S14: Where your team is at

Rupert Guinness | May 7, 2008 - 10:35AM


THE Force may have done the Waratahs a favour with their win over the Chiefs last week; but that will do little to end the danger the Reds will pose to NSW's Super 14 finals hopes next week when the two enemies meet in Brisbane.

Which all makes for the second placed Waratahs's round 13 match in Cape Town against the Stormers, who sit fourth on the ladder, all the more important.

The Force, Reds and now Brumbies, who saw their finals hopes extinguished last weekend against the Stormers, are all now playing for end-of-season pride.

However, the Waratahs know full well that a loss by them on Saturday against the Stormers, could well signal their call to join them as Super 14 back-of-the-packers.

WARATAHS

The news:
The Waratahs coaching imbroglio reaches embarrassing new levels

Physio's table: Matt Dunning (calf strain) will miss Stormers game, but a possibility to play the Reds next week. Al Baxter (eye), Lachie Turner (gastro), Sam Norton Knight (eye) also in doubt. Tatafu Polota-Nau (head knock) clear to play.

The good: The 'loss they needed to have' is behind them. The possibility of a dry track to ignite their running game. High spirits.

The bad: Was last week's defeat by the Bulls a worrying sign or just a speed bump? Whatever, the uncertainty - unless harnessed well - could destabilise.



BRUMBIES
The news:
Will they get Stephen Moore as their number one hooker for 2009? Will they court Adam Freier? Will former Wallaby Jeremy Paul return from England?

Physio's table: Stirling Mortlock and Adam Ashley-Cooper both quarantined with a virus.

The good: They showed they have not lost their fighting spirit, keeping the Stormers to zero points in the second half when they could have capitulated.

The bad: Their Super 14 finals hopes are over. A long two weeks for head coach Laurie Fisher as the sun sets on his four-year tenure as head coach. With Mortlock and Ashley-Cooper gone, the Bulls are now looming as major threats.



FORCE

The news:
Coach John Mitchell is forced to test his depth further for the last two rounds after injury crisis worsens following 22-21 win against the Chiefs.

Physio's table: Curtain calls on the seasons of Ryan Cross (fractured left cheek bone), flanker Scott Fava (an ankle strain), prop Pek Cowan (a dislocated thumb) and winger Nick Cummins (a fractured left fibula in his leg).


The good: Matt Giteau is back. He again showed that he makes the difference between winning and losing - this time with his pressure kick to beat the Chiefs on the bell. The eye-catching starting debut by teenage inside centre James O'Connor.

The bad: Mitchell has stretched the envelope on his depth too far and will cop a pounding from the Hurricanes who are third and must win to be stay in the race for the home final.


REDS
The news: David Croft drops a mid-week bombshell by announcing retirement - and just one week after halfback Sam Cordingley reveals that he will next year return to play for Grenoble in France.

Physio's table: Apart from Hugh McMeniman, nothing new ... they just keep retiring.

The good: Croft's retirement and Chris Latham's imminent move to England will help motivate them to dig in and put in another courageous performance.

The bad: It just so happens they are about to play the Super 14 favourites, the Crusaders who, despite injured Dan Carter's absence, will be desperately hungry to set themselves up for the semi-finals with wins this week and next.


Toby Robson of The Dominion Post writes:
With two weeks to go, four of the five New Zealand teams remain in the hunt for the Super 14 semifinals, though only those metronomic Crusaders are guaranteed to be there battling it out for another title.

The Hurricanes can go a long way to adding their name to the big four with the maximum haul at home on Friday night against the Force, while the Crusaders can clinch top spot if they prevail in Brisbane, and the Blues (at the Highlanders) and Chiefs (at the Lions) need to keep winning on the road to keep their longer shots alive.


HURRICANES
In the news: The Waldrom brothers "Fat Boy" and "Scooter" team up for a feelgood try against the Lions.

Physio's table: Jerry Collins (ribs), day to day.

