Round 7 of the Super 14 this weekend.

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The Lions exploded out of the blocks and raced to a strong lead before a series of penalties allowed the Highlanders to claw their way back into the game and they grabbed the lead by half time. The Highlanders then looked in control but a late comeback by the visitors saw the Lions go down by only 10 points.

The ACT Brumbies did it tough in their come from behind win over the Chiefs but would be happy to pick up the points. A late try to the ACT saw them snatch the lead and head off to the bye week on a winning note.

The Queensland Reds continued on their surge up the ladder with a strong and convincing tour win over the Cheetahs winning 31-10.

The Sharks and Hurricanes played a tight game in Wellington with the score level with less than a minute to go. A penalty went to the Sharks, on the half way line with 10 seconds to go. The kick went over and the Sharks players were ecstatic to take the points in this vital tour game.

Round 3 of the Super 14 this weekend has some great games, and some great betting prices.

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After a lacklustre first half, the Crusaders lifted while the Sharks tired and the home side romped ahead for an easy win. A nice intercept try to Guildford broke the game open and the Crusaders were happy to get back onto the winners list.

In a tough, low scoring game, the Brumbies managed to get the vital 4 points with a close win over the Stormers. The Stormers had the chance to snatch a draw after the siren but the conversion attempt failed.

The Hurricanes battled hard to defeat a pumped up Lions in Wellington.
The visitors show a strong desire to throw the ball around but were without lady luck.

As expected, the Chiefs were able to run away with the game against a determined, but undermanned, Force in Perth. The Chiefs again picked up maximum points and finished their road trip in a strong position to challenge for the title this year.

The Queensland Reds euphoria of the past week ended in the soaking rain of Brisbane as they fell to the Blues in a tight, tough match. The Blues will be happy to come away with the 4 points in difficult conditions.

The Highlanders picked up their first win of the season in a scrappy encounter with the Cheetahs. The home side were their worst enemy giving away far too many penalties.

In the match of the round, the Bulls and Waratahs played a high scoring battle with only three points separating the teams as the last ten minutes came up. Then a clever try to the Bulls after some seriously determined work in the Waratahs 22 broke the game open and the Bulls came away with another bonus point win.

Round 1 of the Super 14 kicks off this weekend with some great games, and some Best Bets.

Round 1 kicked off with the Blues at home to the Hurricanes and at half time it was the home team looking comfortable and leading 20-12 at the break. Then the Blues went to sleep as the Hurricanes stormed home to win 34-20, including a record breaking 9 penalties.

The Brumbies started their campaign convincingly when they down the force, 24-15 in Perth. The visitors scored three tries to none and the Force never looked likely to run in the major points. It was only the kicking of O’Connor which kept the home side in the match. It looks like being a long season for the boys from Perth.

The Bulls continued where they left off last year with a scintillating win over the Cheetahs in a high scoring try fest. With 9 tries being scored, it was great entertainment for the crowd and the champions ensured they started the season with maximum points.

The Highlanders kept in touch with the Crusaders for most of this game but a few unlucky moments in the dying minutes and the home side swept clear.

This was a hard slog of a game with the Reds in command throughout, only conceding the match winning in the final minutes. A positive start to the season for the tome team.

As predicted the Stormers had the measure of the Lions in a game that could have been a battle for the wooden spoon.

The final game of round 1 had a fantastic ending. The Sharks looked comfortable at 15-9 going into the last ten minutes, then a late try to the Chiefs saw them move ahead 16-15. The sharks replied immediately with a penalty to take back the lead and with only a minute left looked to have the game. Then as the clock ran out the Sharks gave away a penalty and watch in despair as the Chiefs grabbed the 3 points and the win.

So what did we learn from Round 1 of the Super 14 2010? We saw that the Bulls are still in high form, and the Crusaders look the goods again. Queensland and the Highlanders look to have improved and the ACT and Hurricanes should be up there in the mix. The Force, Cheetahs and Lions look like they will fight it out for the wooden spoon.

What do you think?

Should the Super 14 rugby competition expand?
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

As a football competition, it ranks highly again other major non soccer club football competitions.
Yet its owners, SANZAR, run it as an afterthought to other activities and it is hard to see how they could be any more useless when it comes to promoting one of the world’s major competitions.

We live in an Information Era where people use the internet top get most of their information.
Every other major club football competition has a website for its competition. There is no Super 14 website.
Why ? Because the SANZAR partners have no cohesion, no vision and are obsessed with their own insularity.

No other major football competition is run without having an organisation of full time employees committed exclusively to running the competition. Yet SANZAR has no organisation – it is instead a collection of senior exectutives of rugby national unions, none of whom trust each other.

The rugby Super 14 competition needs a lot of work to move forward yet it is stiffled at every step by the greed, stupidity and insularity of its owners. Even the simple issue of how many teams should make up its final system was not resolved in a progressive manner due to local stupidity.

There are many issues that SANZAR needs to address if it wants to maximise the value of the Super 14 competition. These will never happen – but its a nice wishlist.

1) The SANZAR partners need to create an organisation that runs the Super 14 and Tri Nations competitions. This organisation needs to be comprised of full time paid employees from all walks of life – not be just a couple of self interest appointees from the SANZAR members.
This organisation needs to given control of the Super 14 and operate in the same way that the NFL, AFL and other major organisations operate.

2) SANZAR needs a single website for its super rugby interest rather than leaving it up to the feeble efforts of the SANZAR members.

3) SANZAR needs to expand the Super 14 competition as quickly as possible and into profitable markets- not emotional markets.

4) SANZAR needs to seriously have a look at the Super 14 rule book to introduce a more stop start pattern into the games flow so that greater advertising opportunities are available.

Im sure there will be plenty of discussion on the future during 2009.

ET