Super 14 Kicks Off

The Super 14 kicks off this weekend and should again produce exhilarating fast paced rugby.

The Super 14 is comfortably the best provincial competition in the world narrowly in front of New Zealand's Air New Zealand Cup. The teams that compete will show flair and pure athleticism only that southern hemisphere teams can produce.

Starting at a much earlier date than past years, to accommodate for the Rugby World Cup, the Super 14 will be played on dry grounds with the weather favoring expansive rugby.

The New Zealand teams will again look to dominate the competition - after all New Zealand teams have won the competition 9 out of the 11 titles.

Which New Zealand team will win has been debated aggressively recently. The Crusaders will always be title contenders but this year, due to the conditioning program of key All Blacks, they look vulnerable in the early rounds. The Chiefs look the best bet. They have the core of last years Air New Zealand Cup winners Waikato forming the basis of their team, and have also been relatively unaffected by Graham Henry's conditioning plan.

They play the Brumbies in their opening game in front of a parochial Hamilton crowd and they should kick off the competition win a victory.

For Americans viewing the competition it will provide a great visual learning tool. Game plans of teams and strategies that coaches are trying to implement will be intriguing.

The things to watch out for will be how ball carriers engage into contact and how tacklers pilfer for the ball. The Super 14 is all about performing the core skills at a rapid pace and trying to react to space that opens up.

It's going to be exciting and I encourage everyone to get on board and support a Super 14 team.

The website of the week to visit is www.chiefs.co.nz it's the site of the future champions!