Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, John Eales reflects on the latest Super Rugby action.

"Offloads are a hot commodity in rugby and their poster boy is Crusader Sonny Bill Williams, who as of last week had made almost twice as many as anyone else in the competition. He had 24 and his nearest rival, teammate Dan Carter, 13, which in itself is a pointer to how the Crusaders play their game.

"Offloads are invaluable as they maintain momentum while raising ghosts in the minds of defensive patterns. Sometimes the most potent threat is a perceived threat: should a defensive line commit to the ball carrier or hold back for the recipient?

"Hence Williams's value arises as much through what he doesn't do as what he actually does. Not only can he offload but he can equally cause so much damage when running himself. The resulting uncertainty creates options for him and for those around him.

"Two of the Waratahs' tries came directly from offloads, one from Wycliff Palu, the other from Burgess."

Robert Kitson hypes the return to action of Danny Cipriani, who is set to spearhead the Melbourne Rebels in their Super Rugby bow in The Guardian.

"Stop me if you have heard this before. Talented player whips up a storm at Twickenham, showing nil regard for the conservative ways of the old-school English rugby player. Nothing to declare but his genius, as Oscar Wilde used to write in his Guardian blog. A bit cocky, maybe, but where is the harm? Last weekend it was Chris Ashton; three years ago, lest we forget, it was Danny Cipriani against Ireland.

"If Ashton needs something to return him to earth after a weekend of skydiving, he could do worse than ponder the subsequent career trajectory of Cipriani, once the Icarus of English rugby himself. A lot of us watched the latter shred the Irish on that memorable afternoon in March 2008 and foresaw nothing but success for the confident golden child. Instead all it took was a bad leg injury and a change of England management and Cipriani was suddenly on the outer, his profile in the showbiz columns swiftly eclipsing his on-field deeds."

England's loss could be Melbourne's considerable gain according to Wallabies legend Michael Lynagh - the Sydney Morning Herald's Ed Jackson writes.

"There's a lot of interest in the Melbourne team with Cipriani playing there, a huge amount of interest in it actually," the legendary No.10 told AAP from the Laureus Sports Awards in Abu Dhabi.

"It's unfortunate circumstances that somebody as young and talented as him feels he has to leave because for whatever reasons he's feels he's not getting a fair look-in into the national set-up.

"I think there's faults on both sides. I think he's a very talented player and he's got a lot to offer and leaving the environment that he's been in might be good for him. He certainly seems to think that going to Melbourne is a good opportunity to develop himself as a player and a person and I tend to agree with him."

Melbourne Rebel Adam Freier writes in his Sydney Morning Herald column how he wants to see Australian fans shift their focus from the Wallabies to their Super Rugby teams to make the new competition as relevant as the AFL and the Premier League.

"Although the season is months away, there has already been a massive push for the next year's Super 15 competition. And so there should be. For rugby to be the premier sport in Australia, it needs to develop a competition that has sustainability and longevity.

"Fans need to embrace their Super clubs with the same fervour they have for the Wallabies. If you walk the streets of London, they all have allegiances to the national football team, but at the end they day, they support Liverpool or Arsenal.

"I'm a true believer in the Super rugby concept. It is like no other sporting competition and if done properly, the flow-on effect to our national team would be immense."

Gregor Paul is worried about the playing stocks of the New Zealand franchises prior to next season's Super 15 in The Herald on Sunday.

"Already the odds of a New Zealand side winning the inaugural Super 15 have lengthened. Every franchise has been hit by player defections and the flow of traffic offshore has not yet been stemmed.

"There will be more departures before October; more reasons to be a little concerned about the depth of quality New Zealand's teams will be able to boast next year.

"Some good players have been lost in this pre-World Cup rush to Europe and Japan. Tamati Ellison, Kevin O'Neill, Rudi Wulf, Anthony Tuitavake and Sione Lauaki have all played test rugby. Leaving aside this year - a truly disastrous one for the troubled No8- Lauaki has been an integral and inspirational force for the Chiefs. In seasons past, his form has been inexorably linked with the Chiefs' - when he plays well, they play well. For all his faults and foibles, he'll be hard to replace."

Peter Bills has no time for the talk of an integrated game in South Africa following the Super 14 final in The Star.

"An all-South African final of the Super 14 and with it, confirmation that South African rugby sits at the top of the southern hemisphere and probably the world tree.

"For sure, the Stormers never had the precision, invention or sheer rugby intelligence of the Bulls. Subtlety might seem an oxymoronic quality to discuss in so physical a game as rugby. Yet so often it is the crucial element, as the Bulls showed with the clever creation of their first try in Soweto.

"Their superior thinking and reading of the play put them on a plateau beyond the capacity of the Stormers, themselves by no means an ordinary side."

Bulls captain Victor Matfield insists their Super 14 Final against the Stormers is the culmination of seven years of legacy-building as they chase their third title in four years. The Springboks lock talks to Reuters.

"Only the Canterbury Crusaders (7) and the Auckland Blues (3) have won more than two Super 14 crowns.

"Seven years ago, Heyneke [Meyer, former Bulls coach] said that we wanted to be the top union in world rugby. To do that, we need to win the Super 14 often, like the Crusaders have done," lock Matfield told Reuters before turning his full attention to a laptop showing clips of the Cape-Town-based Stormers lineout.

"That's always been my goal, to keep winning the Super 14 and be the top provincial side in world rugby."

"The Bulls cantered to victory last year, finishing top of the standings and thrashing the Waikato Chiefs 61-17 in the final. They finished top of the table again this year and even firebrand Stormers captain Schalk Burger has conceded they are near to their goal."

Writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, Spiro Zavos argues that while the odds were stacked against the Waratahs in Saturday's Super 14 semi-final against the Stormers, the men from New South Wales played an integral role in their own demise.

"A Marxist historian looking at this jumble of statistics would conclude that there was a certain inevitability about the Stormers winning the match. The great pull of historical forces, it seemed, was working for the Stormers.

"But did all of this make their victory inevitable? I don't think so. It is clearly difficult to win an away match. But difficult does not mean impossible. The handful of away victories indicates this.

"The Waratahs greatly helped the historical forces by coming into the match poorly prepared. The preparation started with the team wearing the wrong sprigs on what turned out to be a slippery field. Throughout, the Waratahs slipped and slid as if they were playing on an ice rink. So when the Stormers' inside-centre, Juan de Jongh, made his daring break-out, hitting his left foot in a series of inside cuts, the Waratahs defenders were left skating past him, missing their tackles as he raced under the posts."

The Stormers proved far too strong for the Waratahs in Cape Town. © Getty Images

In his weekly column in The Sydney Morning Herald, Greg Growden leads the inquest into the Waratahs' Super 14 semi-final defeat by the Stormers.

"In big games, you need big names. You also need a plan B when confronting an opposition as complete as the Stormers. Otherwise it's no contest - as was the case in Cape Town. Then again, as NSW Rugby Union officials say: 'No excuses.'

"The Waratahs desperately missed their Test No.8, Wycliff Palu, and world-class loose-head prop, Benn Robinson. They went back into their shell, reverting to uninspiring kick, bash and barge football that drove everyone mad for parts of the Super 14. Senior NSW players went missing, falling well short in the leadership and discipline stakes.

"And whenever the Waratahs were put under pressure, unsurprisingly considering how stifling the Stormers defensive line was, either their elementary skills collapsed - they fumbled basic passes, lost sight of what they wanted to do- or just became desperate, booting away possession.

"This was a classic example of a semi-final team being that in name only, because the big moment exposed them big time. There are bound to be casualties."

Phil Waugh's Super Rugby career began in Cape Town and he realises he may never reach a semi-final again, which, he tells Rupert Guinness on Rugby Heaven, makes him all the more intent on making a difference today

"Waugh is familiar with the Newlands experience, having travelled to Cape Town many times since his Super 10 debut in 2000, which resulted in a 22-15 defeat to the Stormers. Now 30, and with his odometer reading 79 Tests and 123 Super matches, Waugh needs no reminding of the significance another defeat to the Cape Town franchise would carry this weekend.

"Losses are unpalatable at the best of times, but when they occur in a semi-final before 52,000 partisan South Africans, the sting is especially acute. And given that this weekend's match quite possibly represents Waugh's last chance of celebrating a Super title win, the stakes could hardly be higher.

''Each time you make the finals - even for some of the guys new in their careers - it is [about] limited opportunities at the end of the season,'' he said. ''You see throughout the season the team's performances and you see how hard it is to get into the four - the tight games we have won, the tight games we have lost. And you look at other teams and the tight games they have won and lost.''

Wallaby legend Matt Burke reckons the Waratahs can cause a shock at Newlands in the Super 14 semi-final, writing for Rugby Heaven.

"It's safe to say the NSW team that visited the republic in round two is different to that which is preparing for the semi-final. The immediate differences is the physicality in the team and the way they are able to find space with the passing game. When I mention the physicality and the players that have stood up in recent weeks, it is because of the injuries the Tahs have sustained. The line-up resigned to sitting in the grandstands is quite incredible, but depressing: Wycliff Palu, Sekope Kepu, Benn Robinson, Will Caldwell and Sosene Anesi.

"All are top-line players, but those that have filled the gap and stood up have done themselves and the jumper proud. Ben Mowen, Kane Douglas and Pat McCutcheon have been significant and influential contributors to the team's success. This is the ethos and desire that Chris Hickey and crew have brought to the team.

"The Waratahs have been based in Durban before the semi-final to escape the hype that will be surrounding Cape Town. This is a good move. This week is about themselves. Concentrate on the mental side of the game. They have the physical presence, save for a little bit of tweaking to get the body ready. It's all about Saturday (3.10am Sunday, Sydney time). Players need down time for a game like this - when you are off mentally, down tools, but when it's time to go, ante up."

You can take Robbie Deans out of Christchurch, but his belief in Canterbury rugby proves harder to budge. The New Zealand Herald reports.

"A five-time Super rugby title winner with the Crusaders, the Wallabies coach is not quite predicting an eighth championship this year - but he expects Todd Blackadder's men to at least make the decider.

"Undeterred by the Crusaders' inability to win outside of New Zealand so far this year - and the fact they lost the corresponding semifinal last year 36-23 - Deans believed the Bulls' decision to rest practically their entire first-choice line-up from last weekend's derby in Cape Town could count against them.

"Deans doubted fatigue would be a factor despite the Crusaders having a short turnaround to the Republic after eliminating the Brumbies in Christchurch last Saturday, days after returning from an unsuccessful road trip to Cape Town and Pretoria via Perth."

The Bulls, with one eye on the semi-finals, rested their star players for last weekend's clash with the Stormers © Getty Images

Spiro Zavos of the Sydney Morning Herald believes that the Bulls may have made a serious error in judgement by picking a second-string side for last weekend's clash with the Stormers.

"Yes, the Bulls have given their frontline players a week off. They will be rested coming into the semi-final against the Crusaders, who will be making their second trip to South Africa in two weeks. But the Bulls have lost momentum going into the finals. That momentum, which is the engine that drives successful finals sides, lies with the Stormers, the Waratahs and the Crusaders.

"The other loss for the Bulls involves the fact that they will not play out the semi-final at Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld Stadium. That stadium comes into play with football's World Cup schedule. The Crusaders ran the Bulls to a close and controversial loss, 40-35, at Loftus Versfeld, so there is the possibility that the Bulls machine might not be as intimidating and as efficient away from their home ground. The referee for the match, too, is Australian Stuart Dickinson."

Greg Growden of the Sydney Morning Herald claims that Waratahs boss Chris Hickey would have been sacked had they been beaten by the Hurricanes on Friday night.

"The Waratahs' success in making the Super 14 finals has saved their coach Chris Hickey. If the Waratahs had lost to the Hurricanes on Friday night and missed out on the finals for the second year running, Hickey was under threat of going down the same road as his predecessor, Ewen McKenzie, and being replaced.

"Despite the recent assertions from NSW Rugby Union officials that - no matter what - Hickey would be their coach next year, the Herald has been told by several sources that some within the Waratahs organisation had before the final round began to look at alternative candidates taking over his job next season.

"It is understood that this was brought up at a meeting involving several NSW officials a few weeks ago, which Hickey did not attend. Numerous personalities have become close allies in ensuring that if there is a changing of the guard, they would take over key positions, which may even include important administrative roles.

"However, Hickey's success in extending the Waratahs' season for at least one more week means he has earned a reprieve."

Jacques-Louis Potgieter is the only survivor of the Bulls' win over the Crusaders © Getty Images

Greg Growden has no problem with the Bulls' decision to rest 13 players for this weekend's meeting with the Stormers, saying is it their privilege as log leaders in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"A load of bull has been uttered about the Bulls. So what if they rest up to 13 top-tier players for the final round match against the Stormers this weekend? That is the privilege of finishing well ahead of everyone else.

