48 hours: Super 12 - the best contest of all

By WYNNE GRAY

This might sound like getting my excuses in first after an inept tipping performance in the Super 12.

A solitary correct prediction is hardly an endorsement of my rugby judgment. Many would say it just continues a pattern.

My defence remains the same. How do you gauge the mental condition of 30 rugby players and their reaction to a mix of circumstances and the rulings of match officials?

You can make a decision based on a swag of criteria - history, injuries, selections, weather, the referee, the venue. However, it usually seems a brittle mission.

It was this weekend. Even the TAB, an organisation which is supposed to know something about odds and chances, only prospered with two of their picks.

However, that volatile opening round of the Super 12 immediately reinforced why it is a better competition than the World Cup.

At times the Super 12 may seem a little careworn, while its annual Tri-Nations cousin has eroded the mystique of tests between the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies.

But the charm of the Super 12 is its unpredictability. As the standard of all teams has risen, so has the level of uncertainty about results.

Contrast that with the World Cup, where there were a few close scrapes but only one real upset in the entire tournament - when the Wallabies out-manouevred the All Blacks.

The best rugby games involve a brew of suspense, intrigue and uncertainty. There is nothing quite as mind-numbing as a foregone sporting conclusion, the sort of spectator reaction seen during Auckland's extraordinary era in the late 80s and early 90s.

After the near-fatal last over for the Black Caps on Friday night, the weekend sports viewing on television seemed to be either wall-to-wall rugby or ceiling-to-floor golf.

If it wasn't the Super 12 it was the Six Nations, while there was golf from Adelaide, California and Kuala Lumpur. Footy got the nod.

No matter your interest or the quality of rugby, watching a Super 12 triple-header in one session can be a little paralysing.

It is an endurance test, though we did not all tack on a half marathon as Sky commentator Matthew Cooper did before he started work.

Starting the series in the sleet of Invercargill and ending round one with the sunshine in Pretoria, many annual team queries recur. Why have the Reds not learned to play away from the heat, will the Waratahs get their regular puncture before the playoffs and can the Crusaders snap out of their lethargy?

Not to mention questions about the usual suspects. Has Butch James tried to change his quasi-tackling technique, will Jerry Collins' body last the season and is there a more consistent five-eighths than Stephen Larkham?

If the rugby is a little ropey, the mind wanders to the periphery.

Remember the outcry about Andrew Mehrtens' sideboards?

How long will it be before Paul Tito's resurgent orange thatch, Glenn Jackson's strawberry blond growth and top lip additions from Dan Carter, Nathan Mauger and Keith Robinson fixate rugby followers?

And when will Loki Crichton's crimson boots and the sideline spa pool in Pretoria come in for in-depth investigation?

Of course there are many serious questions. Why did the Crusaders' persist with an ineffective tactical kicking game using Aaron Mauger while Mehrtens sat on the bench, can the Chiefs pack continue their gutsy start and have we already seen a change in style with more players involved at the breakdowns?



Super 12 - the best contest of all


Dinkus1: 48 HOURS


Blurb1: COMMENT: After the predictability of the World Cup, it's refreshing to see upsets back on the menu


Sidebar1:

This might sound like getting my excuses in first after an inept tipping performance in the Super 12.

A solitary correct prediction is hardly an endorsement of my rugby judgment. Many would say it just continues a pattern.

My defence remains the same. How do you gauge the mental condition of 30 rugby players and their reaction to a mix of circumstances and the rulings of match officials?

You can make a decision based on a swag of criteria - history, injuries, selections, weather, the referee, the venue. However, it usually seems a brittle mission.

It was this weekend. Even the TAB, an organisation which is supposed to know something about odds and chances, only prospered with two of their picks.

However, that volatile opening round of the Super 12 immediately reinforced why it is a better competition than the World Cup.

At times the Super 12 may seem a little careworn, while its annual Tri-Nations cousin has eroded the mystique of tests between the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies.

But the charm of the Super 12 is its unpredictability. As the standard of all teams has risen, so has the level of uncertainty about results.

Contrast that with the World Cup, where there were a few close scrapes but only one real upset in the entire tournament - when the Wallabies out-manouevred the All Blacks.

The best rugby games involve a brew of suspense, intrigue and uncertainty. There is nothing quite as mind-numbing as a foregone sporting conclusion, the sort of spectator reaction seen during Auckland's extraordinary era in the late 80s and early 90s.

After the near-fatal last over for the Black Caps on Friday night, the weekend sports viewing on television seemed to be either wall-to-wall rugby or ceiling-to-floor golf.

If it wasn't the Super 12 it was the Six Nations, while there was golf from Adelaide, California and Kuala Lumpur. Footy got the nod.

No matter your interest or the quality of rugby, watching a Super 12 triple-header in one session can be a little paralysing.

It is an endurance test, though we did not all tack on a half marathon as Sky commentator Matthew Cooper did before he started work.

Starting the series in the sleet of Invercargill and ending round one with the sunshine in Pretoria, many annual team queries recur. Why have the Reds not learned to play away from the heat, will the Waratahs get their regular puncture before the playoffs and can the Crusaders snap out of their lethargy?

Not to mention questions about the usual suspects. Has Butch James tried to change his quasi-tackling technique, will Jerry Collins' body last the season and is there a more consistent five-eighths than Stephen Larkham?

If the rugby is a little ropey, the mind wanders to the periphery.

Remember the outcry about Andrew Mehrtens' sideboards?

How long will it be before Paul Tito's resurgent orange thatch, Glenn Jackson's strawberry blond growth and top lip additions from Dan Carter, Nathan Mauger and Keith Robinson fixate rugby followers?

And when will Loki Crichton's crimson boots and the sideline spa pool in Pretoria come in for in-depth investigation?

Of course there are many serious questions. Why did the Crusaders' persist with an ineffective tactical kicking game using Aaron Mauger while Mehrtens sat on the bench, can the Chiefs pack continue their gutsy start and have we already seen a change in style with more players involved at the breakdowns?

HIGHPOINT

The Black Caps' tantalising last-ball victory to push them into the one-day series lead against South Africa, a team the pundits said would have too much power for the New Zealanders.

LOWPOINT

The Kingz' latest loss, against a side reduced to 10 men for 70 minutes. If ever they were going to have a win it was then.