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KEY POINTS:
What a fantastic opening to the Super 14, with most teams hitting the hard grounds running and a number of close, tense finishes in that first round.
Most Super 14 teams have been slow starters traditionally but it looks as though they have upped the ante this year.
You could only sit back and admire the way these professional athletes are conditioning themselves these days.
Rugby is asking a lot of the players, expecting them to perform to high standards at this time of year. The grounds are rock hard and the heat is a big factor. With the body taking an extra hammering and fatigue setting in earlier, there is the added chance of players picking up injuries and so it proved to be with teams like the Blues.
The powers that be would have taken everything into consideration but I still have reservations about starting the season so early.
One thing is for sure. It means the depth of squads will be tested even more, and the reserve players are going to have to step up to the mark.
Depth is going to be a key, although it is too early to say which teams have the advantage in this area.
In the games that I watched, players appeared to be more willing to express themselves on the field and maybe they have got more used to the new rules. You could see this particularly at free kick time, with players taking the initiative from quick tap kicks.
Halfback Taniela Moa's quick-tap try for the Blues against the Force epitomised the new attitude in the game.
The Blues will be up against it in Pretoria but I fancy their chances of upsetting the Bulls, going on what I saw from the game in Perth.
This is a good draw for the Blues, playing two of the South African teams away and then a couple at home at this point in the competition.
It is often best to catch the South Africans early on, before their big boys get momentum. I think the Australian and New Zealand sides are fitter than the South Africans at this stage of the season.
Pretoria is a rugby cauldron, and they really know how to support their local team.
As Grant Fox used to say to us when we played in places like that, you need to have fire in the belly and ice cool in the brain. It will be like going into the lions' den for the young boys in this Blues team.
If you don't prepare yourself properly, you get a good hiding in Pretoria and it has happened to some of the best teams in the competition over the years.
I recall playing in Pretoria and the atmosphere was second to none - they are so passionate about the game and it is a reminder that we are not the only people fanatical about rugby.
I recall playing against teams there whose forward packs were relentless, just brutal. You can get smashed all over the field.
It will be a real baptism of fire for the young players but it is also a wonderful opportunity for the Blues before the Bulls really get into their stride.
I've no doubt that coach Pat Lam will be looking to his older troops to meet fire with fire, to make sure the Blues are not intimidated.
South African teams love to intimidate the opposition on their home soil. But I've been impressed so far with the resolve of the younger Blues players.
Lam has an interesting choice at first five-eighths this season between Tasesa Lavea and Jimmy Gopperth. Lavea had a bit of a slow start against the Force and it will take time for him to find his game. We shouldn't expect too much from him straight away.
I would like to have seen him take the defence on more. He stood a bit deep against the Force and they knew exactly what he was going to do.
Gopperth is a steadier type of first five-eighth and I liked the influence he and Chris Smylie introduced when they came on in Perth.
I'm surprised that Lam has opted to start Tevita Mailau ahead of All Black Tony Woodcock at prop against the Bulls.
Conventional wisdom says you start with your best prop, especially in a place like Pretoria.
The coach says he wants to ensure Woodcock is on the field in the latter stages - a new strategy for sure. Let's see how it works, but I do wonder if they will miss Woodcock's class when the tone of the game is set in the early stages.
