www.scrum.com should not make these mistakes

Just read at scrum.com that Doug Howlett won titles at the Super 14 with the Crusaders.

Does that mean that any fool can be a reporter for scrum.com? How long does it take to go to the Wikipedia (for example) and take a look to find the truth if you are not sure?

People from scrum.com, Doug Howlett did play for the Blues and only for the Blues at the Super 14.

NZ win Sevens Series

They were unable to get the title in London, as they lost their quarter final game against England by 12 - 17 but they did win the remaining three games to get the Plate including the final Plate game against South Africa and sealed the Sevens series with only the Scotland fixture to go.

A number of surprises have occurred, such as Portugal emerging as a Sevens power, even defeating an Australian side full of Super 14 players (!!!) and performing well enough to lose 28 - 14 against New Zealand. Or both South Africa and New Zealand losing in the quarter finals...

Samoa went on to defeat Fiji in the final and got their first leg this year. Congratulations to the winners!

And congratulations to the Sevens Series winners!

Tautahi Gold are 2008 champions at the Pacific Rugby Cup

Tautahi Gold defeated Upolu Samoa at Apia 3 - 11 in the final of the Pacific Rugby Cup and are the 2008 champions.

Congratulations to the tongan side!!!

Super 14 final: Crusaders - Waratahs

The Crusaders and the Waratahs have shown just what the regular season suggested, that they are the best teams as both teams have made the final with certain ease.


It is going to be a very special game for Robbie Deans, who will try to leave the Crusaders with a last win, at home, in Christchurch.



Crusaders 33 - Hurricanes 22
Waratahs 28 - Sharks 13

Pacific Rugby Cup

Ever heard of the Pacific Rugby Cup?


It may not be as famous as the Super 14 or the Premiership, but it includes 6 teams that could surely kick the ass of more than just one european club. It is a competition ruled by the Pacific Rugby Union.

• 2 teams from Samoa: Upolu Samoa and Savai Samoa
• 2 teams from Fiji: Fiji Warriors and Fiji Barbarians
• 2 teams from Tonga: Tau'uta Reds and Tautahi Gold

It is a relatively young competition, a single round robin competition with the best two teams facing each other in a final game.

2006 saw the Savai Samoa crown champions while in 2007 Upolu Samoa defeated Tau'uta Reds to win the second edition of the Pacific Rugby Cup.

This year, Upolu Samoa have also reached the final but their rivals will be Tautahi Gold, and the final game is played in Apia within a few hours!

Peter de Villiers is just what South Africa needs

Read this if you thought otherwise.

the "other" semifinal

My blood boils when I read the predictions at www.rugby365.com . If you read the predictions, only one out of ten has given the Waratahs as winners. Why? I read the poll in the website about what will be the final and

• around 40% believe it is going to be Sharks. Crusaders
• aorund 40% believe otherwise, it is going to be Sharks vs Hurricanes

I mean, what the f....

The you come down to reasonings, like Steve Farrell tries to do and... oh! surprise!!! his prediction is that the Sharks will win by five!!!

Ok, I am no Waratahs supporter, but ademittedly, few teams have shown the consistency that the 'tahs have shown during this season. Not the Sharks, for sure. I feel that I must give some realistic data over the Waratahs chances to go to the semifinal.

1. Since 1996, only 4 times out of 24 (17%) a Super Rugby semifinal game has been won by an "away" team.
2. From 2003 on, no team has won an "away" Super Rugby semifinal.
3. In 2008 the both Waratahs and Sharks have won every single game at home, but only 3 out of 7 games played away.
4. Their game in Sydney earlier this year resulted in Sharks second loss of the season by 25-10
5. The Sharks have managed to win just three times (out of ten games) against the Waratahs.

I think this semifinal will be very very very close. Both teams are excellent at defending but I think the Waratahs have a better attack. I don't expect a clear winner but in the end, the home soil can be a decissive factor.

Of course, the Sharks have their own chances but what I think is nonsense is this absolute certainty of certain media in the Sharks triumph.

McAlister could come back to New Zealand

All Black Luke McAlister could come back as early as next year if we are to trust the information that The NZ Herald publishes.

It would be good news surely for the Blues, as two all-star midfielders called Evans and Nacewa will leave creating a big hole in the Blues line-up.

McAlister also says that England will struggle against the pace of the All Blacks. But that is hardly a news, just like saying that a stone will fall off a building with an acceleration almost equal to 10 meters per square second.

Graham Henry speaks

Apparently, the level of the 2008 Super 14 has not been good enough for Graham Henry for much of the past 4 months, as he has publicly stated that it is a luck that the level has been raised during the last weeks.

What now? Is Super 14 not enough for the All Blacks? Or could it be that it is a bit difficult to adapt to the new ELVs?.

What are then, northern hemisphere teams going to face if it is needed at least 2 to 3 months to get used and reach the test level that Henry wants? What is going to happen in the test games in november?

The Sharks make the semifinals

Low-scoring Sharks managed to dish 7 tries against the Chiefs and gathered a 47 - 25 win that pushes them ahead the Stormers and the Hurricanes for the third place in the 2008 Super 14 semifinals.

Thus, the semifinals will be Crusaders - Hurricanes and Waratahs - Sharks.

Stormers win in the final 5 minutes

The Stormers seemed unable to defeat the Lions for much of the second half at Johannesburg, but two late tries in the crazy dying momments of the match (3 tries have been scored in 5 minutes) awarded the Stormers the win and are in the fight for the semifinals. However, the came one try short of the crucial bonus point, which would have classified them directly for the semifinals.

The Hurricanes are thus, classified, and the Blues are out of the top 4.

Lions 13 - Stormers 22

Waratahs to the semifinals

The Waratahs have defeated the Reds at Brisbane and haved booked a place for the semifinals. Blues and Hurricanes have to wait.

Reds 11 - Waratahs 18

Blues top Hurricanes

In a extremely tense match, the Hurricanes were defeated by the Blues in Auckland. Thus, now they both have chances to make the semifinals but they also need the Stormers or the Sharks or the Waratahs not to win in their own final matches.

Blues 19 - Hurricanes 17

Final word: Super 14 week 14

As I said, it was such a close call, such a close call...

This is my last prediction for the semifinals spots as displayed by a wonderful website: http://www.lassen.co.nz/s14tab.php

I remember I first predicted Crusaders, Sharks, Hurricanes and Blues.
Two weeks ago I said Crusaders, Waratahs, Hurricanes and Chiefs.
And with one day to go I say: Crusaders, Waratahs, Hurricanes and Stormers.

What will be the end of the road?