"If they are able to rest 13 players, good on them, because it shows what incredible depth they possess. According to those in the know, the Bulls' B team is almost as good as the Bulls A team, and could well win – in Cape Town, anyway.

"This is nothing new. During their golden period, the Crusaders regularly rested players, and it didn't do them any harm. It was all part of keeping their full squad motivated."

Spiro Zavos, writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, can't get his head around the kicking tactics of certain New Zealand Super 14 sides.

"On Friday night, I taped the Hurricanes-Reds match before attending a concert by the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. Just before leaving I couldn't resist having a peek at the game. The scoreline was 21-8 to the Reds, after 32 minutes of play. A close-up shot of Hurricanes No.8 Rodney So'oialo showed him looking exhausted and anguished. The Hurricanes were facing a hiding. While later listening to melodic baroque music, I constructed an analysis of the resurgence of the Reds.

"Their rise in 2010, I decided, has vindicated Robbie Deans's insistence that Australian sides needed to get back to their traditional game, which involves playing expansively and skilfully. Similarly, the rugby nous shown by most of the New Zealand teams has deteriorated, a result, I believe, of the loss of Deans and the intellectual property he created while the leading rugby thinker there."

The Waratahs thrashed the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday © Getty Images

John Eales tries to reveal the substance behind the Australian teams' Super 14 bid as the regular season draws to a close in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"The Waratahs this year have been a bit like an autostereogram. The players could see it – they kept telling us as much. The coaches could see it – many thought they were simply defending their jobs. A few others could as well. But most critics and fans, as hard as they tried, and as much as they may have wanted to, didn't see anything particularly exciting jumping out of the page at them . . . even though they kept winning.

"The Brumbies, who have been similarly underwhelming in many of their displays, also find themselves situated favourably for a semi-final appearance. Their destiny as well is in their own hands, albeit with a challenging head-to-head battle with the Crusaders to determine who plays on for another week.

"The Reds, on the other hand, have all but bowed out of contention with their enterprising but ultimately ineffective effort against the Hurricanes on Friday night. It is just mathematics and some memory of advanced probability and statistics that give them a sliver of hope."

Brendan Nel compares the current plight of the winless Lions with the 2002 Bulls in his column for Supersport.

"I remember sitting in the office of Heyneke Meyer at the time, where Meyer at one point looked exasperated, and turned to myself and a colleague from Beeld, asking us “So what do you think we can do to turn this ship around?” It was a moment which most people don’t get to experience, but also one which will sit with me for a long time.

"At the time Meyer was probably the most promising coach in the country, but was pushed without the necessary resources into a competition which is so unforgiving that a simple mistake could ruin your season’s hopes.

"Meyer, to his credit, went back to the drawing board, cleaned out the dead wood at Loftus Versfeld and made a power play to exclude the meddling officials. Sounds a bit like what Dick Muir should do at Ellis Park, doesn’t it? But he also had the support at the time of a chief executive named Stephan Pretorius, who is now at the Southern Kings, and together with an equally ambitious and hard-working talent scout Ian Schwartz, they started building an empire which now rules the Southern Hemisphere."

Wynne Gray calls for a moment of common sense following Ma'a Nonu's expletive-laden post-match interview last week in The New Zealand Herald.

"The midfielder, by all accounts, was a little bit emotional after a tough win for the 'Canes when a radio reporter plonked a microphone under his nose and asked a few questions.

"What did the soundbite searcher expect? "Oh, I'm really tired now but it was wonderful to get a victory and stay in the hunt for the Super 14 playoffs." Instead he got the raw emotion of the moment and those back in the studio chose to broadcast the response.

"If they did not like the tenor of the conversation, they could have cancelled it with their dump button.Nonu had just scored two tries as part of a great Hurricanes comeback and, when interviewed, let rip with seven expletives in a short space of time."

Greg Growden reacts to Steve Walsh's suggestion of having two referees on the field with a quick pushing over of the pram in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Have we just discovered the ultimate in human torture? Aren't referees subjecting us to enough misery in having one of them on the field without now having to ram bamboo underneath our fingernails by arguing that there should be two whistleblowers out there wrecking the game?

"Enough, I say, enough! No, not now the ''three cheers for the ref'' routine … I will confess to everything.

"Rugby can be such an infuriating game because it is dominated by a convoluted law book, made even worse by a good majority of referees wanting to stay onside with their assessors up in the grandstands by rigidly sticking to the letter of the law."

Wynne Gray salutes Ewen McKenzie's handling of the Reds this season in The New Zealand Herald.

"When the Reds began another Super 14 campaign with a loss there were the usual "here we go again" laments.

"Others were more encouraged by the two-point loss to the Waratahs, they saw advances on a pretty sorry Reds record since 2003. In seven series, the Reds had not finished in the top half of the table.

"Enter Ewen James Andrew McKenzie, the 44-year-old former World Cup-winning tight-head prop, only the second Victorian to play for the Wallabies, a coach who had served an apprenticeship at the Waratahs and Stade Francais. McKenzie was head coach of the Waratahs from 2004 to 2008. Prior to that he was an assistant at the Brumbies and with the Wallabies."

We could be looking at a repeat of 2001 when no New Zealand teams made the Super rugby play-offs according to Richard Loe in the New Zealand Herald.

"I'm certainly not confident - or at least I wouldn't bet the farm - on any of our sides making it through.

"Before they headed offshore, the Crusaders were sitting just where they wanted to be. Now they have lost two in a row and I can't see them beating the Bulls in Pretoria next weekend.

"With their confidence down and the travel factor to consider, I think they will also find it difficult to come home and beat the Brumbies in their final game.

"The Hurricanes have improved in recent weeks but, again, I can't see them winning both of their last two games. They might win one, but not two."

According to Supersport's Gavin Rich, it remains a remarkable feature of the Stormers season that the matches they have lost have been by such narrow margins, while their wins have tended to be by the proverbial mile.

"Not one of their eight victims has come within 10 points of the Stormers, let alone the seven you need to garner a bonus point. Of the five wins scored against New Zealand opposition, the closest one was the 12 point victory in Auckland over the Blues. That is some record.

"And yet while this suggests the Stormers should not be dropping games like those to the three Australian sides, I cannot quite go along with the theory that had those three games been won, the Stormers would now be sitting unbeaten at the top of the log.

"It just doesn’t work like that, and while it is an over-used old cliché, that little phrase about learning something from defeat is nonetheless a meaningful and relevant one. In a tough competition like the Super 14, you have to accept that there will be days you are slightly off your game, and most opponents in this competition are good enough to punish you when you are."

Usually mild-mannered Hurricanes second-five Ma'a Nonu let rip in a bizarre post-match interview laden with seven swear words following his side's win against the Chiefs on Saturday. YahooExtra recounts the scene.

"Radiosport sideline commentator asked Daniel McHardy asked "What's going through your mind that was an amazing game to watch what was it like to play in?"

Nonu replied: "It's one of these games that makes rugby so spectacular, after they got a lead of 24-8 or something, f*** we were on our tryline and f*** everyone didn't know what was hitting us, then 50 minutes later we came out on top and scored a f***** last minute try and get this f***** bonus point.

With laughter coming from the commentary box McHardy held his composure to ask Nonu whether he thought the season was gone when the Callum Bruce lined up a potential match winning penalty for the Chiefs.

Nonu continued with his expletive tirade.

"I never think our season is gone, I've always backed myself for this team and after I scored that fluke try I thought 'Mate we've got to f***** hold onto the ball in the last five minutes'.

"And then they get a penalty mate. Typical Hurricanes games mate....last minute penalty two minutes to go and it's like f*** it's all over again. We get a steal from our line and Hosea makes a big break beyond their line he misses the kick f***** score after the hooter's gone," he said."

Writing in his column for the Sydney Morning Herald, former Wallabies captain John Eales insists the Australian Super 14 sides must grab their opportunity for southern hemisphere glory.

"'You've got to get them while they've got a hard-on." The words of legendary celebrity manager Harry M. Miller are just as relevant for the teams battling for semi-final positions in the Super 14 logjam today.

"Miller's words were about taking opportunity when it was presented. For him it was about selling a personality while they were hot because you're never sure how long the window may be open. For the teams competing for a chance in the Super 14 finals it is similarly about not wasting an opportunity.

"The completed weekend's round provided a tale of both lost opportunity and growing possibility as many teams with scope to secure semi-final positions wasted it, and the ensuing logjam on the ladder might find a few of them ruing their carelessness. As it sits now there are still seven teams with a more than reasonable opportunity to claim a play-off spot."

Greg Growden can't get his head around the decision to fine Matt Giteau for his comments about referee Steve Walsh in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"SANZAR got it right in deciding that Steve Walsh shouldn't referee Saturday night's Brumbies-Reds match but were wrong in forcing Matt Giteau to front its judiciary committee last night on a code of conduct charge.

"Giteau was fined $5000 for making comments to a journalist about Walsh's dreadful refereeing last weekend - comments many thought were perfectly justified, considering the despair the Brumbies felt after several of his decisions spoiled their chances of winning in Sydney.

"Giteau was asked legitimate questions by a reporter on Monday, and he gave honest answers."

A major drop in Waratahs home crowds and a sponsorship slump led to the NSW Rugby Union reporting close to a half-million-dollar loss for last year. Greg Growden writes in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"It is not surprising that match-day proceeds have plummeted considering that Waratahs home crowds have fallen dramatically. In 2008, the average Waratahs home attendance was 27,191, but 12 months later it was only 23,872.

The crowd figure has fallen further this season, with an average of 18,366 attending the four home games of the season so far. The NSWRU hopes the crowd at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night when the Waratahs play the Brumbies will dramatically improve that figure. After that match, the NSWRU has only one more home match - against the Hurricanes at the Sydney Football Stadium on May 14 - to bolster its match-day proceeds.

NSWRU chief Jim L'Estrange said last night that 2009 ''was a very tough year for business, and sporting organisations were not immune''.

Whichever "teenage greenhorn" wears the Brumbies No.7 jersey in Saturday's must-win game against the Waratahs - Michael Hooper or Colby Faingaa - he can count on a brutal encounter with NSW captain Phil Waugh. Rupert Guinness writes in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"In Christchurch on April 10, Waugh showed against the Crusaders - and particularly All Blacks captain and openside breakaway Richie McCaw - that his quest to regain the Wallabies No.7 jersey is far from finished.

"The Western Force's David Pocock might still be seen as the first-choice contender for the Wallabies No.7 strip after Smith's retirement, but Waugh has never relinquished his dream of making the position his own again."

Spiro Zavos heaps praise on the Reds following their impressive Super 14 victory over the Bulls - read his thoughts in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"An aphorism taken from The Art of War, a textbook of tactics and theories on how to wage war successfully written by Sun Tzu, a fourth-century BC military strategist, reads: "All battles are won before they are fought." On Saturday, the Queensland Reds coach Ewen McKenzie produced a game plan to defeat the frontrunning Bulls straight out of the Sun Tzu manual.

"The Bulls have bullied their way to the top of the Super 14 table. They rely on lineout steals by Victor Matfield to prevent sides mounting pressure on them inside their own half. They drive and maul from lineouts to force penalties. Their goal-kicker, Morne Steyn, consistently belts over penalties and conversions from all parts of the field. They kick a lot of high balls to force penalty shots or handling errors which their big forwards, Pierre Spies particularly, exploit with hard-shouldered, barging assaults.

"Until last Saturday, only the Blues had been able to crack this predictable but winning Bulls method. They did it by smashing the Bulls in the forwards. But with a relatively young pack containing no Test players, this tactic was not open to the Reds. Instead, they adopted a high-tempo, ball-in-hand method that involved running the Bulls into the ground. Kick-offs were received and then run out from the 22. High balls were caught and run back. Kicks were kept to a minimum - just 15 in the match."

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Phil Lutton reflects on the Reds' stunning Super 14 victory over the Bulls.

"Big Queensland prop Laurie Weeks could barely catch his breath as he trudged off after 40 minutes of the kind of rugby that makes you tired just watching. He gasped a few words for the sideline TV interview that said all you needed to know about the mindset of Ewen McKenzie's renovated Reds.

"We can take them," Weeks said. It's the kind of confidence even the most ardent fans thought had vacated Ballymore years ago, or moved to Sydney with Berrick Barnes.

"Not any more. After being the punchline of rugby gags for a decade, Queensland and their audacious brand of football are making the most unlikely of charges at the Super 14 finals. Who is going to stop them?"

Dan Carter's form has been mixed since his return to New Zealand © Getty Images

Dan Carter sets his own high standards, and despite some good performances since his return to Super 14, Rugby Heaven's Richard Knowler says he is still yet to reach the old heights.

