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In the absence of any interesting rugby news over the last few weeks I am starting a thread on speculations. A different team every few days. How will each team do in the Super 14 in 2008? Who is coming, who is going, whats worth looking out for? Feel free to add thoughts/inside info on each one (or tell me I'm full of s**t). We'll start with an interesting one: The Highlanders.
Form from 2007
The Highlanders put in a pretty credible showing in the 2007 Super 14 with equal 8th (shared with the Hurricanes and Stormers on 27 points). Otago did not perform so well, however, in the ANZC failing to make the semi-finals. At least Southland put in some solid performances, despite financial problems, to give a bit of hope to the side.
Comings and Goings
The New Zealand player exodus has hit the Highlanders particularly hard. With names like Carl Heyman, Anton Oliver, Clarke Dermody, Josh Blackie and Nick Evans all leaving the team you would expect the Highlanders to drop a few spots in the rankings. Couple this with the exclusion of James Ryan (due to injury recovery) and a few other departures and you are looking at a brand new first choice tight five. In addition to this, with Greg Cooper moving to Auckland, the Highlanders have a new head coach in Glenn Moore. Moore will have his work cut out for him in rebuilding the Highlanders squad and keeping as many players as possible injury free since depth will be an issue.
Who to watch out for
Jimmy Cowan was in stellar form for the Highlanders for most of the Super 14 and was unlucky to be overlooked for AB selection. He will probably be the most senior back and will look to take on a significant leadership role within the group.
New member of the team Clint Newland will be interesting to see out on the field for the Highlanders. After gaining infamy for decking Hurricanes prop Neemia Tialata in a line-out the Hawkes Bay prop has proven he has more than enough passion to fit in with the Highlanders. He is in to take over the rather large gaps left by Heyman and Dermody and if he can keep his discipline in check will do pretty well for himself.
Predictions for 2008
Moore will be looking to harness the Otago pride and work on recreating a powerful forward pack and the set-piece which have been the cornerstone to the Highlanders success in the past. Funnily enough, having Oliver and Heyman in the reconditioning program probably helped out in the long run with depth in hooker and props having already developed. Regardless, the Highlanders are losing the majority of their class players and will probably end up close to the bottom come the end of the season. I'm tipping them to come in at 12th.
Yeah, most will say they will struggle up front, but putting a whole new tight five in is not necessarily a guaranteed loss. I think a smart coach will look for combinations to bring up together, say a complete front row of young guys who are already used to working together, backed up by locks with some power and experience. I'd say they're risky, but could be the dark horse.
I'm going to hedge my bets and say 8-11
C'mon the![]()
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i was checking out their site today funnily enough. Ive always thought they were the underachievers of the 2007 season, i fully expected them to be finals contenders but they failed (quite early on) to live up to that expectation.
They will miss heyman & oliver and Blackie and Evans also big losses
id say down one position to 9 this year
They are feral in Dunedinbut getting a Bulmers on tap everywhere aint a bad thing though. Hayman and Evans missing.........trouble at mill.
11th for me.
Great post James.
the punters friend..... stick with me and you will be wearing
i recon theyll finish outside the top10, somewhere from 11-13
They did much better than I expected this year. They had lost a fair few members of their backline (notably Ben Blair, Neil Brew and Roy Kinikinilau) but still managed dominance up front and particularly at the breakdown. Teams will always surprise you but they have lost a lot of their strengths definitely a few players who make the little difference in tight games.
It'll be good when we play them (I think its in Queenstown which would be friendlier than Carisbrook). After a 3 and a 1 point loss a win would be nice plus it'd get the winning away against a New Zealand team monkey off our backs.
You must have missed sports tonight last night with the bit about Timana Tahu's first training session with the Waratahs.......oh wait, disreagard you said interesting rugby news, great post James, looking forward to reading more![]()
Nice work James, 13 to go haha!
I agree with the consensus, unfortunately I think the list of major Outs will be too great for Moore to overcome in his first year.
Hopefully they will realise that early enough to go into rebuilding mode and plan a couple of seasons ahead, something both the Reds and Tahs failed to concede/do last season.
The loss of James Ryan (especially on top of the Outs) should not be underestimated, he is a top player who would have seen AB time if not for injury.
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
It's that time again - already
By NATHAN BURDON - The Southland Times
Every January we start writing about our national game again, and every year it feels unnaturally early.
But in three days the Highlanders arrive in Invercargill for the buildup to a pre-season game against the Chiefs at Rugby Park on Saturday.
It is Invercargill's one and only taste of Super 14 rugby this season, a decision that still chafes me, if no one else.
This month also means the onset of an illness I've started to associate with the Highlanders - January fever.
It's about this time of year that we still talk about the Highlanders with the sort of enthusiasm born of partially sighted faith.
As usual, we wait with bated breath to see how a team with limited Super 14 experience will adjust to the rigours of what is an exhausting tournament.
While the jerseys are still clean, the players yet to put a foot wrong and a new coach still to be put through the mill, we hold out hope that the competition's whipping boys will prove the pundits wrong.
Even a healthy injection of cynicism - usually the antibody that protects us from such illnesses - doesn't seem to have any effect on January fever.
Like other viruses, it's a matter of letting it pass through the system.
I would expect the last of the symptoms to be gone by the time the Highlanders head to South Africa at the end of March, but then again maybe the Highlanders will prove the doubting Thomases among us wrong.
Perhaps January fever will develop into full-blown May madness with a return to the semi-finals.
Whichever way things go for the Highlanders, this year is surely a turning point for New Zealand rugby.
After the broken promise that was last year's World Cup campaign, the game has a lot of ground to make up with middle New Zealand, the people who don't live and breathe the game and suffer from diseases like the aforementioned.
After testing the patience of 'joe public' with rotation policies and parking the best talent on the sidelines, rugby needs to give us something worth watching before the majority decide to turn their backs for good.
So this year we will have a raft of new laws brought in to give rugby an injection of excitement.
It's going to take everyone - players, the media and spectators - time to adjust.
For the good of the game let's just hope that by the time the dust has settled the people who really pay the bills haven't switched to another channel.