Super 14 Rugby is the leading competition for teams from the states and provinces of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
It would be fair to say that New Zealand teams have dominated the super 14, particularly the Canterbury Crusaders, although other New Zealand teams have done well with many reaching the final. The other great success has been the ACT Brumbies. The real disappointments of the series have been the Queensland Reds and New South Wales Waratahs who, despite being packed with talent, continue to underperform. Both teams will be looking to change that this season. However, the surprise Australian team and the dark horse of the tournament this year may be the Western Force who play in Perth, WA. Last year they were often close, but they didn’t have the experience to pull it out in tough situations. I predict this year will be a very different story.
South African teams have proven to be very strong in South Africa, but to be successful they once again need to win away games.
The 14 teams are
Auckland Blues (always strong, have the potential to beat any team on their day, time will tell if they can win enough games to reach the final, but if they do, they have a chance of winning the competition – previous winners of the final 3 times) (super 12) but recent years have not measured up.)
ACT Brumbies (full of class however one wonders if their Aussie dominance is waning, twice previous winners, twice lost to Canterbury in the final yet the last two years failed to make it to the final – I predict that will fail again this year)
The Bulls (based in Pretoria, have reached the final in recent years and should be looked at as a chance to do so again, but are unlikely to have the class to win the competition).
Central Cheetahs (Recently joined SA, 10th, will do better this year but won’t make the final)
Waikato Chiefs (Traditional New Zealand rugby is on display every time the Chiefs play, hard, hard, they enjoy great support at home, they only made it to the semi-finals once, they won’t make it this year but they will provide some entertaining games.)
Canterbury Crusaders (The most successful franchise in the competition. Won the competition six times, the last two times, dominant. This year will be no different. Any team that wants to win the competition will have to beat the Crusaders to do so.)
Western Force (First year in competition last year, shows good signs but never delivered. This year could be the dark horse. May make it to the finals, but lack of experience in finals will prevent them from going further. They have great support at home which should make them hard to beat at home).
Otago Highlanders (Never won the competition and it’s not going to change this year. However, it will destroy the hopes of other teams at their famous house of pain in Carisbrook, Dunedin)
Hurricanes (Based in Wellington, New Zealand, lost to the Crusaders in the final last year. Will do well to reach the final this year, but it’s a possibility.)
Lions (Cats name change won’t change the fortunes of this Johannesburg-based team, they won’t make it to the final.)
Queensland Reds (they have never been successful, often blaming injuries to key players. They just need to toughen up if they have any chance of winning the competition. They have the talent, but not the heart.)
Natal Sharks (based in Durban and one of the best performing South African teams. They missed the final last year. They are predicted to reach the final this year.)
Western Stormers (based in Cape Town, no big deal here. Will win a couple at home, but that’s about it).
NSW Waratahs (Based in Sydney. Reached the final numerous times but failed to lift the trophy, could it be different this year?)
This is a quick look at Super 14 from a personal review from 2007. At the end of the competition I’ll see if I got it right or not. Either way, it will be fun to watch.