"Despite surpassing several notable milestones over the last month – he has become the highest pointscorer in Super history and overtaken Andrew Mehrtens' record as New Zealand's top scorer – more than a few concerned onlookers have been left scratching their chins when assessing Carter's form.

"By his own admission he turned in a rotter against the Hurricanes on Good Friday, yet his performances have been no worse than any other No.10 in New Zealand. None of the efforts from Stephen Donald, Stephen Brett, Mike Delany, Willie Ripia, Aaron Cruden, Colin Slade, Matthew Berquist and Michael Hobbs suggest the All Black coaches are likely to go losing their heads.

"If anything, Carter's form has been as good, or better, than any of those challenging for his All Blacks spot. But because of his reputation, and the magical acts that he has performed over the years, all eyes will always turn to Carter when a big play is needed. Whether it is a short grubber, a crucial tackle, match-winning kick or that trademark run to the line where he somehow uses his powerful hips to shrug off a defender, he is always operating under a spotlight few others have to cope with."

The Irish Independent's Hugh Farrelly has been getting up early to watch some Super 14 rugby and he doesn't like what he sees.

"Watching the Super 14 this season has required frequent use of the fast-forward button (God bless Sky-plus) and numerous cans of Red Bull to keep eyelids from drooping. With the new tackle interpretations, ruck turnovers have become a relic of the past in the Super 14, the best a defending side can hope for is that the tackled player lacks support and is forced to concede the penalty for holding on.

"Teams rarely commit more than three players to the breakdown -- the tackler by necessity and one or two others attempting to move in on the ball -- hampered by the fact that the referee is poised to penalise the slightest hint of over-enthusiasm. "Tackle assist, must release," was one explanation recently offered for penalising a player who had not made the primary hit but was deemed to be too involved in it to legally contest afterwards. It means 12 to 13 players filling the pitch to resist the next offensive wave, so the attacking team, confident that the ball will come back, goes again, and again, until they get a score or make a mistake.

"In a recent Super 14 game, the Queensland Reds scored four tries against the Sharks but were undone by the South Africans' use of the maul which the Aussies (quelle suprise) could not handle. The maul is part of what rugby union once was. The 'you have a go then we'll have a go' recycling dross of the Super 14 is dragging the game to a recessionary place we really do not want to go. It's called rugby league."

The New Zealand Herald's Mark Geenty talks to Hurricanes fly-half Aaron Cruden about an eventful few days.

"It was a rollercoaster Super 14 bye week for Aaron Cruden. He had his locks shorn over a losing Big Mac bet, but today was a beaming recipient of the Hurricanes' No 10 rugby jersey with their season on the line in Canberra.

"One of New Zealand rugby's rising stars usurped Willie Ripia for Friday's match against the in-form Brumbies for just his second Super 14 start, as they look to rectify a four-match winless streak.

"He will form a fresh halves duo with Tyson Keats, with Piri Weepu granted bereavement leave after his grandfather's death, while Manawatu loose forward Nick Crosswell gains the No 7 jersey in the absences of the ill Karl Lowe and Scott Waldrom, whose wife is due to give birth.

"Cruden returned to Wellington sporting a shiny pate after boldly wagering a mate he couldn't devour a whole family meal under the golden arches; including drinks and fries."

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Spiro Zavos hails the character-building nature of sport and its propensity for offering men and women opportunities at redemption.

"There has been a lively debate in education circles about the merits of public schools avoiding labelling children as failures in school reports. False praise, it is argued, gives students an unrealistic impression of their abilities.

"In all the discussion the point is never made by educationists that competitive sport is one of the best ways to ground students, and to offer them redemption if they run into trouble in their lives.

"Educationists ignore the millions of people who have become better people because they have learnt from the pressures of competitive sport the great life lesson, in the words of Rudyard Kipling, "to treat those twin imposters (Triumph and Disaster) just the same.'"

The poor old game of rugby has been under siege in the past year so it's good to see it making a comeback with the new rule interpretations - according to Richard Loe in the New Zealand Herald.

"It's particularly satisfying to see that the Northern Hemisphere's leading competition - the Guinness Premiership - has admitted it needs to make changes after a long, awful period of boring rugby up there. This first raised its head a month or so ago when the prospect loomed of the north adopting the same law changes and improving the game there.

"The head of the IRB referees, Paddy O'Brien, shot back that the same rules were in force in the Northern Hemisphere. Well, maybe, Paddy - but the interpretations were bloody different, weren't they? You could see it with a glance at just about any Northern Hemisphere match - and a glance was about all you could stand.

"It was static, boring rugby; a contest for possession, sure, but very little done with that possession other than to kick. After admitting tries are down 40 per cent, the Premiership will use the same interpretations as the Super 14 - and good on them."

Leading the class of 2010: Berrick Barnes © Getty Images

Former Waratahs skipper Matt Burke believes that it's time to look beyond their 96-19 loss to the Crusaders as the class of 2010 prepare to visit Christchurch in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Much is said about history. We look at the past for direction and detail on how we lived our lives. We keep records on how we achieved our goals. Whether that be on the battle grounds or on the sporting fields, records are kept on who won or who lost. People love to look back and get stuck on reminiscing about old times, good or bad.

"History certainly has its place, but I am more interested in the future. The past is done. It's the spent arrow, you can't get it back, so prepare yourself as well as you can to write a piece of you own history. Your destiny.

"I speak of the game in 2002 when yours truly was the Waratahs captain in a game against the Crusaders. The game got away from us a little. Actually, that doesn't emphasise the point enough. Let's just say the losing margin was substantial - plus 10. Anyhow, the point being that, the Waratahs were a totally different team, culture, even generation to the one that is running around today. So I question why every time the Waratahs play in Christchurch, the spectre of the 96-19 loss is raised."

Following their win over the Bulls, Inga Tuigamala takes a look at the buoyant Blues in The New Zealand Herald.

"I've got to give a big thumbs up here to Pat Lam and his team for what they achieved against the Bulls last week. I saw Pat during the week and he certainly had a smile - he believes a lot of hard work since last year is starting to come to fruition.

"The major advance is that the players are understanding the gameplan and executing it at the right moments. We also see the Blues are far more hungry on defence. I thought their defence was absolutely superb against the Bulls - it was like watching the great Blues teams of the '90s.

"It was a must-win game for the Blues and everything came right on the night. As spectators, we don't see the enormous effort that goes into sports teams and such is the nature of sport that the hard work is not always evident from the stands. But over time, good planning will come through and Blues supporters will be hoping, and growing confident, that we are finally seeing consistent evidence of this."

The Waratahs deserve to be on top of the Super 14 ladder after eight rounds and certainly don't owe their fortune to good luck, says Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder.The Sydney Morning Herald's Rupert Guinness talks to the former All Blacks skipper.

''They are having a great season,'' Blackadder said. ''They really deserve to be No.1 on the table. They have played some exceptional rugby. There is no way the Waratahs are a lucky side. Of all the teams, they obviously have a lot of self-belief, and a good game plan.

''You don't get to No.1 on the ladder - not quite three-quarters of the way through the competition - by being lucky. It just doesn't happen.''

"Blackadder agreed the Waratahs had developed the ability to play the full 80 minutes, whereas in past seasons they had a tendency to fade and let winning opportunities slide.

"When asked what other elements of their game had improved, he said: ''They do the simple basics really well. They have a good scrum and lineout. They seem to be the master of ball retention. They're scoring a lot of tries. They have some real good game-breakers. We have a lot of respect and are cautious of what they can do. They [also] have a really good kicking game.''

According to Greg Growden, in The Sydney Morning Herald, it's the strenght of the Waratahs' bench that has helped them secure top spot in the Super 14.

"The ability to finish off games in the final quarter of matches by using their bench as a strike weapon has given the Waratahs their best chance in years at the Super 14 title.

"The Waratahs are sitting on top of the ladder and a key reason they find themselves there has been the dramatic improvement in the overall strength of the playing squad. This season, not only have the Waratahs coped comfortably with injury setbacks, they have also picked up the tempo of matches by using quality replacements in the final minutes.

"Most weeks there have been Wallabies sitting on the Waratahs bench waiting to make their mark on games. Never was this more crucial than in the opening round, when the Waratahs' back-up was considerably better than that of Queensland's, enabling the visitors to take control in Brisbane in the latter stages to run out 30-28 winners."

Wynne Gray salutes the Blues' front-row following their win over the Bulls in The New Zealand Herald.

"Rugby sages bang on about the foundations for any rugby victory being set up front, even in the modern game and the age of spread defences where jersey numbers are irrelevant.

"While the Blues deserve widespread collective praise for lowering the frontrunning Bulls on Saturday, special mention needs to be made of their entire Otahuhu club front row.

"When John Afoa retired early with a damaged back, replacement tighthead prop Tevita Mailau joined captain Keven Mealamu and Charlie Faumuina for the scrummaging battle."

David Hill is mobbed by his force team-mates after his winning drop-goal against the Stormers © Getty Images

Gavin Rich reviews a bad week for South Africa's Super 14 franchises after losses for the Bulls, Stormers and Cheetahs on Supersport.

"Okay, so there goes the theme of my previous column, leaving a whole lot of Easter egg all over my face. Maybe one day a South African team will go overseas in the Super 14 and win all four or five matches. But it won’t be happening this year. That dream was ended just seven days after the members of the top two South African teams, the Bulls and the Stormers, opened the overseas leg with the Bulls playing the Western Force in Perth.

"The Bulls managed to scrape home in Perth, but the Stormers were made to pay for their lethargy and their continued inability to come out on the right side of Stuart Dickinson’s whistle when they visited the same venue six days later.

"Then on Easter Saturday came the big implosion, with the previously unbeaten Bulls getting smashed by the Blues. I had predicted a Bulls defeat in my preview to the weekend’s fixtures – but by less than five points."

Berrick Barnes took the Man of the Match award as the Waratahs beat the Cheetahs at the weekend, but he's in no mood to crow abaout it when talking to Ruper Guinness in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"If Berrick Barnes is feeling any satisfaction over his man-of-the-match performance against the Cheetahs on Saturday, he is keeping it close to his chest. To most who watched the match, Barnes's performance indicated a return of confidence after a forgettable few weeks.

''Maybe they couldn't find anyone else to give it [man of the match] to,'' he quipped. ''It's more like a lucky-dip prize. So there you go.''

"Typically, Barnes went to great lengths to deflect credit to others for the Waratahs' 40-17 victory over the Cheetahs, which propelled them to first place on the Super 14 table."

Chris Rattue challenges the Blues to follow up their win over the Bulls with more of the same or better in The New Zealand Herald.

"Here's the wee challenge for the Blues.The concept is quite simple, even if largely foreign to this mad mob over most of the past decade.

"Take what you did so impressively against the Bulls on Saturday and (trumpets, lights, firecrackers) ... DO IT AGAIN THIS WEEK. It's a novel idea, playing really well two weeks in a row. The Blues could even flirt with the bizarre and actually improve on the performance when they take on the Stormers at Eden Park on Saturday.

"No doubt everyone is in a chipper mood in the Blues camp right now, having handed the champion Bulls their first defeat of the season. From what you hear, the Blues are pretty chipper anyway, win, lose or draw."

The Herald on Sunday's Gregor Paul looks back on the first half of the Super 14 season.

"In a truly strange mix, the Blues have over-achieved in terms of performance but under-achieved in terms of results.

"Tactically they have taken risks but have been smart. Is it mad to run the ball from inside their own 22 when they do it so well? Against the Brumbies and Waratahs, the Blues frequently made it deep into opposition territory by keeping the ball alive. The high tempo game is working well for them. It is a strategy that is aligned not only to the individual strengths of the players, but also to the law interpretations.

"Unlike in previous seasons, their lack of competition points is not a consequence of pursuing a vague and disjointed game plan or, as they did for periods under David Nucifora, one that is not quite right for them. The problem has been loose execution when it really matters. A Stephen Brett intercept in the first game gave the Hurricanes a soft run to the tape."

After joining an exclusive club featuring Englishmen to have played Super Rugby, Andy Goode tells Mike Greeneaway in The Independent. that he is loving life in the southern hemisphere and would recommend the experience.

"Having left Brive at the end of February, the English No 10 is midway though a peculiar spell at Durban's Super 14 team the Sharks. Today, after five away matches, he plays his first home game. At the end of next month, he comes back to England, to join Worcester. But for now, he is enjoying a rare experience in South Africa indeed, and after becoming an irregular starter at Brive, and slipping behind Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood in the Red Rose order, he may just be hoping to revive his career, too.

