Quick dash to the cyber-top

By ALAN PERROTT

Leave it late, do it fast and don't look back, says top virtual rugby tipster Bruce Mitchell.

After two rounds of national provincial rugby, the 58-year-old from Napier has racked up 174 points to lead the 60,000-odd competitors entered in the Air New Zealand Virtual NPC.

Each week, players log on to www.virtualnpc.co.nz to pick the winners and points margins for rugby matches in all three divisions.

"I'm not doing too bad," said Mitchell, a lifelong Taranaki fan. "I think about my picks on and off during the day, but it's fairly simple really - I leave entering late, don't spend too much time doing it and don't change them once they're done."

He's relaxed about his early success and discovered he was leading the country only when he was told by a workmate at the Bay of Plenty Watties plant.

Way back in the pack are the members of the celebrity panel, which includes TV3 newsreader Carol Hirschfeld (78 points), Radio Sport host Martin Devlin (86 points) and first round leader Spike the Penguin (146 points) from kids television show Squirt.

Forget picking with head or heart and go for aesthetics, says Hirschfeld, a Waikato and East Coast supporter.

"I go for jersey colour first and then judge province against province. If I know one area is known for wine growing and the other fruit, I'll go for the wine."

But don't be fooled by the easygoing manner. She is in a ding-dong battle with fellow newsreader John Campbell and will even log on while overseas to get updates.

For Martin Devlin, selections involve careful research and analysis ... then surrender to the tug of heartstrings.

"With Wellington I can only do one thing and that's back them. For the rest, I pretend I have this vast pool of knowledge."

And the pressure of his slow start is beginning to tell.

At stake is not only his public profile but also the bill for wine and dinner with Sky Sport commentator Tony Johnson.

Devlin has been knotting his brow over today's big derby games, the Battle of the Bridge between Auckland and North Harbour and the bellringers convention of Taranaki and Waikato.

The level of interest in the competition is music to the eyes of Air New Zealand marketing vice-president Ed Sims.

He said the Virtual NPC was now in its second season, and was the second most popular internet site in the country after xtra.com. It offers an airpoints prize.

One of its attractions is that entrants can tailor their own competitor lists.

Sims says entries have been arriving at three times the rate of last year's competition, which peaked at 20,000.

But hopeful punters logging on this week for the first time have a far bit of ground to make up - they ranked a slightly discouraging 58,010th equal.

Virtual NPC