Photos: Super 14 kicks offKEY POINTS:
Try telling the Blues or Chiefs that defeat can be absorbed tonight when they start their Super 14 campaigns at Eden Park.
Unless they manage to lurch to a rare competition stalemate, one of these franchises will head into an awkward second week of the series. The burden
of finding an initial victory will increase, the anxiety levels will lift a fraction.
The other New Zealand franchises are involved in transtasman battles where they can test their attention to the new rules, gauge their fitness and selections before they are asked to arm-wrestle their Kiwi mates.
There is no such leeway for the Blues and Chiefs in a match which would be a greater attraction deeper in the series. But they have to suffer the same stress as four South African sides who square-off in local derbies.
Defeat for the Blues would be an uncomfortable travelling companion for their three-match hike to South Africa while a loss would rekindle the Chiefs' reputation as sluggish starters.
After months of preparation, there is no luxury of a slow-burn Super 14 start for the Blues or Chiefs. They need to switch into mode as quickly as Eden Park turf manager Mark Perham and his gang, who swapped the drop-in cricket wicket for a rugby sandtray, marked out the new field, dropped in the goalposts and repainted all the logos for the change of codes.
"It's worse swapping from rugby to cricket because we also have to deal with temporary seating, cutting the grass and tending to damage on the field," Perham said. "But after this weekend we have a while before the Blues come back and play here so we can core and scarify the ground."
One side will skip away from Eden Park with a buzz about their campaign prospects while the other will be scrabbling round in the annual excuses bag for lines about "it's early days" and "there's an awfully long way to go".
It is just the start of the series but there is a great deal to digest as the 13th edition of the professional provincial rugby series evolves.
The impact of the new laws and the interpretations of referee Lyndon Bray will go under the microscope with intrigue about any changes to the style, shape and structure of the sport. There will be inspection of players' new roles, the speed of the match, and how much emphasis teams place on a strong scrum or quick lineout throws.
The talents of Nick Evans as the Blues new backline governor will be evaluated, and there will be huge interest in the repaired Richard Kahui and his midfield duel with rookie Benson Stanley and one of the Blues standouts from last season Isaia Toeava. This will be rugby but not as we have known it for the last few years. Free-kicks will be awarded for all infringements except offside, foul play and not entering the tackle area through the "gate".
Administrators want the speed of the game to increase, the ball to stay in play for longer and for everyone to have a stronger understanding of the rules. For some, that scenario might seem contradictory, for others it is a new dawn, for the Blues and Chiefs it is a stage to state their 2008 Super 14 credentials.