"My first few days with the Sharks was daunting," he admits. "Out of the bright blue you suddenly land up amongst total strangers, although you have seen a good few of them on TV. But the Afrikaans guys were brilliant. I would walk into a room, where a group of them were playing cards and talking away in their first language and they would immediately switch to English, their second language, put an arm around me and welcome me with big smiles, and carry on without so much as a blink. I have huge respect for these South African boys and their humility.

"When we got back from tour to Durban, John Smit, the World Cup-winning captain, invited me to dinner at his home with his family and said: 'Welcome, you are one of us.'"

Lachie Turner's intercept saved the Waratahs last weekend © Getty Images

Spiro Zavos takes a look at Lachie Turner sparing the Waratahs' blushes against the Blues in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"For a minute or so at the SFS on Saturday it seemed the dreaded Wara-wobbles were about to infect the side. The Blues had turned a 21-7 deficit into a 32-29 lead in the 72nd minute, and were one pass and a couple of metres from scoring the clinching try.

"Stop the tape! The Blues halfback, Taniela Moa, has the ball. Two attackers are set to his left. One defender, Lachlan Turner, is trying to cover three attackers. Moa, with his beefy build, can just shoulder his way across the line. Or he can pass to a teammate to score the try. A try - and a NSW loss - is inevitable. Start the tape. Moa ever so carefully delivers a sympathetic pass to Turner, who in desperation has placed himself between the two Blues attackers. Turner motors away, head back and legs pumping, to score the winner under the posts. The True Believers are on their feet pumping their fists.

"This victory capped a splendid weekend for the top three Australian sides. The Brumbies broke a 23-23 deadlock with the Chiefs right on time when Matt Toomua, a smart, young five-eighth, scored from an opposition mistake under the posts. In South Africa, the Reds comfortably beat the Cheetahs playing at altitude. The main blemish in the performance was the stupid trip by Quade Cooper on a Cheetahs player trying to take a quick drop-out."

John Eales takes a look at the difficult situation developing at the Western Force following John Mitchell's decision to leave the franchise in 2011 in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Life is more like a Ferris Wheel than a merry-go-round: when the music stops not everyone steps off equally.

"When Western Force coach John Mitchell's management announced he would not be continuing as the coach of the Force beyond the completion of his current contract, their man stepped off comfortably at ground level whereas the club was stuck awkwardly somewhere in the air. Mitchell's decision, about 1½ seasons before his contract expires, couldn't be more tactical or couldn't be worse, depending on from whose perspective you see it.

"From Mitchell's perspective, the announcement could be looked at as tactical, but arguably it is also self-serving and does the Force, which stood by him through an enquiry at the beginning of last season, no favours. His management has taken control of their client's situation, which of course is their prerogative. After all, they need to sell Mitchell into his next role and this might now be easier than it would have been were it the Force that announced that they would not renew his deal."

Chris Rattue laments the same old "flash, dash, flop" from the Blues in The New Zealand Herald.

"It's official. The Blues are ... the same old Blues, unfortunately. In other words, they are not going to win the Super 14 title this year, next year, and probably for a long time.

"As sure as Stephen Brett gets a kick charged down in every game, what was once the pride of New Zealand rugby is now a horror show of misused talent. Maths says they can still make the finals. History says they won't, after blowing a surefire victory in Sydney.

"The Blues do deserve credit on one score - they can be very entertaining, and that is not to be sniffed at. They have been involved in two excellent games, viewing wise, against the Brumbies and Waratahs. So the news is not all bad. They find and promote very interesting footballers, the latest being Rene Ranger. Then again, we should expect this, with the Blues being in the Polynesian rugby heartland, and the biggest population area in a rugby country."

Gavin Rich belives that it's time for the Stormers and Bulls to be looking up on Supersport.

"If anyone was wondering whether Stormers coach Allister Coetzee had any interest in the Comrades Marathon, the answer was provided at a press conference after the recent match against the Cheetahs.

“We are just starting on Polly Shortts! We are running from Durban to Pietermaritzburg!” said Coetzee.Unless he was departing completely from his usual script of taking it one game at a time and not looking too far ahead, Coetzee could not have meant that. Polly Shortts is the hill on the up Comrades that hits tired runners eight kilometres from the finish of the 87 km epic. It is a challenging hill to run up, make no mistake, but the point is that it is tough because it comes so late in the race.

"If the Stormers think they are at the Polly Shortts of the Super 14 then they are going to blow when they reach the real Polly Shortts, which for them should be the tough last trio of matches against the Crusaders (Newlands), Sharks (Durban) and Bulls (Newlands).

"They have played six games out of the 13 scheduled for the league phase, and as they are about to start their tour, Coetzee is right when he says there is a tough hill in front of them. Only it is Inchanga, the seven kilometre haul out of the halfway point at Drummond, and not Polly Shortts, that confronts their immediate future."

Can Rene Ranger make an impact with the All Blacks? © Getty Images

Chris Rattue believes that the in-form Rene Rnager can spark the All Blacks' backline from the wing in The New Zealand Herald.

"Rene Ranger. Now there's the future for rugby, even if Ranger's own future is clouded at the moment by an upcoming court case. How did Ben Smith end up in the All Blacks last year while Rene Ranger didn't? Actually, how did Smith end up in the All Blacks full stop?

"Ranger - who plays wing or centre - is what rugby desperately needs, a powerful outside back with an individual style. If he's not busting through defenders, he hurls them aside. Ranger can make something out of nothing and draw the crowds.

"With absolutely no disrespect to the classy Cory Jane, who has proved a much smarter test player than might have been expected, what the game doesn't need are smallish, converted fullbacks patrolling the flanks."

Tim Clarke looks at the strange situation created by John Mitchell's decision to leave the Western Force in 2011 in WA Today.

"It will be the longest farewell tour since Frank Sinatra, or Elvis, or John Farnham. But that is what John Mitchell and the Western Force have apparently agreed to, with the announcement the former All Black coach will leave the club at the end of his current contract.

"That deal, brokered before the team launched a mutiny in the build up to last season, runs out in 2011. So that gives the team the rest of this year, and the whole of next year's Super Rugby season, to impress a bloke who is not going to be there.

"A strange situation indeed. Mitchell's time in Perth should be remembered fondly for the immediate boost he gave WA rugby and the Force by choosing to take on a new franchise."

Spiro Zavos evaluates the merits of 'winning ugly' ahead of the Waratahs' meeting with the Blues in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"When a rugby team bases its playing style on "winning ugly" it is not going to lift any trophies. The occasional ugly win, though, is necessary for even the best teams if they want to become the champions.

"At the weekend we saw a number of necessary winning-ugly results. France won the Six Nations with a nervous victory over a dogged England. The Bulls snatched their fifth victory for the season, despite being outscored two tries to one by the Hurricanes, by playing out time with a series of slow-plod flops, a form of visual torture that should be legislated out of rugby. The Stormers made hard work of the Cheetahs by kicking away most of their ball. And the Waratahs won against the Western Force without making a line break or showing any attacking ploys or skills.

"France's ugly win over England can be justified because it delivered the glittering prize of a title. The Bulls reversion to negative kicking tactics seemed designed to put pressure on the two rookie Hurricanes wingers. The Stormers have the strongest defence in the Super 14 and this is their main strength. They have conceded a miserable 59 points in six matches."

Not even the most optimistic Sharks fan should have anticipated this would be their year and five straight defeats hammers home that fact. Gavin Rich writes for SuperSport.

"Complicated is a good word to describe some of the arrangements at the Sharks. The Sharks have denied reports of a rift in the camp, but it is hard to imagine the players involved in the selection musical chairs being enacted in the front-row to accommodate John Smit and at the same time satisfy the ambitions of the Du Plessis brothers would be doing cartwheels of joy.

"But regardless of the veracity or otherwise of these reports, it maybe needs to be recognised that this was probably always going to be a year where there would be a blip. There just isn’t the backline depth there used to be, the outflow of players has not matched the inflow. The confusion over flyhalf has certainly not been helped by the loss of two class inside centres in Steyn and Barritt."

Round one of the National Rugby League delivered a knockout blow to rugby which has instantly put its rule tinkering into perspective, according to Chris Rattue in the New Zealand Herald.

"League continually produces something that is essential to wonderful contests yet is virtually non-existent in rugby - the thrilling finish. Rugby matches invariably peter out although on a good day someone might barge their way over the line or kick a winning penalty.

"There are plenty of dud league games of course, and an over reliance on kicking at times. The weekend's match between the Warriors - who already look well worth their wooden spoon favouritism tag - and the Gold Coast Titans was an example of an ordinary contest of often poor skill.

"Yet even then, there was more open field action at Skilled Park, in other words things you could actually see and admire rather than a mass of bodies piled up in front of an unforgiving referee or people barging into each other, than you will find in a host of rugby matches."

Gregor Paul has run out of patience with troubled Chiefs skipper Sione Lauaki in The New Zealand Herald.

"Compassion and sympathy have surely been exhausted in the sad case of Sione Lauaki.He's had every chance to exorcise his demons; been given all the help - and more - anyone could ever want.

"And still he found himself charged with assault on Wednesday. Good will is running thin for Lauaki. It may even have run out. Once the judicial system has processed him, he'll have to face his employer. It could be for the last time. Lauaki, once an All Black of considerable promise, could become the first New Zealand professional player to have his contract terminated. The NZRU would see that as a disaster, but how many chances should Lauaki be given?

"He pleaded guilty to assault in February 2006 and was given diversion and then discharged without conviction. The assault took place in the early hours outside a bar in Hamilton."

Greg Growden believes that the Waratahs must keep up their attacking brand of rugby if they are to entice the crowds back to Sydney Football Stadium in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"The crowd did not come, but at least the tries and points did. So while the NSW Rugby Union bean-counters will have another restless night, knowing that a miserly 16,878 home crowd will affect the bank balance, at least the Waratahs players will be relieved their dwindling spectator base is no longer on their backs for supposedly being boring.

"And when a Waratah scores four tries for the first time in a Super rugby match, it is certainly time to overlook all the wide open spaces in the SFS terraces, and be thankful Drew Mitchell chose the right time to have a smart buzzcut hairdo to look really respectable for the cameras when he kept finding the line.

"Sure, the Waratahs kicked at times, prompting the occasional hoots and hollers, but they knew that if they held the ball for most of the time they had possession, they would reap the benefits. This was sheer Rugby 101, considering that before this match the Lions had leaked 18 tries in their first four games. This showed there was something rotten at the core of the opposition and it continued last night where it was soon evident the Lions had little idea in how to stop the Waratahs."

Drew Mitchell breaks the Lions' defence © Getty Images

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Adam Freier uses the recent performances of the Waratahs to illustrate how big an effect long-distance travelling can have on a team.

"We hear it all the time in all the codes: 'A week is a long time in footy.' For the Waratahs, that week has changed things to the tune of 73 points.

"There has been much written in the past seven days about last weekend's four-point victory against the Sharks, and probably even more animated conversation around the bar. However, I don't believe enough was written, or enough was said, about the task the Waratahs had in front of them after being on the road for so long, and having just returned from two weeks in South Africa."

Big names: Bryan Habana and Jaque Fourie have bolstered the Stormers © Getty Images

Gavin Rich struggles to get to grips with the expectations placed on the Stormers by the Cape Town sporting public on Supersport.

"Sometimes it is difficult to fathom what will really satisfy the Cape sporting public. Reading through some of the newspaper letters and SMS columns since last weekend’s big win over the Highlanders, you might almost be forgiven for thinking the Stormers are languishing near the bottom of the Super 14 table.

"With three wins in four starts, and a current third position on the log, the opposite is actually true. And yet you get the impression there are people who are expecting a lot more. It is fine having great expectations, but what are those expectations based upon?

"Since this time last year, when the Stormers were really struggling and were on their way to a 10th place finish, there have been two big name acquisitions in the form of Jaque Fourie and Bryan Habana. That though really is about it, and the bulk of the squad is the same one that played last year.

"So an expectation that the Stormers should somehow be doing better than they are now may be misplaced. If last March the Stormers had been offered their current position on the 2010 log table, and the wins they have scored, they would have been happy to buy it."

Peter Bills takes a look at the new-look Stormers and their water-tight defence following the opening rounds of the Super 14 in The New Zealand Herald

"The Hurricanes flew into an unseasonal heatwave in Cape Town yesterday - and strange happenings on the rugby scene, too. As temperatures of almost 40C greeted the Kiwis, odd events concerning the Stormers, whom they will meet at Newlands this Sunday (NZT), were also occurring.

"A right royal battle was under way between the Stormers' management and the Cape media over the tricky issue of entertainment. For years, it has been assumed that rugby teams in the Cape will mirror the local environment; entertaining and easy on the eye in one of the southern hemisphere's most renowned playgrounds.

