BLUES

THE David Nucifora-coached Auckland side should be a major force this season despite losing a clutch of key players, including backs Sam Tuitupou, Luke McAlister and Doug Howlett to overseas clubs and forward Ali Williams to the Crusaders.

The 1996-97 and 2003 champions finished fourth last year, recording nine wins and four losses - the same as the second-placed Bulls and better than the third-placed Crusaders - only to miss out on a home semi-final on points differential.

While losing Williams, the Blues have kept Keven Mealamu, Troy Flavell, Daniel Braid and John Afoa in their pack. Former Highlanders head coach Greg Cooper has joined the Blues as assistant coach.

CRUSADERS

ALL eyes will again be on the perennial Super champions, but this time that attention will not be trained on the players but on their coach, Robbie Deans, who will officially begin his tenure as Wallabies coach at the end of the Crusaders' Super 14 campaign.

Not that Deans will be easily distracted by the hype - if at all. A true and loyal Cantabrian, he will be intent on taking the Crusaders to a seventh Super title - and his fifth as coach. Aaron Mauger, Chris Jack and Rico Gear have all left to play overseas, but flanker and captain Richie McCaw and his new deputy, Dan Carter, are still on board for another title assault.

CHIEFS

THE Waikato-based team will be led for the sixth successive year by Jono Gibbes. This season coach Ian Foster has opted for fewer backs in his squad. To accommodate the larger pool of back-rowers in the squad of 16 forwards and 12 backs, he would expect the Chiefs' backs to be able to play more than one position.

The mission for the Chiefs, traditionally slow starters in the all-too-short competition, is to record some early wins and begin to rack up vital match and bonus points. They would also hope to have better luck with injuries, which cruelled their campaign last year.

Former Chiefs and All Blacks second-rower Keith Robinson has been appointed lineout coach.

HIGHLANDERS

MANY tip the Highlanders to take the wooden spoon from the Reds this year after overseas clubs cut a swathe through Otago's playing stocks. The loss of powerhouse prop Carl Hayman and hooker Anton Oliver is an especially big blow. And the franchise have even lost their coach of the previous four seasons, Greg Cooper, to the Blues.

For new coach Glenn Moore, 2008 is a year to rebuild, at best. After placing ninth in 2007 - the poorest finish of the New Zealand sides - the Highlanders must look beyond this season and continue to recruit outside Otago. They will be led by back-rower Craig Newby and vice-captain and halfback Jimmy Cowan.

HURRICANES

THE Hurricanes have flattered to deceive for a long time. For several seasons they appeared to be a team on the rise whose form would eventually be rewarded with a Super title. After making the semi-finals in 1997, 2003 and 2005, the team from Wellington came within a whisker of pulling it off in 2006, when they lost 19-12 to the Crusaders in dense fog in Christchurch.

Little wonder last season was rated a disaster. Their eighth place from six wins and seven losses was hardly the way they - or their fans - wanted to farewell Hurricanes and All Blacks superstar Tana Umaga.

Despite his loss, the Colin Cooper-coached Hurricanes have been the least affected by player drain.

CHEETAHS

THEY are the reigning Currie Cup champions from Bloemfontein who, some supporters optimistically warn, should not be discounted as a Super 14 force this season - despite finishing 11th in last year's tournament.

However, sustaining that hope with results won't be easy. Rassie Erasmus's departure to coach the Stormers is one blow but it's not the last. New coach Naka Drotske's player roster has been hit by the loss of Ollie le Roux, Corniel van Zyl, Ryno van der Merwe, Michael Claassens and Marius Joubert to overseas clubs. The Cheetahs have also lost two props, Os du Randt to retirement and Jannie du Plessis to the Sharks.

LIONS

THEY may be lions, but the Johannesburg franchise couldn't manage much of a roar last year, finishing a distant 12th.

The Lions' early-season form was impressive - defeating the Force in Perth in round four and the Reds in Brisbane in round five - but they contrived to win only three more matches by season's end.

While the Lions' spirits would have been lifted by making the Currie Cup final, their 2008 Super 14 campaign has already been compromised. A foot injury has ruled out Springbok five-eighth Andre Pretorius until - in the best-case scenario - the last two games. His captaincy has been passed on to Ernst Joubert.

STORMERS
AFTER making the semi-finals twice, in 1999 and 2004, the Cape Town-based franchise slumped to 10th place with six wins and seven losses last season. It's a finish that doesn't sit well with their traditional role of tournament dark horse. New coach Rassie Erasmus is under immense pressure but he is a fresh face with fresh ideas. He has already axed breakaway Luke Watson as captain and installed centre Jean de Villiers as his replacement.

Fresh results? Time will tell. But they certainly plan to be in contention come the end of the season. "This competition is like an 800-metre race," assistant coach Gary Gold told the Cape Times newspaper. "As soon as you forget about the start, you have to focus on how you are going to handle the last 400 metres."

Source: The Sun-Herald