It’s egg on face time again

Here we go again rugby lovers! Fasten your seatbelts, take a deep breath and stand by for the seventh Super 12!

Friday is D-Day when there will be no turning back for the coaches, fitness experts, medical staff and 200-plus players who will throw themselves into the modern equivalent of the kind of entertainment that used to amuse the ancient Romans in their Colosseum.

I’d like to just sit back and just take it all in, but that won’t be possible will it? There will be blow-by-blow reporting to be done on SuperRugby, quick reports, in-depth reports, opinion pieces, instantly up-to-date logs and points scorers… especially for the gratification of those rugby fans that cannot access SuperSport’s blanket television coverage.

And, before we even get there, all of you are going to expect me to put my c…, um, let’s just say you’re going to expect me to make my predictions as to how it will turn out from one to 12.

Then you will take a copy of what I have to say, keep it in a handy place, and take great delight over the next 14 weeks in reminding me just how wrong I was! Like last year when I forecast that the Brumbies would finish sixth.

Still, it comes with the territory, so here goes. My prophecy for the 2002 Vodacom Super 12 is:

Crusaders
Brumbies
Sharks
Reds
Blues
Bulls
Highlanders
Stormers
Chiefs
Waratahs
Hurricanes
Cats

The ramifications of putting electronic impulse to web page will, of course, be instant. To start with I’ll probably not be that welcome at Marks Park, where the Cats practice, even though I have provided coach Frans Ludeke with an excellent piece of motivational material, while there will be those who believe I have taken leave of my senses by placing the Bulls so high.

I just believe the Cats are in for a rough ride. Apart from a destructive list of injuries, they have what looks to be an impossible draw that starts with five straight away games. They will then play their five home games in Bloemfontein and Johannesburg before having to travel to Durban to play the Sharks in the 11th. Experience has shown this kind of fixture list to be an insurmountable obstacle.

The Bulls, on the other hand (Darren?!), start off with five home games and looking at the talent available to them I am convinced they can set the platform for their best run yet – other than when they competed as Northern Transvaal in the first year of the competition and came, would you believe it, third.

The Sharks, too, have a favourable draw featuring six home games although they will travel early. One also has to take into consideration the possible disruption that might be caused if Rudolf Straeuli moves up to the Springboks, but thanks to the experience of manager Piet Strydom, the structures set in place by Straeuli and the know-how of a number of their players they should be able to cope.

And the Stormers? I debated this one with myself and have to concede that slotting them in in eighth place may be inviting a good coating of egg on the face. The men from the Cape will miss the comfort of Braam van Straaten’s points on the board while being unsettled at flyhalf – still the most crucial position in a rugby team – could be problematic.

In addition the Stormers have a difficult draw with only five home games and the like of the Sharks, the Reds, the Crusaders, the Blues and the Cats to be played away.

Yet, in spite of a bad run with injuries, they have a hugely talented squad and arguably one of the best captains in the competition in Corné Krige.

Having learnt my lesson about betting against the Brumbies last year, I have them right up there but not in first place as most other pundits do. The departure of Joe Roff, Rod Kafer and Jim Williams and an injury to David Giffin could leave gaping holes, while there will inevitably be some adjustment to be done as new coach David Nucifora takes over from Eddie Jones.

With goal-kicker Stirling Mortlock back from injury and Pat Howard returning from England, however, plus the like of George Gregan, Stephen Larkham, Andrew Walker, Graham Bond, Owen Finegan, Justin Harrison and an all-Wallaby frontrow of Ben Darwin, Jeremy Paul and Bill Young to impose their compelling brand of continuity the Brumbies should make full use of their six home fixtures at the formidable Bruce Stadium.

Home matches are also a crucial factor in favour of the Crusaders. There are few more passionate rugby towns than Christchurch in New Zealand’s South Island and the Jade Stadium may well be even more inhospitable to visiting teams than the Brumbies’ corral in Canberra.

Coach Robbie Deans is again in charge of a squad relatively unchanged from last year. Although the Crusaders slipped to 10th after having run up a hat-trick of wins the core of the squad, in the guise of Canterbury, hit back to win the NPC.

The “Todd Squad” might have lost their influential and much-loved captain to play out his days as “MacBlackadder” in Scotland, but Reuben Thorne has shown himself to be a capable leader of a team packed full of All Blacks.

Andrew Mehrtens, debatably the most prolific match winner in Super 12 history, is back to his best to give direction to an abrasive pack that includes new breakaway sensation Richard McCaw, Scott Robertson, Norm Maxwell, Chris Jack, Mark Hammett, Greg Feek, Greg Somerville and Thorne himself and a back division with runners such as his long-standing partner Justin Marshall, Aaron and Nathan Mauger, Ben Blair, Mark Robinson and Leon MacDonald.

Finally, there’s something stirring in Auckland which does not augur well for the other teams while the Reds have over the years shown they have the stamina and game-plan to last the course.

Don’t know about you, but I can’t wait!