"Suddenly this season, the status quo has changed. The Stormers, hitherto a side hell bent on attacking rugby with scarce interest in boring chores associated with defence, has the best defensive record in the Super 14 after the first four rounds, with just 38 points conceded in four matches, by a mile the best in the competition. The 33-0 dismantling of the Highlanders last week underlined the new philosophy."

Phil Lutton salutes the new-look Quade Cooper, superhero pose and all, following the Reds' promising start to the Super 14 season in The Brisbane Times.

"It looks like he's about to don a cape and leap tall buildings in a single bound. Reds fly-half Quade Cooper's new "superhero" pose before shots at goal is raising eyebrows but there's no chance of the Queensland star tinkering with a posture on the verge of attaining cult status.

"The comic-book stance isn't just for aesthetic appeal. There is much to admire about Cooper's maturing game in 2010, not least a new-found influence with the boot that has seen him slot 20 from 28 attempts in the opening four rounds of the Super 14.

"While his instinctive playmaking abilities have been earning most of the compliments, Cooper's efforts to pilot home five-from-six in his side's dramatic 23-18 upset of the Chiefs in Hamilton last week was the telling blow in the contest."

The Crusaders had pelanty to celebrate this weekend - not so much the Blues © Getty Images

Chris Rattue is tired of the cliches being spouted by coaches in the wake of defeats after the Blues' loss to the Crusaders in The New Zealand Herald.

”Coach-speak. Sometimes you want to gather up this self-serving nonsense and jam it firmly from whence it came. Pat Lam was "very pleased" after his Blues lost to the Crusaders in Christchurch.

“Why? Because he's trying to make himself and his team look better than they are. That's why. Which is why all coaches pick on little things that don't go their way and magnify them out of proportion to what went on, while finding tiny battles they won while losing the war. The funny thing is that winning coaches never add up what went wrong for the team they've just beaten.

“The problem with coach speak is that journalists are bothering to actually write this stuff down and feed it to the masses. In a 24/7 news world, you've got to fill the space up somehow, so this tripe gets an overly strong hearing. And if coaches stay on message, the message will get through.”

Australian legend John Eales explains in the Sydney Morning Herald that the Reds Super 14 franchise management has taken a positive step to recovery by alerting the ARU of their financial problems.

"The good news is that after years of insularity, hubris and a sense that the normal rules don’t apply to them, they have taken a dose of reality.

"Much like an alcoholic at an AA meeting, they have stepped forth and admitted they have a problem. While a long way from regaining the confidence of those nearest and dearest, they have at least begun the journey."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Wynne Gray suggests that the openside jobshare concept may get another international chance this year.

"The All Blacks tried a dual-flanker system last year when captain Richie McCaw was injured.

"Rather than promote specialist opensider Tanerau Latimer for his debut, the selectors chose to use Adam Thomson in that jersey with Kieran Read on the blindside. They were to share the scavenging duties. It was a tactic the All Blacks tried with the same players against Scotland at Murrayfield in 2008. Evidence of its success was mixed but in the absence of McCaw, the experiment was repeated last year at Carisbrook.

"Thomson broke a hand and had to be replaced but before he departed, the left and right breakaway scheme offered little hope of longevity. It did not seem to fit the New Zealand rugby psyche or the well-worn methods of balance in the loose forwards. This season, though, the jobshare concept may get another international chance. Crusaders flankers McCaw and George Whitelock will trial the idea against the Blues tonight to see if they can set up a twin-steal operation on each side of the park."

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Matt Burke asks how the talent-heavy Sharks can be struggling in this season's Super 14.

"Chock full of Springboks but somehow not finding that something to make them click. The Sharks have a monster pack. That theme of intimidation runs through numbers one to eight. John Smit as captain along with Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai ''Beast'' Mtawarira up front. Back that up with Ryan Kankowski and Johann Muller, and you have a pack that should deliver.

"In the backs, they have speed and panache. So why isn't it working for them? Only they have the answer to those questions. What the Waratahs need to do is keep asking those questions.

"So, what lies ahead for the Waratahs? After the performance in Pretoria in which they were innovative and bold in their attack, they face another huge task in overhauling the Sharks. The willingness to ''have a go'' was evident from the outset, which is something we hadn't seen."

It’s a good thing for South African rugby that injuries and player departures have left the Western Force floundering at the bottom of the Super 14 after three matches, according to Gavin Rich of Supersport.

"The Cheetahs are more than just competitive against most South African opposition, and it is one of the great mysteries that they have been in so many Currie Cup finals in recent years and yet struggle when it comes to Super 14.

"Could it be that the Lions and the Cheetahs are both still recovering from the many years they spent as a composite feline force known as the Cats? Perhaps there is something in that. The Lions were certainly much stronger before that ill-fated amalgamation, and as Transvaal they won the old Super 10 in 1994 and were beaten finalists in 1995.

"The Lions did win the Currie Cup in 1999, when the domestic competition was played under-strength in a World Cup year, but they have not really featured since then. At least not in the manner that they did when Jannie Breedt and Francois Pienaar were captaining them, and Harry Viljoen and Kitch Christie coaching them, back in the 1990s."

Spiro Zavos reviews the performances of the Crusaders, Waratahs and Brumbies as they look to find the winning habit in The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Vince Lombardi, the gruff and iconic coach of the Green Bay Packers, liked to growl out to his players: ''Winning is a habit.'' This is one of those statements that seem simple enough. But why do particular teams have a knack for winning? How do they acquire this winning habit? These are the questions that give depth to the Lombardi aphorism.

“The third round of an exciting and well-played 2010 Super 14 tournament included three teams with justifiable pretensions to playing finals rugby - the Crusaders, the Brumbies and the Waratahs - trying to get back into the winning habit after they lost the weekend before.

“The Crusaders missed 23 tackles in losing to the Reds on February 19 and played with an uncharacteristic sloppiness. It was noticeable against the Sharks on Friday night that the Crusaders had upped their attitude in their tackling and with their control of the game. Some bell-ringing tackles were made. The Sharks were palpably intimidated by the ferocity and were unable to score a try. By the end of the game, with Richie McCaw back in the colours, the Crusaders were playing their usual precise, intelligent brand of winning rugby, scoring their third and bonus-point fourth tries in the 75th and 78th minutes of play.”

Are the Chiefs the real deal? © Getty Images

Dylan Cleaver believes that Chiefs fans should be wary following their side's unbeaten opening to the Super 14 season in The New Zealand Herald.

"The Chiefs would have returned home last night feeling like all their Christmases had come at once - but there's a Grinch sitting in the corner drinking Ian Foster's eggnog. The Chiefs have beaten the Sharks, the Lions and the Force, three teams that look likely to occupy the lower reaches of the table when the championship ends. They needed a last-minute penalty to scrape home against an increasingly dysfunctional Sharks and conceded 65 points against a woeful Lions line-up a week later.

"The Force? Injuries have left them hopelessly under-manned. Those are the reasons for Chiefs' fans to temper their expectations, which have no doubt ratcheted up several notches, but there are many more reasons to usher the Grinch out of the room.

"First, you need a bit of luck when it comes to the draw, especially when you do not have the capacity to play opponents home and away over the course of a season (which is, ultimately, the only way to run a fair competition, but that's another argument altogether). The key is to make the most of a fortuitous draw."

Writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, Greg Growden insists his hometown Waratahs were undone by a Bulls outfit that is high on self-belief in a match full of quality despite the high scores.

"There will be the inevitable northern hemisphere bleat about Super 14 basketball blow-out scores. Let's hope they actually watch the Bulls-Waratahs match because they will discover that despite a tally of 86 points, this was hardly touch football.

There was upfront intensity and often dynamic forward play. Both teams pursued quality possession, with finely devised attacking ploys, executed at full pace, interspersed with excellent forward endeavour.

Still, what stood out most was that the Bulls have the same high level of self-belief that made the seven-time champions the Crusaders the driving force of the tournament until recent times."

It's only early days in the Super 14 but the Crusaders look a little worrying - even after that 35-6 win over the Sharks on Friday night, so writes Richard Loe in the Herald on Sunday.

"Their loss to the Reds in the previous round raised eyebrows and even though they won well in the end against the Sharks, I thought they looked a bit fragile.

"They are not looking all that convincing up front although Brad Thorn and Richie McCaw are not properly into stride yet. The Crusaders committed only the tackler and one other to most of the rucks and bulked up the defence. That worked well and they finished strongly - but that approach might struggle against better sides."

Bulls great Victor Matfield is going all out to play in one last World Cup, the Sydney Morning Herald's Rupert Guinness reports from Pretoria.

"From the day Victor Matfield started his rugby career in South Africa at a time ''when it was all about brawl and aggression'', he understood never to let his guard down.

"After cutting his teeth in one of the most confrontational and strategically challenging positions, Matfield has come to be regarded as one of the all-time great second-rowers, an astute leader and lineout general. But the 32-year-old Bulls captain knows the day will come, sooner rather than later, when he turns his shoulder and a young challenger will launch an irresistible bid for his throne.That day is not yet here, as anyone who has seen Matfield play in recent years would attest."

Writing in The Independent, former England coach Brian Ashton insists that with the right mentality, rugby can be played under any set of laws you care to name.

"Super 14 has had a bad press up here in Britain – the critics see it as a form of rugby candyfloss invented by, and played for, television – while the more die-hard union followers have dismissed league as too simplistic and predictable to be truly satisfying. I disagree on both counts: in fact, I think these barbs demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of the demands placed on those who play these dynamic brands of rugby.

"...I've been thoroughly cheesed off by the continuous stream of coaches, administrators, player and media pundits claiming that it's impossible to play rugby under the current laws in force at the tackle area. With the right mentality, rugby can be played under any set of laws you care to name. The high level of invention and creativity frequently seen in both Super 14 and Super League proves as much. If entertainment is part and parcel of professional sport – and I don't see that there's much of a case to be made against the proposition – here are two tournaments that seem to have their priorities right."

Peter Bills is worried by the lack of support in the opening rounds of the Super 14 in The Independent.

"The growing concern behind the state of the game across the southern hemisphere is an alarming contrast with the Six Nations tournament, which resumes this weekend.

"Try buying a ticket for the big matches of the latter, such as Wales v France in Cardiff this Friday night, or England v Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday. Apart from the ticket touts, you have little hope of finding a source.

"What is more, it is increasingly unusual to be able to get seats, certainly at the last minute, for the major Heineken Cup matches. And in France, when Paris-based Stade Francais switch one of their home games in the Top 14 domestic league from Stade Jean Bouin to the Stade de France, raising the potential capacity from around 20,000 to 80,000, they virtually sell out the Test venue."

Stephen Jones dismisses the Lions-Chiefs Super 14 try-fest as a "complete abortion of a sporting encounter" in The Times.

"Hands up, who feels that the 72-65 victory last weekend by the Chiefs over the Lions was a great rugby match? And those who think it was a rugby match at all?

"One website, which may have seen its best days, lauded this complete abortion of a sporting encounter and so did Robbie Deans, the coach of Australia. Deans has clearly forgotten that worshipping the utterly false god of tries has cost New Zealand two World Cups. Perhaps now that Kiwi Deans is with Australia, it is in his interests not to remind New Zealanders thus.

"The thinly-disguised contempt on the faces of the Sky presenters as they showed highlights of a succession of semi-opposed movements leading to a ghastly total of 18 tries against non-defending, was very telling and journalistically sound. Let us not pretend that the followers of the Chiefs, or anyone else for that matter, will not feel sick if such tripe is served up for much longer in the Super 15."

The growing concern behind the state of the game across the southern hemisphere is an alarming contrast with the Six Nations tournament, according to Peter Bills in The Independent.

"Try buying a ticket for the big matches of the latter, such as Wales v France in Cardiff this Friday night, or England v Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday. Apart from the ticket touts, you have little hope of finding a source.

"What is more, it is increasingly unusual to be able to get seats, certainly at the last minute, for the major Heineken Cup matches. And in France, when Paris-based Stade Francais switch one of their home games in the Top 14 domestic league from Stade Jean Bouin to the Stade de France, raising the potential capacity from around 20,000 to 80,000, they virtually sell out the Test venue.

"Now contrast all that with what is going on right across the southern hemisphere. This year's Super 14 started a couple of weekends ago and already, vast swathes of empty terraces and vacant seats have been discerned at most grounds. Anyone anywhere can walk up at the last moment and buy a ticket."

Spiro Zavos, writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, believes that teams must adapt to the new Super 14 law interpretations quickly, or face a season in the doldrums.

"To understand what is going on we need a little theory. Many years ago I had a conversation with Danie Craven, a legendary Springboks halfback and coach.

