the Kiwi approach was more uniform.
"It's brutal, absolutely brutal. Our teams all play a very similar style which is brutality, winning that physical battle and then trying to execute.
"But it's all very much same, same. So I think a lot of people are looking forward to it, players and fans, to be exposed to a different style of rugby."
Te Nana nominated Hurricanes five-eighth Ruben Love as a little-known Kiwi player for Aussie fans to keep an eye on.
"He's 20, been shoved in at that standoff position and after three games you could tell he is the goods. He's one of those guys, like Richie Mo'unga, who really steps up when he's under pressure.
"He's still got a lot to learn and that's the freaky thing."
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/rugby/super-rugby-trans-tasman-news-preview-karl-te-nana-rugby-heaven/79469233-3cb6-45ae-ac78-bfa4ec493f6c
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