Southern Rugby takes off for another Super-12 fling

Rugby returned to the television screens of the Southern Hemisphere last weekend with the first round of matches in the 2004 Super 12 championship.

Australian teams, the NSW Waratahs and the ACT Brumbies stunned the fans with performances that had not been seen before from the Waratahs, and in the case of the Brumbies for the past three years.

They both scored convincing victories over the top two New Zealand teams -- the Crusaders (Waratahs 43-19) and the Auckland Blues (Brumbies 44-27).

Considering these two teams had contested the 2003 final -- it was a great effort, but now the airwaves are riddled with the cliches like "it is early days" / "short of a good run" / "take it one game at a time."

The favorites at this early stage would have been the two NZ sides, but after just one round the bookies are placing the NSW Waratahs as the second placed team after the Auckland Blues.

These four teams are the favorites for the final four, with the South African teams missing out again.

The Natal Sharks and the Golden Cats (Johannesburg) are floundering at the bottom of the betting list with the Western Stormers (Capetown) and the Northern Bulls (Pretoria) separated by the Queensland Reds just stopping the four SA sides taking up the last four places.

The Queensland Reds were a bitter disappointment and "bitter" was the word for the conditions in Invercargill at the bottom end of New Zealand and just above the South Pole.

The wind and rain were devastating all night, with the Reds unable to do anything right after the forwards gained the majority of the possession.

The star for the Brumbies in their win over the Blues was Stephen Larcombe at fly half.

His general setting up of plays and spectacular leap that resulted in a try was one of the great moments of rugby for many a long time.

The Waratahs win was of interest because of the youthfulness of the team and the exciting play they showed with an "across the ground" performance.

Mat Rogers at full back showed his attacking power by splitting the defence with his swerving runs on a number of occasions.

Tim Donnelly secured his spot at fly half ahead of Wallaby veteran Matt Burke, who is relegated to another match this coming weekend games.

The Super 12 tournament is played over three months with provincial teams from New Zealand (5), South Africa (4) and Australia (3) playing each other in home and away matches just once.

The first four teams then play-off for the Championship, which has been won on all but one occasion (ACT Brumbies)by the Crusaders or the Blues.

Follow the Super 12 tournament from Rollo Manning's weekly report.