"In the 1950s and 1960s Craven was Mr Rugby, the game's most influential administrator. He was in charge of writing the various changes to the laws. Craven told me that the laws were wrong. ''How do we know this?'' he said. ''Because, unlike the laws of soccer, they are too complicated and can't be written down on a single sheet of paper.''

"Craven, a double PhD, taught at Stellenbosch University (where the ELVs were devised and trialled). He told me he often experimented on law variations using students as guinea pigs. Craven learnt from this experimenting that if you changed one law, it would affect how others worked. He used the metaphor of pulling a thread from a jersey and the old garment ''unravelling''."

Richard Loe has some pointers for the Highlanders after an unsuccessful weekend of predictions on his part, in The New Zealand Herald.

"I am involved in a competition with some mates to pick the winners each week.

"Last week I forgot to submit my picks on time, which meant I was given the default mode - all the away teams. I got five out of six, which is infinitely better than how I was travelling this week. After four games in the second round, I had only the Chiefs right.

"I thought the Highlanders were going to roll the Blues but they have to learn to play for more than 40 minutes. The Highlanders looked good in the first half when their lineout was strong and they scored two well-executed tries. Even after the Blues had fought their way back, I still thought the Highlanders had their chances to win it."

Brian Moore commends Danny Cipriani's decision to head down under with the Melbourne Rebels in The Daily Telegraph.

"The truth is that there is fault all round and its roots were sown a long time ago. Cipriani's advisers have not helped him with their positioning of him as a fashion-celebrity marketing vehicle before he established his sporting credentials.

"The natural excitement of fame, exacerbated by a photogenic partner, has not been tempered by hard advice. Add to this Cipriani's lack of worldly experience and you have the ingredients for a Shakespearean tragedy.

"There are many readers who will have greeted the revelation that Cipriani sought counselling over his depressed state as merely confirmation of him as another weak-willed youth.They will dismiss Cipriani as someone who is unable to exhibit the necessary fortitude, a product of an indulgent society. And while doing so they will probably make some allusion to our troops in the Second World War or Afghanistan."

Front rowers who can scrummage well are set to command premium salaries, writes the New Zealand Herald's Gregor Paul.

"It's a new take on sink or swim - it's get rich or lose your contract. This is the brave new world of properly refereed scrums.

"With the pre-engagement phase now being effectively controlled, the world will soon discover who can scrummage and who can't. The technically deficient will be weeded out.

"Those who can handle the contest will become the best-paid players in world rugby. Props are now the make-or-break men of every side. Any team that doesn't have a couple of decent scrummaging props might as well kiss goodbye to their title dreams."

So what next for the Waratahs? Former Wallabies international Matt Burke asks this very question in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"Last weekend was about the influence of Berrick Barnes and those around him. This week it is about the forwards taking charge. It's about being confrontational, combative and aggressive.

"Criticism is always very easy to dish out when a team snatches a win, as the Waratahs did last Saturday night in Brisbane. For many critics, it's as if the opposition lost the game rather than the victors winning it. But NSW stuck at it for 80 minutes and capitalised on the penalties the Reds gave them.

"I didn't think at any stage in the final stages that Phil Waugh looked like losing his composure. NSW's intensity lifted and, despite not having a lot of scoring opportunities for most of the game, the visitors saw chances open up in the last 10 minutes and were good enough to take them."

Has the Reds' Quade Cooper got it? © Getty Images

Boring super rugby could be a thing of the past according to Spiro Zavos in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"Last season's rugby was dominated by kickathons, defensive play and collapsed scrums. As entertainment, some of the matches (but not all) were about as pleasant to experience as a root-canal procedure. Something had to be done. Lyndon Bray, SANZAR's manager of referees, worked out a three-pronged solution with the coaches.

"Instead of the defending sides having most of the rights to the tackled ball, the new interpretation goes back to the basic law, requiring the tackler to release his grasp on the attacker and for all defenders near the ball to roll away if they are impeding the ball coming back in the ruck.

"The scrum procedures are now slowed down and the protocol of ''crouch, touch, pause, engage'' must be followed rigorously. The offside laws applying to kicks and players positioning themselves in defence at rucks and mauls are to be strictly enforced.

"These changes have been spelt out here because it is clear that a number of the players either did not understand them or were confirming the Zavos theorem. In the Sharks-Chiefs match, for instance, John Smit was heard arguing with the New Zealand referee, Keith Brown, about the penalties his team were giving away. Smit seemed to be suggesting that if the tackler was on his feet, he was entitled to keep holding on to the tackled ball. Wrong. The sequence now - as the law has always stated - is tackle, release, grab if possible."

Hurricanes playmaker Piri Weepu is the ideal scrum-half to re-energise Test rugby under new rules, according to Chris Rattue in the New Zealand Herald.

"Picking the All Black No 10 is the easiest decision in New Zealand sport.

"Finding a halfback partner for Dan Carter is anything but mission accomplished for the All Black selectors.

"We are only a week into the Super 14 competition, so this topic may seem premature, but Piri Weepu's maestro touches for the Hurricanes against the Blues really caught the eye, and thus pulled the All Black halfback situation into view.

"Might this be a case of cometh the new rules, cometh the man?"

The Bulls' victory over the Cheetahs last weekend seemed to be everything you would want from a Super 14 game and seemed to be the perfect advertisement for the recent law directives, according to Brendan Nel on Supersport.

"With Super 14’s new law interpretations a week old, it was a telling conversation that took place last week with a leading international referee, who defended the new laws despite my initial hesitation about it.

“If teams adapt well to the new interpretations,” he enthused, “then the stage is set for big games – those 65-42 victories that we all like to watch - lots of tries, entertaining and where both sides can give themselves a chance on the scoreboard.”

"Little did I know that a few hours later we would have been treated to such a feast in Bloemfontein, as the Bulls adapted very well and in one of the most entertaining games of any Super 14 competition beat the Cheetahs 51-34."

Chris Rattue believes that the new tackle laws will play into the hands of the Hurricanes' Piri Weepu in The New Zealand Herald.

"We are only a week into the Super 14 competition, so this topic may seem premature, but Piri Weepu's maestro touches for the Hurricanes against the Blues really caught the eye, and thus pulled the All Black halfback situation into view.

"Might this be a case of cometh the new rules, cometh the man? Just where Weepu - with 30-plus tests under the belt - fits into Graham Henry's plans is one of the more mysterious aspects about the current regime's selections.

"The selectors have three distinctive options - Weepu, Jimmy Cowan and Brendon Leonard, plus Andy Ellis, who should be the last cab off the top rank.At this point the grumpy Cowan, from Southland, would probably be rated number one. Cowan is combative, a strong cover defender who pulled off a couple of pivotal tackles in the black jersey last year, but he is a little laboured and not overly creative."

Rupert Guinness talks to Waratahs prop Benn Robinson about the positives of being the smaller man in a land of giants in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"It was on a lumpy cow paddock in the Black Sea city of Constanta, Romania, five years ago that Benn Robinson - then a budding 20-year-old prop who dreamt of one day playing for the Wallabies - realised his relatively diminutive size as a prop could be a strength rather than a weakness.

"It all began when, as a member of the NSW development tour to eastern Europe, Robinson and his teammates were preparing to play against ''Romania A''. As he ran onto the field, it suddenly struck him that each of the opposing front-rowers weighed up to 20 kilograms more than he did.

''I looked over before the game and the whole front row was 120 to 130 kilos each,'' Robinson recalled. ''I was with Aaron Broughton-Rouse. I said to him: 'Mate, this is going to be a tough night at the office'. But we ended up getting a pushover try. It wasn't that tough."

Jermoe Kaino surges forward for the Blues © Getty Images

Auckland is a sporting centre in decline, according to Chris Rattue in The New Zealand Herald.

"The first week of the new rugby season already looks like all of those often depressingly hopeless years gone by for the Blues. Their faltering effort against the Hurricanes at Albany on Friday night reinforced the strong suspicion they will be also-rans again this year.

"Auckland is a city of sporting decay. The smell of failure hangs around Auckland sport, in contrast to elsewhere. The Blues' second-half capitulation against the Hurricanes, who were beautifully marshalled by Piri Weepu, was yet another soul-destroying moment in their increasingly beleaguered history.

"Forget the PR BS because flaky met shaky when the Blues secured Cantabrian Stephen Brett.Why the biggest city in a supposedly rugby-mad nation needs to go cap in hand to find players in pivotal positions tells a story in itself, that of an inability to identify and/or lure young players and fit them into long-term schemes."

Candid camera: Adam Freier © Getty Images

Waratahs hooker Adam Freier offers a guided tour of the club's new training facilities in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Those who have ventured to a Waratahs home game in the past two years might have seen NSW Rugby's relatively new headquarters: the IBM Centre. This big building with no opening windows and massive glass doors is NSW Rugby's administrative hub, but it is also home to the Waratahs training centre, with a world-class gymnasium and players' common area.

"You could quiet easily head in for a training session and not come back out to reality for days. In many ways, it's rugby's version of the Big Brother show.

"They say when you retire from rugby you won't miss playing the game itself, you will miss your teammates and the fun times had, usually at the expense of others. This is why we love coming to ''work'' and we are so very fortunate to do what we all do for a living."

Australian legend Matt Burke writes in the Sydney Morning Herald how star recruit Berrick Barnes will be the key to unlock the NSW Waratahs' attacking potential by bringing their other weapons into play this Super 14 season.

"The key to the playmaking role is to dominate from both a skilful and a tactical side. It's about making the right decision at the right time and limiting mistakes and indecision.

While this is expected of most players, something that is not spoken about a great deal is the ability to underplay your role and become a distributor. A role that is just as important as dominating the game.

On Saturday, look for Barnes's passing game - especially the short balls to those around the contact zone - and his ability to back up and get a second touch. Watch Benn Robinson, Wycliff Palu and Phil Waugh as the options on the pass. Watch as these guys create indecision in the defensive line. Watch for the Queensland centres to be put under pressure. Do I stay or do I slide?"

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Andrew Slack fears for the worst when the Super Rugby competition is expanded to include a Melbourne-based franchise next year.

"Let's overlook Supers 6 and 10 for the time being, and concentrate on 12 and 14.

"Over the 14 years those two tournaments have been in existence, Australia's provincial teams have hardly created major waves. The Brumbies have been far and away the most successful - indeed the only successful ones if you count holding up the trophy at the end of the show as the one meaningful yardstick.

"Only twice have two Australian teams made the semifinals in the same season and the most recent of those was eight years ago - a veritable generation in rugby terms. So, emboldened by such unflattering statistical momentum, we've decided to catapult another Australian team into the 2011 Super 15. "Premature" is the word that comes to mind."

Dan Carter and Richie McCaw will be re-united in Crusaders colours this season © Getty Images

The Crusaders will win the final Super 14 - which opens on Friday - closing out another chapter for this rickety competition in the style their fans are accustomed to, according to Chris Rattue in the New Zealand Herald.

"The old firm has been reunited - Richie McCaw and Dan Carter are the finest double act in New Zealand sport since Mark Todd and Charisma.

"Having predicted last year that the Crusaders would not retain the title without Carter and under new coach Todd Blackadder - or make that without the old coach Robbie Deans - it was a shock to see how close they came. Their top-four finish showed just how resilient they are.

"The Bulls, I figured, were the 2009 favourites, yet despite winning, and winning well in the final against the flatter-to-deceiving Chiefs, the mob from Pretoria were not as convincing as they might have been through the season. The Bulls would need to lift their game to beat the Carter-driven Crusaders."

Every team contesting this year's Super 14 knows one thing going into Friday’s opening round of the competition – it is adapt or die. Brendan Nel writes for SuperSport.

"From what we’ve witnessed pre-season, we’re in for a massive amount of penalties in the first few weeks – where referees traditionally decide to enforce the laws to the letter, before relaxing as the tournament goes on.

"Now the tackler has no rights – there has to be “daylight” between the tackled player and the ball, meaning that the fetcher is likely to be a lost art in rugby, and the ball should flow a lot quicker out to the backs.

"Or should it? How long will it be before teams realise that the ruck is just a setup point for the next attack, and commit less players to it, ensuring the defensive lines can get spread out quicker and try and cover the gaps that will come?"

Richard Loe has one focus ahead of the new Super 14 season and it's unsurprisingly the breakdown in The New Zealand Herald.

"The main point of interest for many in this year's Super 14 will be the new Sanzar rules at the breakdown.

"I think these could be good but there are two potential problems - interpretations and the fact they are not binding on other international sides; so the All Blacks have to revert to the old rules when they play Northern Hemisphere sides.

"That's because the IRB have decided there will be no more rules changes before the World Cup. Well, okay, but Sanzar have at least realised the game of rugby has a problem and are moving to fix it. I have always said that, for every rule change the IRB approve, they should tear out two old ones that aren't used any more. Rugby has got so complicated that many players, fans and even referees don't understand it."