The good: Is Willie Ripia the missing link? Not in the study of human history way, but in the spark the backline, kick accurately way. Are we seeing the start of a special career from wing Zac Guildford? Could you really leave Ma'a Nonu out of the All Blacks?

The bad: Every schoolteacher in Wellington put Ma'a Nonu in their bad books after seeing him swinging on his chair on the sidelines. Nonu's former Rongotai College teachers then nodded knowingly as he fell backward. "Nonu!, stop swinging on your chair!"



CRUSADERS
In the news: Dan Carter's not sure where he's going and the speculation is dragging on to the point where I no longer care. You either want the All Blacks jersey or you don't, full stop. Caleb Ralph's more clear about his future – in Japan. Bagged at times in the north, but one of the game's great servants. And Brad Thorn has missed all the meetings and re-signed with the NZRU.

Physio's table: Reuben Thorne (broken knuckle), got the cast off on Tuesday; Carter (high ankle), trained twice this week, in the mix; Ben Franks (neck knock), okay.

The good: Prop Wyatt Crockett's football skills in the wet. Where was the six-shooter, western-style try celebration, Wyatt?

The bad: Richie McCaw and Stephen Brett get fended off effortlessly by Sharks No 8 Ryan Kankowski.



BLUES
In the news: The Blues are like a dysfunctional family. They start the week with coach David Nucifora resigning, then end with first-five Nick Evans announcing he's heading to Harlequins. Somebody call CYFS.

Physio's table: Troy Flavell (hamstring), Joe Rokocoko (broken hand)

The good: Taniela Moa shows his coach what Auckland fans already knew at the start of the season by giving a commanding display at halfback.

The bad: Isaia Toeava gets pulled after 55 minutes and his body language on the sideline suggests he is an unhappy camper. How the Blues have taken such a confident and talented player to this point is a poor reflection on the franchise.



CHIEFS
In the news: Skipper Mils Muliaina describes the money on offer to All Blacks for overseas contracts as "ridiculous", but admits he'd be "foolish" not to consider them. That's crazy talk.

Physio's table: Brendon Leonard (bruised knee), not with the team; Richard Kahui (ankle strain), unlikely this week; Callum Bruce (ankle), Jamie Nutbrown (ankle), Kevin O'Neill (elbow), Simms Davison (back), all minor.

The good: Bruce proves New Zealanders can kick dropped goals.

The bad: The Chiefs provided conclusive proof that even if the All Blacks had kicked a dropped goal in Cardiff, they might have lost anyway. Don Tricker and Mike Heron turn their cellphones off.


HIGHLANDERS
In the news: Hark, a win! Southern guts get the 13-man Highlanders home against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. Coach Glenn Moore immediately couriers the Super 14's wooden spoon to its rightful home in Johannesburg.


Physio's table: James Wilson (hip).

The good: Adam Thompson's moustache. The flanker's top lip would do Magnum PI proud, but it couldn't overshadow his try against the Cheetahs, the best of the round, possibly the season.

The bad: Talk this week of dismantling the Highlanders franchise. It might make sense in terms of population shift, but where would it leave the Otago and Southland unions? And what effect would it have on our most successful franchise, the Crusaders?



STH AFRICA WATCH
We all know New Zealand referee Steve Walsh can't help himself, but he may have handed the Stormers a place in the semifinals with his ridiculous penalty try and sinbinning of Brumbies first five-eighth Christian Lealiifano.

Lions coach Eugene Eloff pleads for patience after his team's poor tour down under, saying it is in year two of a three-year plan. The plan is obviously to look terrible for two years and then be brilliant in the third.

Bulls lock Bakkies Botha starts his court battle with the Blue Bulls company to get out of his five-year contract and head to Toulon. Can you imagine the NZRU going to court to keep a player?

Pick of the bunch: South Africa's "Tries for Smiles" charity campaign is surely a supporter of rugby's ELVs. It passed the 1 million rand milestone this week with R10,000 donated for corrective surgery for children with facial anomalies every time a South African team crosses the white line.