(Photo by Martin Hunter/Getty Images)
We have seen eight rounds so far in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup, each coming with its fair share of controversies, upsets, and of course, brilliant performances. In the article, I rate each team's season so far. Teams can be given A, B, C, D, or E with a "+" or "-" indicating performance slightly above or below the grade.
Canterbury: A
Despite a first up loss to North Harbour, Canterbury have been the form team in the Air New Zealand Cup this year. Great team depth has ensured that the team has remained atop the table in the absence of their All Blacks.
Stephen Brett has been outstanding so far with a particularly dominant performance in their Ranfurly Shield defense against Otago two weeks ago. Tim Bateman, Sean Maitland and Michael Paterson have all looked dangerous and have also contributed greatly toward Canterbury's success so far.
The forward pack has been strong with George Whitelock leading from the front.
Arguably their performance of the season came against Wellington, where they took the Ranfurly Shield off the Lions and back to Canterbury.
Southland: A-
2009 has been one of Southland's best seasons ever. Only losing two games and drawing one sees them second on the table and a potential home quarterfinal.
Strong performances up front from Jamie McIntosh, David Hall, Josh Beckhuis, and Tim Boys have seen them dominate in every game. Halfback Scott Cowan has directed play well while First-Five Robbie Robinson has shown what a great young talent he is and will be looked at very closely for a spot in the All Blacks end of year tour sqaud.
Bay Of Plenty: A-
Bay Of Plenty have also been in good form so far in 2009.
A solid effort from the forward pack coupled with good play from the backs has seen them become one of the top teams in the competition.
They have the form First-Five in the competition in Mike Delany, who has guided them through the season. Their best performance to date was their 19-17 victory over a strong Canterbury side.
Hawke's Bay: B
A thrashing of Auckland in their first game saw Hawke's Bay look as though they may be the team to beat in the competition this year.
However, a form slump for the next few weeks saw them lingering further down the table. They have come back well the last few weeks and now look as though they could pose a seriouse threat toward winning the whole thing.
A 32-10 drubbing of Otago on Saturday showed just how good they are with Israel Dagg definitely putting his hand up for All Black selection at the end of the year.
Auckland: B-
Inconsistency has been Auckland's problem this year. A nail-biting loss in the weekend saw them drop to fifth on the table. It seems as though some weeks they could be capable of beating anyone and other weeks they look very poor.
Benson Stanley has been solid in the midfield for them, but they will look forward to their All Blacks returning in two weeks' time.
Tasman: B-
Strong performances in the forwards have seen Tasman to sixth on the table and some very consistent performances, with the only blemish being their first loss to Taranaki.
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