The Australian Rugby Union's David Nucifora believes the Waratahs and the Brumbies must make the Super 14 semi-finals, Josh Rakic writes in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"It's really important that we get an Australian team in the Super 14 finals - it's hugely important.''

"These are the words of Wallabies high-performance director David Nucifora, who says that failure by the star-studded Waratahs and Brumbies sides to at least qualify for the semi-finals could prove catastrophic for the rebuilding of Australian rugby.

''Last year was disappointing for Australian rugby and it's really important that one of our teams at least makes the semi-finals,'' he said. ''We've got teams that have the capabilities to win the competition, I have no doubt about that, so from an Australian Rugby perspective we need them to make good on that potential."

The Super 14 kicks off this week and the New Zealand Herald's Michael Brown and Paul Lewis look at all the franchises and their prospects.

"Blues - Stephen Brett and Alby Mathewson can show they are the inside back pairing the franchise has long coveted; Serge Lilo can develop into the ball-snaffling loosie the Blues desperately need. This season is also important for Lam. Last year, he was appointed to the job late and found himself way behind in planning and organisation. This time there is no such excuse and he also has the squad he wants (save the injury to Williams).

"...Bulls - Bold prediction - the Bulls won't win this year. They still have, however, huge assets such as lock, lineout supremo and captain Victor Matfield and goalkicking first five-eighths Morne Steyn. They also have, arguably, a good draw until the sixth round, when they begin a tour meeting the Force, Blues, Chiefs and Reds in successive weeks. They are still a seriously good defensive side. But will that be enough?"

The main point of interest for many in this year's Super 14 will be the new Sanzar rules at the breakdown. Richard Loe writes in the Herald on Sunday.

"I think these could be good but there are two potential problems - interpretations and the fact they are not binding on other international sides; so the All Blacks have to revert to the old rules when they play Northern Hemisphere sides.

"That's because the IRB have decided there will be no more rules changes before the World Cup. Well, okay, but Sanzar have at least realised the game of rugby has a problem and are moving to fix it.

"I have always said that, for every rule change the IRB approve, they should tear out two old ones that aren't used any more. Rugby has got so complicated that many players, fans and even referees don't understand it."

Can the Blues perform in 2010? © Getty Images

Wynne Gray believes that the pressure is on the Blues ahead of the Super 14 in The New Zealand Herald.

"When the media, as part of this year's Super rugby launch, were involved in a quiz on the competition's history, the results were at best mixed. Not surprising, really. Not when 1066 matches have been played in the professional competition since the Hurricanes hosted the Blues in Palmerston North way back in 1996.

"From memory, it was a boisterous evening, a full house on a balmy Friday night in early March as referee Paddy O'Brien whistled the authorised start for professional rugby in the Southern Hemisphere. O'Brien has since gone north as has the Blues five-eighths Carlos Spencer, though he is making a remarkable comeback with the Lions this season.

"There are other connections. Midfielder Alama Ieremia, who scored the first try in Super history, will be back as part of the Hurricanes' coaching staff when the same sides meet in Albany next Friday to start this year's competition."

Can the Brumbies scale the heights in 2010? © Getty Images

Greg Growden has high hopes for the star-studded Brumbies in this season's Super 14 in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"The Brumbies believe the push by SANZAR to revitalise rugby could see a team already tagged the Real Madrid of this year's Super 14 earn a Barcelona-style reputation for inventive and entertaining play.

"While some provinces, including the Waratahs, have been reserved about a campaign designed to see southern hemisphere sides play more exciting rugby, the Brumbies have embraced it, and are hopeful it could push their galacticos line-up into the Super Rugby semi-finals for the first time in six seasons.

"While their stocks have been bolstered by the signing of Matt Giteau and Rocky Elsom, giving the Brumbies a near Test quality line-up, their aspirations have also been aided by an official campaign aimed at freeing up the game and giving greater assistance to teams in possession."

ARU chief John O'Neill is stressing entertainment. Chris Hickey insists it's winning. But what is the key to luring back rugby fans after a period of defensive mindsets and negative tactics? Rupert Guinness reports in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"O'Neill was forthright in his view on where rugby was placed in the hearts and minds of the public. Outlining a meeting called between the ARU and Australia's four Super franchises, he said: ''We've all sat around the table and looked at the reality of where crowd figures have gone and where the game in general is at. I think we've hit the bottom and everyone of the four teams is determined to deliver winning and entertaining rugby.''

"Hickey may say he will place greater emphasis on winning than entertaining when the Waratahs commence their 2010 campaign against the Reds in Brisbane on February 13, followed by fixtures against the Stormers in Cape Town and the Bulls in Pretoria. But even if NSW return unbeaten, without fresh spark in their play, he can't bank on a big crowd at the SFS for their first home game against the Sharks in round four."

Justin Harrison is back in action with the Brumbies © Getty Images

Rupert Guinness talks to Brumbies lock Justin Harrison on his return to rugby following an eight-month drugs ban in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Justin Harrison was one of the most imposing and hard-edged second-rowers in world rugby. But after the veteran of 34 Tests for Australia last year admitted to using cocaine, and retired humiliated and remorseful, simply ''getting through the day'' became the biggest challenge of his life.

''I became very insular and my horizons became very narrow,'' Harrison told the Herald of the weeks following his departure from English club Bath after his confession of drug use. ''I wasn't looking at anything other than getting through the day and managing the people closest to me, to reconcile that I had let [down] so many who had helped me … to try and placate them [and make them believe] I was the same person they had faith in when they started supporting me.

''There were many times of sadness, but overriding it was that I was enormously proud of my career to date - and still am - and wanted to maintain an association with rugby. So it became a matter of trying to find how I could continue that association and reduce the reticence of people around me.''

Chris Rattue evaluates the rumours of Kiwi league star Manu Vatuvei joining the Melbourne Rebels in The New Zealand Herald.

"The new rugby and league seasons have yet to see a ball kicked in genuine anger, although temperatures will already be rising Penrose way. The Warriors' league wing Manu Vatuvei - a runaway truck in the straight forward gears and still learner driver in reverse - is said to be a target of the new Melbourne rugby franchise.

"With the faithful wondering about the state of this country's NRL outfit, what with the strange demotion of Steve Price from the captaincy, the rumour around the sometimes fabulous wing strikes another jarring note.

"The Vatuvei headline has already been written, the potential distraction in a new season - after a horrid 2009 for the Warriors - already in place. Such stories are convenient when talking up the price of your man, although Vatuvei still has two more years on his Warriors' contract so these are early days for haggling."

Australia is upping the ante as the biggest threat to New Zealand's rising rugby talent, according to Dylan Cleaver in the New Zealand Herald.

"A summer raid on two of North Harbour's most promising players, Michael Harris and James Parsons, by the Queensland Reds and Western Force respectively, suggests the Australian franchises are looking east to bolster their thin resources.

Harris, a goalkicking five-eighths, turned down the chance to join the Reds when they would not agree to release him back to North Harbour for the Air New Zealand Cup. Instead he will take his place in the Blues' wider training squad.

However Parsons, a 23-year-old hooker, is understood to be close to signing a three-year deal with the Western Force.It has led Harbour coach Craig Dowd to call for Sanzar to look at a uniform contracting model where players could represent franchises across the three countries and still be eligible to play for their country of origin."

Carlos Spencer helped the Blues to the top of Super Rugby © Getty Images

Carlos Spencer is set to return to Super 14 action, but don't expect a grudge match when the Lions take on the Blues. He talks to Dylan Cleaver in The New Zealand Herald.

"Circle May 8 in your diary and set the alarm for 5am - that's when the team that offered Carlos Spencer a Super 14 lifeline meets the team that denied him.

"It is almost too unreal to comprehend. The 34-year-old Spencer, the spark that ignited three Super rugby titles, playing for the competition's biggest underachiever against Stephen Brett, the man the Blues chose to bank on ahead of Spencer.

It could be a beautiful reunion but what it won't be, according to Spencer, is a grudge match. Although he would have liked to come back and finish his Super rugby career with the only franchise he had played for, he does not spend his spare time sticking pins into voodoo dolls in the likeness of the Blues and New Zealand Rugby Union officials who rebuffed his advances."

Can Carlos Spencer still cut it at the top? Marc Hinton takes a look at the former All Black playmaker for Rugby Heaven.

"The big question is, does he still have the physical tools to make those innate skills of his a factor for his latest team, Johannesburg's Lions, as he completes a much-anticipated return to Super rugby?

"That will be one of the major talking points of the start of the new Super 14 season as Spencer attempts to lead the Lions to a brave new world, somewhere away from their perennial status of competition also-rans.

"The signing of Spencer came as a shock to many as the Lions launched their new era under highly-rated coach Dick Muir. They've also picked up Springbok flanker Wikus van Heerden and there's an air of optimism around Jo'burg that the gloomy days as competition doormats could be behind them."

Melbourne's new Super 15 rugby franchise is continuing as it began, with acrimony, confusion and threats to walk away according to Dan Silkstone in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"Two backers of the consortium negotiating with the Australian Rugby Union to run the nation's first privately owned rugby club have baled out in recent days after the ARU refused to meet their financial demands.

"Minority stakeholder Ray Evans claimed yesterday that the ARU had taken over the task of setting up the new team, ending negotiations with the would-be owners and appointing an administrator who would choose a coach and begin recruiting players.

"But those claims were strongly denied by ARU deputy chief executive Matt Carroll last night. ''We are working through the things we need to and I remain very optimistic,'' Carroll said. ''The ARU has no desire to be running this club and I'm sure that is not going to happen.''

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Dylan Cleaver questions the impact a new Super Rugby franchise will make in Melbourne.

"The all-New Zealand Sanzar panel of David Kirk and retired High Court judge Barry Paterson QC determined that the Port Elizabeth-based Southern Kings bid had a stronger business model and rugby tradition, a better playing base and was further advanced in terms of rugby readiness.

Melbourne, on the other hand, offered stronger commercial benefits - so the Melbourne Rebels got the gig. Sounds more like dollars-and-cents than common sense.

"Remember, too, that the hearts of Melburnians have been bought by one of the city's nine AFL teams. Even league, a more Australian sport than union, has struggled, the Melbourne Storm having the third-lowest average crowd this year despite being the NRL's best side."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Richard Loe argues that it is time to open up Super Rugby to overseas players.

"There is an opportunity to build on this now. They must change the eligibility rules and go the whole hog in taking the franchises away from their provincial union roots. That means allowing players from anywhere to play for franchises in other countries - but no more than five or six from other nations.

This is necessary for two reasons - Super rugby needs to find new appeal and, secondly, I don't think New Zealand and Australia can sustain things long-term on the current basis."

The Chiefs, Hurricanes and Crusaders will contest the Super 14 semi-finals. The New Zealand Herald's Gregor Paul looks at how these three teams became top four contenders and whether they have what it takes to go all the way.

"In an age when there is an obsession with squad management, Chiefs coach Ian Foster has cleverly kept his combinations intact for most of the competition and tinkered only at the edges. His halfbacks, midfield, locks, back three and loose forwards have been given time to gel, to work in partnership. The quality of their contribution is as much about their cohesion as it is their individual component parts. Under pressure against the Hurricanes, the units all held up well - there were no misunderstandings or defensive failings."

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, John Connolly issues a warning ahead of the showdown SANZAR talks in Dublin this week.

"The single most important meeting in recent rugby history will take place in Dublin on Thursday when the three SANZAR nations - South Africa, New Zealand and Australia - decide the future of the code in the southern hemisphere.

"...The South Africans' decision will decide the ultimate make-up of Super rugby. If they pull out as they've threatened to if things don't fall their way, Super rugby will be without its strongest nation.

"One thing that can't be underestimated is the bond between South Africa and New Zealand. There's a great respect and rivalry between the two nations that stretches back 100 years, and with nine of 14 NZ provinces opposed to change, the Kiwis could yet side with the Springboks, leaving Australia to fall in line. South Africa are the world champions, they have two teams on top of the Super 14 table, and their influence on world rugby is huge."

As the ongoing dispute between the Sanzar partners rumbles on Spiro Zavos writing on Rugby Heaven believes that the South African Rugby Union's stance doesn't seem to make any sense.

"ROUND 12 of the Super 14 provided exciting matches. Along with the Heineken Cup, Europe's version of Super Rugby, the tournament is the strongest provincial competition in the world. Why would South Africa want to kill it?

The purported reason is to prevent the Currie Cup being "devalued in any way" by the Springboks being unable to play in it. But this happens now. The Currie Cup starts on July 10 and ends on October 31. Throughout July, August and into September the Springboks are playing the Tri Nations tournament, with South Africa playing their last Test on September 12 against New Zealand at Hamilton.

