SupeRugby Round 9 Recap:

Bye Bye Brumbies and Bulls and hello to the Reds and Highlanders. At the start of the season you may have put the Reds in the top half of the table but it was unlikely that you would have placed them right on the top.The Highlanders...wow, what an awesome season and a big middle finger to all the doubters!

• The Crusaders won what was honestly a closer game than the scoreline suggests. With only 4 points separating the teams at half time, we were always going to be in for a fantastic second half, except the Chiefs didn't play to their full potential and the Crusaders put on 17 second half points to their 3. Crusaders winning 34-16

• It was always going to be tough for the unpredictable Rebels to win this one. The Highlanders are in great form and this season has proved that teamwork and unity beats almost anything. The Rebels sneaked a 3 point lead in the 8th minute and held onto it for 12 minutes...that's when the Highlanders stepped up their game. they ran in 6 tries in total and dominated the entire game. Highlanders winning 40-18

• This fixture didn't go according to plan (for the Waratahs) due tho the strength of both teams. Hats off to the Blues team as they destroyed the Waratahs with some great kicking, although fortuitous, and brilliant play by Luke McAlister. The Blues dominated all facets of play and managed to hold off a late surge by the Australian Franchise. Blues winning 31-17

• The Reds carried on marching on in their quest to winning their first SupeRugby title. The Bulls were no match for for the young and motivated Reds side. It was a relatively close encounter but you never expected the Bulls to come back and win the contest. Lets not forget the try celebration of the decade from Digby Ioane! Reds winning 39-30

• With the Stormers fielding their 3rd choice flyhalf after 13 minutes, with an injury to Gary van Aswegen, you thought that this might be a closer encounter than earlier anticipated. The Stormers, however, stuck to their guns and game plan and finished the Lions off in the second half. The first 40 minutes were a closely contested affair but the Lions lost impetus in the second half and payed the price. Stormers winning 33-19

• The Cheetahs have been so competitive this season and to most peoples surprise. They lead by 3 at half time which propped all supporters up in their chairs eagerly anticipating the second half. You believed as a neutral and Cheetahs supporter that they could get one over the poorly performing Hurricanes side.It went down to the wire as the Cheetahs had 4 point lead until Jeremy Thrush broke the South Africans hearts in the 79th minute. What a game this was and will this break the Cheetahs hearts? The Hurricane team will also be hoping this will turn their season around as they face the Sharks in Durban this week. Hurricanes winning 50-47

• The last game of the weekend saw the Brumbies SupeRugby hopes and dreams flushed down the toilet as they lost to the Force in Canberra. Matt Giteau got the home team off to a great start with a penalty, try and conversion in the first 26 minutes. It went pretty much downhill for them after that as the Force slowly chipped away at the lead and gained ascendancy in the game. It only really got away from the Brumbies in the 68th minute where the Force took the lead and never looked back. Force winning 27-19

Cheetahs, Brumbies and Stormers on a Bye this weekend. (Massive points for the Cheetahs and Brumbies, maybe this is what they need to turn their season around) The Stormers will be loking to rest some players and get a few more off the injury list.

Team of the Week: The  Queensland Reds
Player of the Week: Luke McAlister
WTF of the Week:  Digby Ioane .... doing the Caterpillar!