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

SupeRugby Semi-Final PreJudgement:

Three games left and its all to play for. The four best teams have made it into the Semi-Finals and are playing for a spot in the final and two wins away from being crowned 2011 Champions. The games will be hosted in Brisbane and Cape Town with the Blues and Crusaders being the respective visitors. Click below to see my winners and why Cape Town will host the Final... 

Some more of this please Jaque...

I want to see more of this on Saturday...PLEASE

SupeRugby Knock-Outs Recap:

The first ever SupeRugby Wildcard Knock-Outs are complete and we have our four Semi-Finalists locked and loaded for this weekend.

• The Blues stepped up to the plate in fine form as they beat the Waratahs convincingly. All was pretty much said and done in the 62nd minute when the Blues were 23-8 ahead. The Waratahs just couldn't seem to get their game on and were beating by a very solid Blues. Blues winning 26-13
• The Sharks succumbed to the most successful team in SupeRugby history and I can only wonder how it would have turned out if the Sharks had not made so many silly mistakes in the first 20 minutes. Dan Carter was extremely solid and you felt the Crusaders were just biding their time and executing their game plan.  Crusaders winning 36-8

Team of the Week: Blues and Crusaders (No Brainer)
Player of the Week: Dan Carter
WTF of the Week: Bryce Lawrence's retarded call of dangerous play against Sharks scrum

Looking at the four teams in the Semi's, as a neutral, you can only be happy that the four top teams have made it.  This weeks games are going to be epic encounters and all the teams will be deserved finalists, whoever makes it.

SupeRugby PreJudgement: Crusaders v Sharks

V

The Sharks take on the Crusaders in Nelson on Saturday to break a hoodoo that borders on the impossible. The Sharks have never beaten the Crusaders in a 'home' game in 15 years. The Crusaders have never lost a home knock-out game in their history. Record Breakers or Record Holders?                                                

The Tackle of the Tournament

This is one of the best try saving and close to the biggest tackle of the season. Round 18 saw the Crusaders hosting the Hurricanes in Wellington. The Crusaders were playing for premium play off position and the Hurricanes for pride. Aaron Cruden is 5m out and decides to go on his own but Tom Marshall of the Crusaders had a different idea.

The clip is a 2 minute highlight of the game but if you don't have time skip to the 1m37s mark and have a look see.

SupeRugby Round 8 Recap:

The Bulls got a duck, The Reds blew the Stormers away, The Brumbies finally won and the Sharks nearly expended themselves in the first half and left nothing for the second. This is pretty much how the weekend went along for SupeRugby. The combined log has chopped and changed and there are a few sides realising that there is no hope left for them. On the other hand there are 5 teams fighting for 3 positions in the knock-out stages.

• The Highlanders would have walked into the changing room after the game on Friday thanking their lucky stars that rugby is only 80minutes long. They looked to be extremely comfortable but the Cheetahs came back in the 76th minute with a converted try from Phillip Burger.The Highlanders had to defend for the final 4 minutes to hold onto the 3 point win. Highlanders won 24-21

• WOW! When last did you watch a SupeRugby game where a team played without scoring? Can you hear the warning bells ringing because I can. The Crusaders owned the Bulls on Friday and took them to task. The only blemish was not securing a bonus point win. Crusaders won 27-0

• The Brumbies won the battle of the 2 most disappointing teams this season, and only just. A single point separated these 2 non-achievers and the win seemed like a SupeRugby final win for the Brumbies, as all the subs and management flocked onto the field after the final whistle. The boot of Matt Giteau lifted the hopes of the home team with a single unconverted try from winger Henry Speight. Brumbies won 17-16.

• The Waratahs secured a comprehensive bonus point win over fellow Australian side the Western Force. The Waratahs back three have been in sublime form this season and came up with the goods again on Saturday as Drew Mitchell (2) and Kurtley Beale (1) crossed over for the visiting team. Tom Carter at inside centre started the try scoring in the29th minute. Waratahs won 31-3.

• The Stormers fell again at yet another crucial hurdle by losing to the Reds at Newlands. The games was riddled with handling errors and the Reds capitalised on a poor Stormers performance. Last weeks JudgeRugby Player of the Week , Peter Grant, did not perform and you wonder if the absence of Jean de Villiers outside him contributed to his performance. Reds won 19-6

• The Sharks earned a bonus point win on Saturday against the Lions but not without a little second half resistance from the visitors. The Sharks had already scored 3 tries by half time and a bonus point win was on everyone's mind. The Lions however, had a different plan. Out of pure grit and defensive strength they held the Sharks off and it was only in the 81st minute that Charl McLeod managed to squirm over for the 4th try. Sharks won 27-3

Player of the Week: Drew Mitchell
Team of the Week: Waratahs
WTF of the Week: The Bulls
Ouch of the Week: Flip van der Merwe & Conrad Smith

SupeRugby Round 8 Prejudgement:

This weeks games will define the season for many of the teams. A win for the Reds, Stormers or Crusaders will almost secure a play off place, wins for the Sharks and Highlanders puts them back into the knock out wild card qualification. A loss for the Brumbies or Hurricanes and their season would be pretty much over.

