Players to Watch: New Zealand

Israel Dagg:

Ever since I first saw Dagg playing for the Highlanders I knew the All Blacks were about to produce yet another superstar. Then to confirm my worst fears they sent him to the Crusaders to see if he really has the goods, and he does.
He is deadly under the high ball and his counter attacking is close to the best I have seen. He is quick, elusive and close on to 100kg's he can pack a punch in contact too. He always gains yards with ball in hand and will punish you if your defensive lines are not in order, coupled with the fact that he has the likes of Corey Jane and Zac Guildford outside him...it spells disaster for opposition teams. He is my pick for tournaments leading try scorer.
Other danger men would be Adam Thomson and Ma'a Nonu

Name: Israel Dagg
Age: 23
Position: Fullback/Wing
Teams: Crusaders & New Zealand
Test Caps:  7 (10 points)
Height: 1.86m
Weight: 95kg's

Muliaina is trying to keep him out of the #15 jersey for this World Cup

Tri-Nations Recap: Australia v New Zealand

I have yet to see a better first half of rugby from the Aussies. It was one of the best games in a long time. The Wallabies destroyed the All Blacks in the first half and managed to hold off the World Cup favorites in the second. A great try by Radiki Samo and a faultless performance from Adam Ashley-Cooper helped the Australians to their first Tri-Nations victory in 10 years under debut skipper James Horwill.

SupeRugby Round 15 Prejudgement:

15 Weeks into the 2011 SupeRugby tournament and we still can't clearly see who's our top six will be. Eight teams are playing for these six places and and two look guaranteed, The Reds and Stormers. The interesting fight is coming from the Bulls, Sharks, Highlanders and Waratahs. Anyone who slips up could see the dream slipping up too. There is no doubt that the Sharks are under serious pressure and the Highlanders need to rejuvenate their season. The Bulls are looking awesome and the 'Tahs are slowly but surely sneaking in. This week is crucial.

Hurricanes v Force (Palmerston North)
The Hurricanes have come from a weeks rest and will be looking to secure only their 4th win of the season. They are languishing at the bottom of the NZ conference and a bonus point win will take them level with the Chiefs (who have a bye). The Force are missing James O'Connor but will be looking to secure a good away win against their NZ counterparts. Look out for Sam Wykes and Hosea Gear. South African born Mark Swanepoel will be starting at 9 for the Force.
PreJudgement: Hurricanes by 5

Highlanders v Lions (Dunedin)
The Highlanders must be licking their lips ahead of this encounter, I just don't think that it will be that easy for them. The Lions have shuffled their backline around a bit and have an awesome mix of youth and experience. The Highlanders have however got great players and leaders in key positions if you look at Cowan, Thomson and Mackintosh. Watch out for those three as well as Taute, Vermaak and Strauss for the Lions.
PreJudgement: Highlanders by 4

Brumbies v Stormers (Canberra)
Wow, am I looking forward to this game. There has been an interesting shuffle in the centres as Johann Sadie gets dropped for Jaque Fourie, and Jean de Villiers is on the bench. There are still a few worries at flyhalf but we all saw how well Dewaldt Duvenhage handled that last week, should he be required to move there. The battle will be upfront but the backline is going to reap the rewards of this game. Keep an eye on Christian Lealiifano, Juan de Jongh and Nick Koster at 8th man.
PreJudgement: Stormers by 13

Sharks v Waratahs (Durban)
A must win for both teams. The Sharks desperately need to win and the Waratahs will be looking to put the south Africans to bed early. Its the Waratahs first game in South Africa so it will be interesting to see how they will go for the full 80 minutes. I have not been particularly blown away by the Waratahs play latley but they are sneaking up the log. Look out for Beale, Mvovo and Daniel.
PreJudgement: Sharks by 4

Bulls v Cheetahs (Pretoria)
I would like to base this on the fact that the Cheetahs are the Bulls' bogey team but sheesh the Bulls are looking hot (It really pains me to say that). The Bulls will be looking to keep the pressure on the Sharks, Highlanders and Waratahs and walk away with 5 points here. The Cheetahs have been awesome of late and the Ebersohn twins have been great to watch. This could be a gem of a game. Awesome to see Dustin Jinka on the bench for the Bulls! We used to play at the same club together...we were only separated by about 16 teams...but it was the same club!
PreJudgement: Bulls by 3

Reds v Crusaders (Brisbane)
The Reds can't be bumped off top spot this week but they sure as hell are going to be tested this Sunday. Brisbane must be about to boil over in anticipation of this clash. The Crusaders are pretty much fielding a full strength team and the Reds are looking good too but I am yet to find a teamsheet for Sundays game. Keep an eye out for Sonny Bill Williams, Richie McCaw and Kieran Read. The Reds will need Genia, Cooper and Ioane to fire on all cylinders.
PreJudgement: Crusaders by 4

SupeRugby Round 12 PreJudgement:

I am not sure how the Bulls will be feeling having a buy this week. They will either welcome the break or will be chomping at the bit to start securing bonus point wins again. The Blues will be looking to extend their lead on the log. We are spoilt for choice regarding good games this week but there is no doubt that all eyes will be on the Stormers v Crusaders game at Newlands on Saturday. 

