The question on all Super 14 fans' lips at present is “Where are the New Zealand teams?”
The answer is very simple: playing rugby in Japan, Ireland, England, and France. Why, you may ask?
It's as simple as "money talks." If I'm a good No. 10 playing rugby in New Zealand, will I ever get that All Black contract? Maybe, but only if Dan Carter falls off of the face of the earth.
Guess what, injuries happen, and Dan is not in the rugby picture for now. Now is the time to stand up and be counted. Too bad only one young man has; he is 19 years old and from the Blues in Hopes.
One wonders if the drain of players will hurt New Zealand now, and also, if it will create a major problem leading up to the 2011 World Cup.
South Africa had the same problem a few years back, but what it did was give the youngsters the opportunity to put their hands up and be counted.
To anyone who thinks that the All Blacks will be weak in the next Cup, I think you are right. The majority of their players will be the same squad that played in 2007, and they were already getting long in the tooth then.
It's unfortunate, because New Zealand has a wealth of good youngsters, and given enough opportunity in the Super 14, Air New Zealand Cup, and the Tri-Nations, they could be a force to reckon with.
This weekend produced the lowest scoring game in the history of the competition; a 6-0 victory by the Highlanders over the Crusaders did not leave rugby fans with a nice taste in their mouths.
But on the plus side, the Chiefs-versus-Force matchup was fantastic. The Chiefs got over their bad luck and thumped their opponents 31-13.
The Cheetahs got beaten again, and I seriously doubt that they are going to win a game this season after dropping another contest—29-12 to the Hurricanes.
The Waratahs and Reds was a battleground brawl. The 'Tahs came up triumphant, 15-10, but it was not the prettiest game around.
Same goes for the Stormers-Bulls contest. Although one can't get tired of Luke Watson being booed all day long. The Bulls won 14-11.
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