Highlanders v Cheetahs (Carisbrook, Dunedin)
The Cheetahs are hopefully going to be concentrating on the game and not coming home! It's the South Africans last touring game before they head home. SupeRugby Round 8 kicks off with the Highlanders as the favorites for this game, with the opportunity to move higher up the ladder into Wild Card Territory.
PreJudgement: Highlanders by 12

Crusaders v Bulls (Fraser Park, Timaru)
Game of the weekend number 1 and with Dan Carter sitting out with a hamstring injury, Matt Berquist gets a start at flyhalf for probably the most exciting backline ever fielded. The Bulls will fancy their chances against the Crusaders with Carter not available as well as coming off a win last week. Morne Steyn didn't win too many fans with his drop kicks last week but as boring as it is to watch, it wins games and adds three points.
PreJudgement: Crusaders by 9

Brumbies v Hurricanes (Canberra Stadium, Canberra)
Wow, this could go one of two ways, riddled with errors, bad kicking and poor hands or it could be the game of the season. Both teams need a win (more than oxygen right now) and with the talent they both have available to them lets hope we are in for a quality 80 minutes. I think The Hurricanes might find the trip too much to deal with as the Australian capital is a tough place to visit.
PreJudgement: Brumbies by 12

Force v Waratahs (Perth Oval, Perth)
James O'Connor has been moved to fullback for this encounter to give Willie Ripia his first start at flyhalf this season. Ex Force centre and wing Ryan Cross has hit out at his old team mates for not closing out games. I am sure this will add some extra niggle to Saturdays game.
PreJudgement: Waratahs by 7

Stormers v Reds (Newlands, Cape Town)
Game of the weekend number 2. The build up to this game has been awesome. Everyone is wondering which backline is going to come out winners come the final whistle. Quade Cooper v Peter Grant , Digby Ioane v Bryan Habana , Duane Vermeulen v Scott Higginbotham. Just looking at those match ups should excite you as a rugby supporter. Such a tough game to call.
PreJudgement: do I have to say something.... Stormers by 5

Sharks v Lions (Kings Park, Durban)
A number of changes for the Sharks this week sees John Smit and Eugene van Staden starting at prop with Gerhard Mostert replacing the injured Hargreaves. This has opened the door for Ross Skeate's return to SupeRugby after a two year stint at French side Toulon. The Lions will be looking to kick the Sharks while they are down but they have had their fair share of problems with many missed kicks. The Sharks are coming off three losses on the trot but I can assure you that they will not settle for anything less than a bonus point win.
PreJudgement: Sharks by 15 

SupeRugby game at Twickenham

Twickers - The Cabbage Patch

This Sunday at 4pm (5pm South African Time) history will be made as Twickenham will host its first SupeRugby game. The game between the Canterbury Crusaders and the Sharks.
The game has been moved due to the Crusaders being unable to use their home ground after the devastating earthquake a few weeks ago.
There are at least 10 billion South African and New Zealand expats in London alone so I can imagine the ticket sales will be interesting especially since over 30 000 tickets were sold in just under a day and a half.
The Sharks will be without star flyhalf Patrick Lambie who is replaced by new signing Jacques-Louis Potgieter.
The Crusaders have come off some monster wins and are really getting into their stride which, is a problem for every team they play right now.

SBW

"...Fighting out of the Red Corner, weighing in at 108kg's standing 6ft 3in and making his debut in Super Rugby is Sonny Bill Willliaaaaaams!"

C'mon, don't tell me you can't all hear the ring announcer shouting that out later this morning?
SBW, or aptly nicknamed, wait for it.....SUPERMAN is running on for the Crusaders at inside centre today to make his Super Rugby debut versus the Waratahs.
This monster of a man has had the rugby world watching his every move eagerly awaiting this moment. Well, wait no longer because today is the day.
Sonny Bill Williams was born in Auckland and is an ex Rugby League Pro and professional boxer in his 'spare' time. Enjoy the game!

Is it a bird....Is it a plane...