Hurricanes v Blues (Wellington)
The more I look at the team sheets the more I fear for the future of the Hurricanes coaching staff. The only real weakness I can see on the Blues team would be Stephan Brett's kicking. They have an extremely solid tight five and loose trio along with a fantastic backline. No Corey Jane for the Hurricanes but, he isn't having the best season ever.
PreJudgement: Blues by 17 

Rebels v Reds (Melbourne)
The Reds will need the Crusaders and Hurricanes to help them out if they want to go top of the log. They will be looking to secure 5 points in Melbourne on Friday and bounce back from their loss last week. Will Genia and Quade Cooper are the only two players to start in every game this season and the Australian half back pairing will be looking to tear into the SupeRugby newbies.
PreJudgement: Reds by 9

Lions v Cheetahs (Johannesburg)
The only South African derby of the weekend and the more you look into it better it gets. The Cheetahs are looking to build on their brilliant performance from last week while the Lions are looking to put their get only their second win of the season. These head to heads are mouthwatering : Brussow v Grobbelaar, Johnson v Strauss, Pretorius v Kockott, Burger v Mapoe. Dylan des Fountain makes his SupeRugby debut for the Cheetahs and I am looking forward to seeing how he gets on. This might be closer than initially thought.
PreJudgement: Lions by 5

Chiefs v Highlanders (Hamilton)
The Highlanders could end up outside the wildcards at the end of the weekend if they don't beat the Chiefs. They take on their third derby in three weeks and travel to Hamilton to take on a team that could shake them around a bit. Adam Thomson returns and will be looking to pick up where he left off two games ago.
PreJudgement: Chiefs by 9

Waratahs v Force (Sydney)
A tough game to call but the Waratahs are desperate to win to move above the Sharks and the Highlanders (should they lose). Players to keep an eye on will be James O'Connor, Willie Ripia, Kurtley Beale and Luke Burgess.
PreJudgement: Draw

Stormers v Crusaders (Cape Town)
What can I say about this game that hasn't been said already? We are all looking forward to the possible Springbok v AB centre pairing pre-world cup showdown. I think Lionel Cronje might be out of his depth in this fixture and I also think that all the hype has been on the #12 &13 match up, but Israel Dagg will be the danger man for the Crusaders.
PreJudgement: Crusaders by 5

Sharks v Brumbies (Durban)
A desperate game for both teams. The Brumbies are just looking for log points to brighten up their gloomy season but the Sharks, on the other hand, are fighting to stay in the running to be Champions. They are coming off an extremely poor performance against the Stormers and will be looking to prove to themselves and their supporters that they are worthy title contenders. A welcome return for longtime injured flanker Jean Deysel at 7 for the Sharks.
PreJudgement: Sharks by 11

SupeRugby Round 11 Prejudgement:

FIRSTLY, a big congratulations to the Lions for securing a 4 point bye win this week. Unfortunately they are still rooted to the bottom of the table. There are 2 top of the Conference Derbies this week and they are going to be crackers, Highlanders v Blues and Stormers v Sharks. Purely from a NZ and SA point of view they are huge but in terms of the combined conference these results will affect the top 8. Will the Brumbies start their away leg with a win and revive their season? Will the Rebels pull the wool over the Waratahs eyes? Only time will tell...

Highlanders v Blues (Dunedin)
Luke McAlister and Adam Thomson both return to the starting line up for the Blues and Highlanders respectively. There will be a lot of focus on the two fly-halves as the old war horse Tony Brown had a great game last week will be up against Stephan Brett. As all derbies should be, this is going to be a hard physical game and no team will go into the changing room at the end of the game wondering if they could have done better. I don't think the Highlanders have it in them after last week.
PreJudgement: Blues by 6

Cheetahs v Brumbies (Bloemfontein)
The Cheetahs will be looking to drive some nails into the coffin of the Brumbies by taking a win on Friday night. The Brumbies, I am sure are going to relish being out of  'pressure cooker' that is Australia after their worst start in SupeRugby history. With the appointment of Jake White onto their coaching staff for next season, maybe the Brumbies will pick it up a bit on the Bosses home soil.
PreJudgement: Brumbies by 11


Hurricanes v Reds (Wellington)
One would expect the Reds to walk all over the hapless Hurricanes, but there is a little bell inside my head warning me that they are still a dangerous team. Then I look at the injuries they have had and the loooong flight home. After all of that I realise that they are playing the mighty Reds. This is going to be a horrible return home after touring and its not going to end well for the home team. What theatrics are we going to see out of Quade Cooper this week?
PreJudgement: Reds by 9

Waratahs v Rebels (Sydney)
The Rebels are due a win or have they used up all their first season 'get out of jail' free cards? I think they have and we should settle down and watch the Waratahs dominate the new boys. The loss of Drew Mitchell is significant but he is replaced by Soseni Anesi who can produce the goods. Kurtley Beale moves to fullback and Berrick Barnes wears the number 10 jumper.
PreJudgement: Waratahs by 19

Force v Crusaders (Perth)
Richie McCaw returns as captain for the Crusaders and immediately everyone sits up and takes notice. There are no more 'rested' players on the bench as they all seem to be starting this week. Todd Blackadder will be looking to take 5 points home from this game. Willie Ripia will be starting a t 10 with the talented James O'Connor outside him. It is also great to see Matt Dunning starting again for the Force.
PreJudgement: Crusaders by 15

Bulls v Chiefs (Pretoria)
The Bulls are not going to get out of their crap form this week. Not even with all the hype around what their sponsors are getting them to do, I think its shocking! The Chiefs have come off a tough game last week but the Bulls are risking Dewald Potgieter and Francois Hougaard very soon after injury.
PreJudgement: Chiefs by 7

Stormers v Sharks (Cape Town)
The Stormers captain, Schalk Burger, has been downplaying their win in the shark tank a few weeks ago in the media. The Sharks have been downplaying the revenge factor this game has....ITS ALL LIES! The Stormers and Sharks want to beat the living daylights out of each other. The Stormers want a double and the Sharks want Revenge! There is are no two ways about it. John Smit stays at hooker and captain for the Sharks, with Bismark du Plessis on the bench. Peter Grant has a late fitness test on Friday to see if he can play on Saturday. Ross Skeate returns to Cape Town where here played for SACS , UCT and the Stormers.
PreJudgement: Sharks by 9