Super 14 Rugby is the leading competition for teams from the states and provinces of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

It would be fair to say that New Zealand teams have dominated the super 14, particularly the Canterbury Crusaders, although other New Zealand teams have done well with many reaching the final. The other big success has been the ACT Brumbies. The real disappointments of the series have been the Queensland Reds and the New South Wales Waratahs who, despite being packed with talent, continue to underperform. Both teams will look to change that this season. However, the surprise Australian team and the dark horse of the tournament this year may be the Western Force who play out of Perth, WA. Last year they were often close, but they didn’t have the experience to get him out of tough situations. I predict this year will be a much different story.

South African teams have proven to be very strong in South Africa, but to be successful they need to once again win away games.

The 14 teams are

Auckland Blues (always strong, have the potential to beat any team in their day, time will tell if they can win enough games to reach the final but if they do they have a chance to win the competition. – previous winners of the final on 3 occasions) (super 12) but the last few years have not given the stature.)

ACT Brumbies (full of class though one wonders if their Aussie dominance is waning, twice previous winners, twice lost to Canterbury in final, yet last two years failed to reach final – I predict they will fail again this year)

The Bulls (based in Pretoria, in recent years they have reached the final and should be regarded as an opportunity to do so again, but they are unlikely to have the class to win the competition).

Central Cheetahs (Recent addition from SA, 10th, will do better this year but won’t make final)

Waikato Chiefs (traditional New Zealand rugby on display every time the chiefs play, hard hard, enjoy great support at home, only made it to the semis once, won’t make it this year but will provide some entertaining games).

Canterbury Crusaders (The most successful franchise in the competition. Won the competition six times, the last two times, dominant. This year will be no different. Any team that wants to win the competition will have to beat the Crusaders to do so.)

Western Force (First year in competition last year, shows good signs but never delivered. This year could be the dark horse. They can make it to the finals, but lack of experience in finals will prevent them from going any further. They have great support at home which should make them hard to beat at home).

Otago Highlanders (Never won the competition and it’s not going to change this year. It will, however, destroy the hopes of other teams at its famous house of pain in Carisbrook, Dunedin)

Hurricanes (Wellington, New Zealand-based, lost to Crusaders in last year’s final. Will do well to reach final this year, but it’s a possibility.)

Lions (the cats’ name change won’t change the fortunes of this Johannesburg-based team, they won’t make it to the final.)

Queensland Reds (Never been successful, often blame injuries to key players. They just need to toughen up if they have any chance of winning the competition. They have the talent, but not the heart.)

Natal Sharks (Durban-based and one of the best performing South African teams. Missed out on final last year. Forecast they could reach final this year.)

Western Stormers (Based in Cape Town, nothing fancy here. Will win a couple at home, but that’s about it.)

NSW Waratahs (Sydney based. Reached final numerous times but failed to lift trophy, could it be different this year?)

This is a quick look at Super 14 from a personal review from 2007. At the end of the competition I’ll see if I got it right or wrong. Either way, it’ll be fun to watch.