Only 18 matches (including the finals) of the 55 matches in the Currie Cup are played after that Test. The Springboks miss most of the Currie Cup."

Gavin Rich weighs into the on-going SANZAR row about the future of Super Rugby. Read his thoughts in the Cape Argus.

"You could almost hear Marinos snorting into his coffee as he pointed out that this country has been at a disadvantage in the Super Rugby competition for the last 14 years! And he is right. The Stormers are just back from a five-match tour that included two separate trips across the Tasman Sea.

"Compare that to the average tour of the Kiwi and Australian teams to South Africa. At most, they play three matches here. Yet we keep hearing their coaches and captains talking about how tough it is."

The New Zealand Herald's Chris Rattue believes that Auckland rugby and the Blues need Dan Carter to rejuvenate their fortunes.

"But the whole Blues set-up would benefit from the introduction of a world-class playmaker schooled in the great Robbie Deans' regime. Hopefully, Carter would teach the Blues a thing or two, rather than the other way around. Watching their pathetic capitulation against the Reds at Albany, there must be serious questions over whether discipline in their camp is what it should be.

"There were a couple of strong performances - with Anthony Boric and Rudi Wulf catching the eye - but the overall effort was abysmal. They are a team without a mantra, who only have good days when the chips fall their way.

"Whether the Blues make the semifinals or not - and you would have to doubt that they will - their progress is not encouraging. Pat Lam needs a major rethink. If only that future could include Dan Carter. The trouble is, Carter may not regard trying to turn around an unruly side as the best way of preparing for the All Blacks, or enjoying his rugby. He may decide to stick with the devilishly good and stable franchise that he knows, rather than the Auckland devil that he doesn't."

Rugby's flaws are too numerous to list, but far and away the most damning is the oppressive influence of referees according to Steve Deane in the New Zealand Herald.

	Is the game sufffering for a lack of top quality referees like Jonathan Kaplan? © Getty Images

"Rest easy. Rugby isn't in crisis at all. Forget about the inter-hemisphere squabble over the rules, spectators deserting the game in droves and unions going broke.

"According to Robbie Deans, a man widely regarded as possessing one of the game's better functioning swedes, rugby is, in fact, on the verge of becoming "perfect". All that is needed is one last tweak of the rules to tidy up the breakdown.

"...The ELVs issue will finally be put to bed next month. Let's hope some of the effort that has been expended fiddling with the rules is now invested in producing people who can implement them.

Spiro Zavos, writing on rugbyheaven.com.au, believes that the Waratahs need a few lessons in common sense.

"On my way out of the Sydney Football Stadium after the Waratahs' lacklustre loss to the Bulls, I heard a couple talking about the game. "At least now," the husband said to his wife, "we won't have to worry about buying tickets for the semi-finals."

"The disappointing aspect of the Waratahs' play, which still rankled as I trudged home along with a stream of morose supporters, was the lack of nous and skill. Against a disciplined Bulls side that played a simple game of high balls, pressure and width on the turnover ball, the Waratahs made a number of careless, tactically clueless mistakes that indicated that they're not thinking clearly about their play.

"Players within their 22 were kicking downfield and giving the Bulls possession inside the Waratahs' half. The golden rule under the kicking sanction of the ELVs is that if you can kick out on the full, then do it. Yet time and time again, and this applies to some of the other teams (the disappointing Stormers are a case in point), players continue to kick the ball back to the opposition who then run it back at them with an intent to score tries."

South Africa lead the way in this year's Super 14 and the ELVs are definitely working for them, writes Phil Wilkins on rugbyheaven.com.au.

"Led by European conservatives, argument has raged about the experimental law variations, essentially because their critics maintain that running rugby will bring about the demise of the big men, seriously threatening the massive-forward dominated game of the Six Nations tournament, with its crowds and riches.

"If the rise of teams full of gazelles was their fear, consider the two leading Super 14 teams - the unbeaten Bulls and the Durban-based Sharks, with five wins from six games.

"The player who crushed the Hurricanes, with five All Blacks in their pack, was the 118kg second-rower Bakkies Botha. His hand-to-hand combat power was immense. The Hurricanes believed they could out-run the Bulls. They scored two tries to one, but Jason Eaton's try came after the siren, the 19-14 scoreline flattering the hosts. Nobody left with any delusions about which team deserved the laurels. The Bulls' defence, especially in their own quarter, was ruthlessly magnificent.

"And this was a Bulls team without the world's finest lineout forward, the South African Test captain Victor Matfield, and the game's most lethal winger, Bryan Habana."

Spiro Zavos, writing on rugbyheaven.com.au, believes that the Waratahs could be in serious trouble if their backs don't start firing soon.

"The train carriage I was in coming back from the enthralling Waratahs-Crusaders contest at ANZ Stadium at Homebush Bay was quiet until a good old boy dressed in the Waratahs colours came in. "Cash in on the Waratahs demolition sale," he spruiked. "Waratahs caps for $5. They might win next week."

"No one took him up on his offer. On my way through Central Station, I saw him standing at the end of the platform rather forlornly and still apparently unsuccessfully trying to flog off his stock of caps.

"With the Waratahs losing back-to-back matches against the Brumbies and then the Crusaders, there is a sense among even their staunchest supporters that the dreaded Wara-wobblies (a strong start followed by an even stronger decline) might have set in rather earlier than usual this year. Compounding this pessimism is an almost universal acknowledgment that the Waratahs have not been playing the skilful and smart rugby you would expect from a team with the team of Wallabies and potential stars such as Kurtley Beale and Rob Horne."

Writing in The New Zealand Herald, Inga Tuigamala bemoans the lack of action from the NZRU in the recent SANZAR disputes.

"The Sanzar crisis is a major testing ground for the credentials of our top rugby administrators. Rugby is at a serious crossroads and by my reckoning, is simply in survival mode at the moment. It needs people with a vision and the ability to revamp the way it is run or else I fear the game many of us have treasured is in major trouble.

"The current Sanzar impasse is indicative of the problems. South Africa is sticking to its guns, wanting an even earlier start to the Super 14 seasons. Australia and New Zealand want a later start, and there are other issues of dispute. It's high time that the NZRU was much more assertive on the international stage."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Wynne Gray takes aim at the blazer brigade within SANZAR and the IRB.

"Talk about sticking the cold steel up 'em, exposing the ineptitude of the Southern Hemisphere administrators in their own dungheap ... sorry the soon-to-be soaring grandstands and Eden Park surroundings which will host the 2011 World Cup final.

"It was a disconcerting/comforting day when the blazers rode into Eden Park the other day and delivered their plans, ideas and resolutions about the seventh global tournament. Gratifying to hear RWC officials unveil their choices for an event which does not kick off for more than 2 years. There will be areas for public discussion, points of contention and disagreement about some details like the late kickoffs but decisions have been made.

"It was disturbing to think that men often lampooned for their ineffectiveness had outdistanced their new-age Sanzar counterparts. It is an indictment when the RWC can outflank Sanzar, when those characterised as the doddering global administrators can hit the tape earlier than those smart young things from the Southern Hemisphere. Spanked them well and truly."

Spiro Zavos is unsure that a "State of Origin" match between Queensland and New South Wales is appropriate in the era of Super Rugby, on rugbyheaven.com.au.

"John Connolly, the doughty and successful coach of Queensland in their glory days of the "it's great to be an Australian, and even better to be a Queenslander" attitude, has proposed a rugby union state of origin match. The idea has some merit but it really reflects a back-to-the-future obsession when the main game for Queensland was to defeat NSW.

"Super rugby, with the shifting of players from one franchise to another, has taken the edge out of the fanatical (for Queenslanders, at least) rivalry.

"Scott Fava, who is in the Waratahs squad, has played for all four Australian Super 14 franchises, for instance. The rise of the Brumbies, too, has meant that when Queensland beat NSW (for the rivalry is more passionate among Queenslanders than it is south of the border) the team and its supporters cannot indulge in unmitigated bragging rights as the best state side in Australia.

"The thought struck me on Sunday, while I watched the Reds run the ball incessantly at the bulky Cheetahs, that the bright young coach Phil Mooney and the QRU's high-performance manager Ben Whitaker are re-inventing Queensland rugby. The days of the closed-fist forward packs and five-eighths who kicked incessantly are gone. The enforcers are being morphed into the entertainers."

Spiro Zavos offers his thoughts on the glut of tries in the opening two rounds of this year's Super 14 - read his latest in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"On Saturday we saw Mark Gerrard virtually win the match for his side with his kicking in general play. His low-trajectory punts into the corner were crucial in setting up strong field positions for the Brumbies against the Crusaders.

"The AFL-style drop punt has taken over from the spiral punt as the kick of choice in recent years because of its accuracy . My guess is "the Gerrard" - a throwback to the skid-punting of great fullbacks in the 1920s such as George Nepia - will, or should, become the new method for kickers trying to find field position.

"The fact that the ball is in play for more than 46 per cent of the match under the hybrid ELVs is significant - call it the running of the bulls factor. Big forwards, particularly, tire quicker and fitter players can exploit this."

Richard Loe runs the rule over the New Zealand Super 14 sides after a poor weekend for the Chiefs, Crusaders and Blues in The New Zealand Herald.

"Rugby's a cruel sport. The second match wasn't much kinder. Being a rowing champs, there were plenty of Waikato folk in the bar.

"I can tell you this with some certainty: when things go wrong Waikato fans start pointing the finger. They start pointing the finger at the coaching and at the selection. There is no doubt the Chiefs have the personnel - they fronted up pretty well against the Crusaders in round one - but for whatever reason they seem unable to get the best out of themselves.

"It is almost unbelievable that they couldn't put away a side which was disintegrating in front of their eyes. The Waratahs had fallen to pieces but the Chiefs could not finish them off. There has to be a real worry about the tight five after that set-piece display."

James O'Connor has learned how to use his head and also built up his body as he continues his development as one of the most prodigious talents in Australian rugby. Bret Harris writes in The Australian.

"O'Connor made his Super 14 debut for Western Force last year, when he was only 17, and then became the second-youngest player to represent the Wallabies.

"In this short period of time, he has honed his craft as a ball distributor and also increased his strength and power to engage in the physical contest. He has increased his weight from about 82kg to 87kg, but it is lean muscle. "It makes a lot of difference, power-wise," O'Connor said. "I've focused on keeping my speed but I'll be a lot better in contact. I've learnt how to control the team a lot better. It's not all flair.""

The 2009 Crusaders do not have what it takes to live up to their all-conquering predecessors according to Chris Rattue. Read his thoughts in the New Zealand Herald.

"Only a fool would write the Crusaders off for the Super 14 title. So here I am, folks, with a pointy hat on my head and dribbling from the corner of my keyboard. Call it a hunch. Call it mad lunacy. Call it what you like. Someone has got to write them off, so I'll take up the cudgel.

"Because not writing them off is so old hat. Why bother sitting on the fence when there is the prospect of such a thrilling fall to be enjoyed. Here goes. The Crusaders won't win the Super 14 this year, not without Dan Carter's all-round excellence and Robbie Deans magically pushing the right buttons whenever they play poorly."

With the Super 14 season underway Spiro Zavos calls for the referee's merit panel to be rethought on rugbyheaven.com.au.

"In an email exchange with the journalist D.D. McNicoll, the retiring High Court judge Michael Kirby revealed that when he was a student at Fort Street High School he'd been a rugby union referee: "I refereed many games and could not sympathise with the advantage rule."

"This comment goes to the real issue of why SANZAR's noble experiment for this year's Super 14 tournament of an inaugural nine-referee panel based on merit rather than nationality won't work. The merit panel includes four South Africans, three Australians and two New Zealanders.

"The South African referees and the Australian Stuart Dickinson are, in my opinion, way ahead of the other merit referees in experience and quality. This raises the issue of what standard applies to the merit panel concept."

Writing in The New Zealand Herald, Chris Rattue vents about the bizarre events to transpire between Western Force coach John Mitchell and his employers.

"John Mitchell will be walking on egg shells at the Western Force, but the crunching sound you might hear will be coming from the grinding of Mitchell's teeth.

"Having decided that the former All Black coach was acting like a bad-mannered bull in a china shop, the Force decided to keep him on board in Perth but with the proviso that he mend his moody ways and stop knocking the tea cups over.

"Tricky business that, and I'll wager the crockery won't still be all in one piece by the end of the season. Mitchell has yet to be extensively quoted on this outcome, although he hardly sounds delighted.

"Coaches are like the rest of us. They are what they are, warts and all. To so publicly chip away at the bits of Mitchell that the Force don't like must seem like a stab through the heart to the coach. What other sport would dare manufacture such a bizarre and heavily regulated bob-each-way solution?"