Oracle of DelphiSuper 14 2008 starts today!
February 15th 2008 02:23
...and eek...I'm just not match fit...
Why?...sigh...they just don't make 'em Larkham anymore...
(The Investec) Super 14 Rugby competition has;
- 4 teams from Australia
(Brumbies, NSW Waratahs, QLD Reds and the Western Force)
- 5 teams from South Africa
(Bulls, Cheetahs, Lions, Sharks and Stormers)
- 5 teams from New Zealand
(who cares?...)
(just kidding...Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders and Hurricanes)
The competition started in 1996 as the Super 12.
Australia, New Zealand and South Africa formed SANZAR (South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby) to administer an annual provincial 12 team competition and Tri-Nations Test Series between the three countries.
Impetus for forming a Tri Nations alliance started in Australia and New Zealand, following the establishment of Super League and the huge player salaries on offer.
Worried that Rugby Union players would be tempted to switch codes and that Rugby Union would suffer as a consequence, the unions of the three countries signed a multi million-dollar deal with Rupert Mordoch's News Corporation.
This gave News Corp exclusive television rights to the competition for ten years.
...which forever underscored Rugby as an elitist game but ours is not to reason why...ours is just to ruck and try.
The competition was renamed Super 14 in 2005 for the 2006 and future season, with the addition of 2 teams. Australia and South Africa got an 'extra' team each (the Western Force and the Central Cheetahs). NZ Rugby was worried that there may have been a Pacific Super team, in which case NZ teams would lose all their players.
The emphasis in Super 12 and now Super 14 is on strong, attacking Rugby with bonus points given to any team scoring four tries or more in a game.
Bonus points were also awarded to Stephen Larkham just because he exists. Okay so that was just my scoring system. 10/10.
The Crusaders are the most successful Super 12 team but the All Blacks choked at RWC again and that's the only NZ Rugby statistic that matters.
The ACT Brumbies played in four Super 12 Finals (1997, 2000, 2001 & 2004), winning the title in 2001 and 2004. They were on track to win in 2007 but the Reds didn't keep their side of the bargain and did what they do best. Lose.
(The Reds had to win their match against whomever...sorry, can't remember, I have Rugby Ball-zheimers...for the Brumbies to advance to 4th place and a place in the semis. They finished 5th).
I have no expectations this year.
The NSW Waratahs made their first decider in 2005, but were beaten by the Crusaders. They were on track to win in 2006 -semi finalists- and had their worst ever season in 2007, finishing 13th.
The Qld Reds...yeah...well...a team that consistently provides legendary Wallabies. And that's it.
The Western Force was formed in 2006 and is now a...yep, you guessed it...a force to be reckoned with. They finished 14th in 2006 but rose up to 7th place ranking in 2007.
I'm willing to bet that the Force will be the 2nd Australian team to win a Super 14 Championship.
Sorry 'Tahs but y'all tend to wilt under pressure. Please prove me wrong this year.
Super 12 / 14 Champs;
1996 Blues (NZ)
1997 Blues (NZ)
1998 Crusaders (NZ)
1999 Crusaders (NZ)
2000 Crusaders (NZ)
2001 Brumbies (AUS)
2002 Crusaders (NZ)
2003 Blues (NZ)
2004 Brumbies (AUS)
2005 Crusaders (NZ)
2006 Crusaders (NZ)
2007 Bulls (SA)
Round 1 Fixtures (teams and dates) coming up.
Please take a moment to click this;
Please Note:
The Comments Section has been disabled as I am currently unable to respond to any comment/s left. My apologies for the inconvenience but I'm not an octupus. Thank you for reading.
Why?...sigh...they just don't make 'em Larkham anymore...
(The Investec) Super 14 Rugby competition has;
- 4 teams from Australia
(Brumbies, NSW Waratahs, QLD Reds and the Western Force)
- 5 teams from South Africa
(Bulls, Cheetahs, Lions, Sharks and Stormers)
- 5 teams from New Zealand
(who cares?...)
(just kidding...Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders and Hurricanes)
The competition started in 1996 as the Super 12.
Australia, New Zealand and South Africa formed SANZAR (South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby) to administer an annual provincial 12 team competition and Tri-Nations Test Series between the three countries.
Impetus for forming a Tri Nations alliance started in Australia and New Zealand, following the establishment of Super League and the huge player salaries on offer.
Worried that Rugby Union players would be tempted to switch codes and that Rugby Union would suffer as a consequence, the unions of the three countries signed a multi million-dollar deal with Rupert Mordoch's News Corporation.
This gave News Corp exclusive television rights to the competition for ten years.
...which forever underscored Rugby as an elitist game but ours is not to reason why...ours is just to ruck and try.
The competition was renamed Super 14 in 2005 for the 2006 and future season, with the addition of 2 teams. Australia and South Africa got an 'extra' team each (the Western Force and the Central Cheetahs). NZ Rugby was worried that there may have been a Pacific Super team, in which case NZ teams would lose all their players.
The emphasis in Super 12 and now Super 14 is on strong, attacking Rugby with bonus points given to any team scoring four tries or more in a game.
Bonus points were also awarded to Stephen Larkham just because he exists. Okay so that was just my scoring system. 10/10.
The Crusaders are the most successful Super 12 team but the All Blacks choked at RWC again and that's the only NZ Rugby statistic that matters.
The ACT Brumbies played in four Super 12 Finals (1997, 2000, 2001 & 2004), winning the title in 2001 and 2004. They were on track to win in 2007 but the Reds didn't keep their side of the bargain and did what they do best. Lose.
(The Reds had to win their match against whomever...sorry, can't remember, I have Rugby Ball-zheimers...for the Brumbies to advance to 4th place and a place in the semis. They finished 5th).
I have no expectations this year.
The NSW Waratahs made their first decider in 2005, but were beaten by the Crusaders. They were on track to win in 2006 -semi finalists- and had their worst ever season in 2007, finishing 13th.
The Qld Reds...yeah...well...a team that consistently provides legendary Wallabies. And that's it.
The Western Force was formed in 2006 and is now a...yep, you guessed it...a force to be reckoned with. They finished 14th in 2006 but rose up to 7th place ranking in 2007.
I'm willing to bet that the Force will be the 2nd Australian team to win a Super 14 Championship.
Sorry 'Tahs but y'all tend to wilt under pressure. Please prove me wrong this year.
Super 12 / 14 Champs;
1996 Blues (NZ)
1997 Blues (NZ)
1998 Crusaders (NZ)
1999 Crusaders (NZ)
2000 Crusaders (NZ)
2001 Brumbies (AUS)
2002 Crusaders (NZ)
2003 Blues (NZ)
2004 Brumbies (AUS)
2005 Crusaders (NZ)
2006 Crusaders (NZ)
2007 Bulls (SA)
Round 1 Fixtures (teams and dates) coming up.
Please take a moment to click this;
Please Note:
The Comments Section has been disabled as I am currently unable to respond to any comment/s left. My apologies for the inconvenience but I'm not an octupus. Thank you for reading.
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