1/3 of the way through and where are each team at?

[TRF_stormer2010]

I thought a 1/3 of the way discussion might be.. nice. Here are where a few sites have the different teams at ATM:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/67482701/super-rugby-power-rankings--week-six ('power rankings')

1 Hurricanes
2 Chiefs
3 Stormers
4 Crusaders
5 Brumbies
6 Waratahs
7 Highlanders
8 Sharks
9 Bulls
10 Lions
11 Rebels
12 Cheetahs
13 Force
14 Blues
15 Reds

http://www.lassen.co.nz/s14tab.php ('Rankings' based on similar system as the IRB rankings carried over year to year)

1 Waratahs
2 Hurricanes
3 Crusaders
4 Brumbies
5 Chiefs
6 Stormers
7 Sharks
8 Highlanders
9 Bulls
10 Lions
11 Blues
12 Force
13 Cheetahs
14 Reds
15 Rebels

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/statscentre.cfm ('Form guide' based off last 5 results weighting most recent)

1 Hurricanes
2 Bulls
3 Crusaders
4 Waratahs
5 Stormers
6 Sharks
7 Highlanders
8 Brumbies
9 Chiefs
10 Lions
11 Rebels
12 Blues
13 Cheetahs
14 Reds
15 Force

And then of course there is the good old actual log. My own view is the Reds and Blues are miserable and out of the ***le race but still hold a lot of potential and could cause a few upsets still while the Rebels, Cheetahs, Lions and Cheetahs remain little more than banana peels as we all would have expected pre-season. Big flops (ITO underperforming against exectations) remain the Blues and Reds though.

Crusaders have had their usual slow start to the season but are looking dangerous if the last few results are to be taken at face value. The Bulls had a mini-resurgence to their own slow start to the season though they (in contrast to the Crusaders) made hard work of dealing with the Force at home. Certainly an interesting fixture as they meet this weekend. I have the Crusaders ahead of the Bulls but at home it evens it out somewhat..

Sharks with their usual mixed results based on a strangling game and the Stormers seem to be back to winning ugly and without bonus points but winning.. up till we come up against a team with the keys that fit our holes.

Waratahs and Brumbies are about right though most would have expected the 'Tahs to be in better nick.

Highlanders are looking sexy. They have looked the goods in the past in the early rounds only to fall short though. The Hurricanes are good value for their top spot but will be having to rest a few key All Blacks in coming weeks and will probably be asked a few more questions han what they've had to deal with so far though they've dealt with what's been given and that's all anybody can really ask of you; the best defense in the game ATM and Savea should see them win a fair share more..

I am really enjoying this year again.. probably because the Stormers aren't propping up the log this time round!

 

[TRF_heineken]

Good write up Stormer.

I have to say, that I too am enjoying this year's tournament. I actually get more time to watch more games this year than last year, So I'm more in the know than before with some teams.

For me I am looking forward to the Bulls campaign from this point onwards. Mainly because our better players are slowly making their return back from injury. First it was Pierre Spies, then Arno Botha.

Burger Odendaal has returned this week, and Flip van Der Merwe is expected back the first week in April. So it's good news for this long campaign.

 

[William18]

I don't think we are as good as the table shows. I think our tight 5 still lacks something and will get found out against the best teams in the competition. Then we still have to rest our All Blacks. We should definitely make the playoffs from this position but I don't know that we can do much more.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

The Chiefs are trucking along nicely enough. They've already played the Brumbies, the Crusaders once and gotten their SA tour out of the way, which means that other than their conference games they haven't got too many tricky teams left (the Bulls in Hamilton isn't too scary). Though they have lost two games they actually looked the better team in both matches, and with a few players returning from injury they are well placed to push ahead.

 

[Shaggy]

Yes, the resting of players is going to be interesting - I'm wondering when the Highlanders will rest Fekitoa, A.smith, and B.Smith. I think the Crusaders need to rest Richie for one more game, and maybe Crotty needs a rest. Slade isn't playing this weekend, so it looks like they are rotating their players well

 

[MotherRucker1]

Not over joyed nor disappointed in the Crusaders at this point. We've had some rocky performances, as usual, for the beginning of the season. But against the Lions and Cheetahs we looked to find rhythm with a few key All Blacks back. But let's keep it in perspective, with respect to those teams, Lions and Cheetahs aren't SA's best sides. The Bulls will test us this weekend. It all depends how well we gel over there, and Carter's performance at 10. When we get things right, I think we're capable of beating the Bulls and Sharks in away games.

Main thing that worries me is the backline. With the exception of Nemani Nadolo, it can be pretty underwhelming going from side to side. Pitty we can't have Gibson back.

 

[Larksea]

I'm suprised the Tahs' are not doing better, their squad is so strong they seem to have the lions share of the Player talent in Aussie.

NZ teams are so strong, hurricanes looking like their best ever, chiefs building and learning while picking up wins, crusaders improving, highlanders also looking close to their best. Then you have the blues, they have the player talent again but can't seem to score more points than oposition teams over 80min, I hate to say it because I like JK but at times they do look poorly coached, in particular on attack.