Fifteenth year of Super Rugby gets ready to kick off
James Mortimer - (7/02/2010)
The 2010 Rebel Sport Super 14 is all but ready to commence, with the Blues welcoming the Hurricanes to kick off the year. There is another New Zealand derby in round one with the Highlanders travelling to AMI Stadium, while the Chiefs begin their season in difficult circumstances with an away match to the Sharks at ABSA Stadium.
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The Blues travelled to Arena Manawatu at Palmerston North to play the Hurricanes in a fine evening on March 1st, 1996 to begin the new domestic showpiece for the Southern Hemisphere.
The then Auckland Blues began what would be a relentless march to their first title. How could they not, with players such as Jonah Lomu, Carlos Spencer, Joeli Vidiri and essentially an All Black pack.
For the record they defeated the Hurricanes in that opening game 36-28, scoring five tries. The honour for the first try of the competition though would go to Wellington back Alama Ieremia, now part of the Hurricanes coaching staff. That day Wellington back Jamie Cameron would kick a conversion and seven penalties, the side scoring their points in a manner that would be most unbecoming of their flamboyant style as the tournament grew over the years.
Since then the competition has evolved.
New Zealand sides are now referred to by team names only, no longer officially being referred to as the “Canterbury” Crusaders and so forth. They have dominated the competition with the mighty red and blacks winning an incredible seven of fourteen titles. The Blues have added three, to give the country ten of the Super championships.
Australia, still with their three foundation sides of the ACT Brumbies, Queensland Reds and NSW Waratahs, now have a fourth side well established in the Western Force. From next year, the current Super 14 will be known as the Super 15, with a Melbourne team the newest addition to the Super rugby fraternity.
South Africa, represented in the 1996 Super 12 by way of Northern Transvaal, Natal, Transvaal and Western Province; then determined their competitors from their Currie Cup finalists. Now they have five teams, and in 2007 the Bulls broke the nation’s title drought.
The 2010 pre-season is all over, and by and large little can be read into the results to determine who could emerge as the champion on the 29th May. The Highlanders and the Stormers have been the stand out teams during the season’s warm-ups.
But while all teams have played at least once to get some much needed game time, it is the noise off the field that could bode well for the season ahead.
A desire to promote the attacking game has been heralded, with the defensive team not getting the previous carte blanche to “jackal” the ball, and scrums being pinpointed as needing to sharpen up on their accuracy. Beware consistent offending is the message being sent to front rows, else the wrath of the countries particular scrum coach will be inflicted on the guilty parties.
A knock on the door from Mike Cron would normally be a welcomed visit from any New Zealand front rower, but not if he comes to chastise poor technique for an offending prop.
Winning and attractive rugby has also been requested.
Australian Rugby Union boss John O’Neill has also asked that his four sides adhere to this edict, wanting to ensure that the game is gorgeous as a product. Of course, all teams will try, but not at the expense of winning rugby, as former Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock pointed out.
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has said the same.
"Teams are going out there to win and are going to figure out ways to do it," said the Crusader, who will sit out the first two of three rounds of competition.
"They're not going to go out with the first thing in mind to play attractive rugby."
He knows though the running rugby philosophy is part and parcel of the New Zealand mindset, but it hardly means that kiwi teams are one dimensional.
"At times it's not possible and you've got to have other things up your sleeve. But I know all the teams around New Zealand want to play like that," McCaw said.
As for who could win it, as always it will be an open affair, despite the fact that the 14 years has only seen four different teams claim the trophy. Anyone one can lose to anyone in the Southern Hemispheres premier domestic showpiece.
Many would find it hard to go past the Crusaders.
After all, based on their history they are technically a one in two chance of winning it, and again look the goods. Not only to they have an Air New Zealand Cup championship team at their core, they are littered with All Blacks, including the two biggest guns of them all, McCaw and Dan Carter.
Last year the Crusaders were a semi-finalist, and that was without the All Blacks first five eighth in the team.
The Blues would love to improve on their recent sub-par record by their standards, and add a fourth title to their collection. But the Chiefs and the Hurricanes have the recent records and the squads to try and become the third New Zealand team to win a Super rugby championship.
Even the Highlanders will threaten this year, with a balanced squad that is the strongest to come out of the south in many years.
As we toast the beginning of rugby in the Southern Hemisphere, we look forward to the final year of the Super 14 as we know it, before the game evolves again and become the conference based Super 15 in 2011.
Rebel Sport Super 14 pre-season results
Chiefs 24 v Highlanders 31 @ Dunedin
Waratahs 24 v Reds 26 @ Lismore
Blues 19 v Hurricanes 17 @ Mangatainoka, Wairarapa
Stormers 24 v Force 12 @ Cape Town
Cheetahs 13 v Eastern Province invitational XV 9 @ Port Elizabeth
Sharks 0 v Force 26 @ Cape Town
Suva Presidents XV 17 v Highlanders 35 @ Lautoka
Blues 31 v Chiefs 21 @ North Harbour
Hurricanes 26 v Brumbies 5 @ Wellington
Reds 20 v Crusaders 12 @ Brisbane
Stormers 29 v Sharks 14 @ Newlands
Waratahs 83 v Fiji Warriors 15 @ Orange
Bulls 42 v Lions 12 @ Polokwane
Waratahs 15 v Brumbies 7 @ Canberra
Blues 12 v Crusaders 21 @ Motueka, Nelson
Chiefs 12 v Hurricanes 17 @ Rotorua
Force 31 v Reds 12 @ Perth
Lions 24 v Pumas 17 @ Witbank
Stormers 47 v Boland 13 @ Green Point