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2013 Super 15 Preview

As we approach the start of another season of super rugby, it's time to take a look at the leading contenders for the title, the men under pressure, the new All Black potentials and those men within the franchises who are most under pressure.

Blues:

Who To Watch- Charles Piutau, explosive power from the back, will add a lot to the Blues backline this year.
Key Men- Ali Williams, new captain looking to prove himself, Coaching Staff need to also show they are the ones to get the Blues out of their current turmoil.
Under The Most Pressure- Whole team, all coaches. Need to turn it around from an awful 2012.
New All Blacks- Probably none, Piutau MAYBE if he has an absolute blinder but unlikely.
Placing- Middle of the table most likely, not likely to contend strongly for the title.

Chiefs:

Who To Watch- Sam Cane, no Richie this year. Enough said, needs a massive season. Also the comeback of Richard Kahui.
Key Men- Cruden and Kahui. Direction from No.10 and power in the midfield from Kahui, also key on D.
Under The Most Pressure- Anscombe, dropped from Blues so needs to prove himself again. Whole team needs to back up for title defence, again Sam Cane needs to prove himself as the right man to take over McCaws No.7 jersey.
New All Blacks- Nanai Williams potentially, has to have a blinder. Spot open on the wing now due to Cory Janes ACL. Tawera Kerr-Barlow likely to be dropped unless he does something freakishly good.
Placing- Probably top 3

Hurricanes: 

Who To Watch- TJ Perenara- look for him to stake his claim for an All Black call up in June, also expect another big season from Andre Taylor and Victor Vito.
Key Men- Midfield, experience of Conrad Smith and Tim Bateman will be vital to the Hurricanes attack, look for a big year from all the backs, back three will need to step up in the absence of Cory Jane.
Under The Most Pressure- Mark Hammett. Needs a really strong season from his men, showed potential last year but fell away towards the end of the season. Need the consistency all year. Also TJ Perenara, been talked up a lot over the off season so needs to repay the faith showed in him.
New All Blacks- TJ Perenara a likely contender, also Tim Bateman if he has a blinder, injury to Benson Stanley opens the door for a new midfielder.
Placing- Top end of the table, could push into top 5.

Crusaders:

Who To Watch- Andy Ellis- wants his black jersey back, expect him to go up another gear from 2012. Matt Todd- same as Sam Cane, no Richie so expect a big season from Todd, will look to challenge Cane for the All Blacks No.7 jersey.
Key Men- Kieran Read and Dan Carter. Crusaders will rely on their experience and expertise. With no McCaw the Crusaders need another big season from these two.
Under The Most Pressure- Todd Blackadder. Needs to win a title. Enough said.
New All Blacks- Matt Todd if he outplays Cane, reserve spot in AB's up for grabs also. Recall for Andy Ellis, he deserves it. Tom Taylor, big maybe! Needs a huge season!
Placing- 1 or 2

Highlanders:

Who To Watch- Colin Slade- wants to be back in black after several injuries. Interested to see how he goes with consistant game time all year.
Key Men- Tight five, need to make the most of the experience they have there, especially with Brad Thorn. 9,10,12 combo of Smith, Slade and Nonu will be crucial to their attack game.
Under The Most Pressure- Colin Slade under pressure to perform, Nonu under pressure to actually play well at super rugby level as well as test level. Also Jamie Joseph to get them higher up on the table and actually consistently win games.
New All Blacks- Possible recall for Colin Slade.
Placing- Somewhere in top 6


Battle To Back Up Dan:

There will be several contenders who will want that second first five spot in the All Blacks. Slade from the Highlanders, Taylor from the Crusaders, Barret from the Hurricanes, Cruden from the Chiefs. Steve Hansen is certainly spoilt for choice here;
My Pick:

Dan Carter
Aaron Cruden

New Era For Read:

Kieran Read will be having a busy old time in 2013. Not only is he taking over the captaincy of the Crusaders but he will most likely take over for All Blacks in their June tests against France. He'll have to make sure he keeps his standards high with his own performance now that he has the added responsibility of the captain's armband. Surely no issue for Read though, he's an experienced campaigner who has captained the Crusaders on many occasions before. Expect him to slip into the Captains role with ease.

Eventual Winner:

I'm picking it'll be number 8 for the red n blacks.

Crusaders to take it out in 2013.

At What Point Can We Actually Consider It To Be Cheating..?

As the world of professional cycling is continuously tarnished by 'drug cheats' surely you have to ask yourself, if everyone's doing it at what point is at actually cheating? Yes ok, we know it's against the rules therefore we know it must be considered cheating but if EVERYONE is doing it then is it cheating? Or is it simply becoming the norms of professional cycling

After reading former U.S Postal Service rider and Lance Armstrong's team mate, Tyler Hamilton's book 'The Secret Race' it became clear that exactly what I and everyone else was thinking was in fact true. Anyone who's anyone on the professional cycling circuit is doping. It's just the way it is in the modern era. But in this case, if everyone is actually doping then can we really consider it cheating? 'The Secret Race' highlighted several important points for me: Firstly, and gold medal to me for stating the obvious, Lance Armstrong doped. He denied it throughout his entire career, but he did in fact dope. Secondly, Lance bullied a lot of his team mates into doping, including author Tyler Hamilton who also denied it for a long time before coming clean on a television interview several years later. Thirdly, the lengths that Lance and several other riders went to to ensure they would not be caught and would get the appropriate drugs from the best doctors in the world was beyond extreme. This highlights to me and to every other cycling enthusiast there is, that the world of professional cycling simply will not change. They can't police every single rider to the highest level, A because they are just too good at ensuring they can't be detected with drugs in their system, and B because if they did manage to uncover every rider who doped, there would probably be less than 30 riders left in the field (The Secret Race, Tyler Hamilton, Pg.177, 2012).

Taking all of this into account, lets get back to my question; At What Point Can It Actually Be Considered Cheating? In technical terms of course it's cheating. The rules state that it is against the rules set down by the UCI and enforced by USADA that riders cannot be aided by the use of steroids, blood transfusions or any other form of performance enhancing drugs. (The Secret Race, Tyler Hamilton, Pg.78, 2012). BUT; As this is now becoming the norms of professional cycling, maybe we should just let them be? Maybe we should just accept the fact that over 75% of professional cyclers dope? Maybe we should just let them be, and let them continue to do what they do, and we'll find out who the best of the 'cheats' is every year? Or we'll just find out who has the best doctor. Either way, the world of professional cycling will not change, and with cyclists covering their tracks so much better now it is becoming even harder to detect these drugs, so maybe we should just let them go at it? In 2005, the last time Lance Armstrong won le Tour de France, if they stripped every rider who doped of their respective results and awarded 1st place to the next clean rider, the rider would've come in 23rd place. That shows the extent to which professional cyclists are doping more and more in the modern era, and this number is not going to drop, it will only go up as cyclists realise they simply cannot compete at the top level and keep up with every other rider unless they are doping. This unfortunately is the realism of professional cycling. Maybe it is time for everyone to accept it as a necessary part of cycling?

Time For The BlackCaps To Harden Up?

We know the BlackCaps have had a torrid time of it lately, well a few people have, but surely it's time to move on and toughen up a bit, especially given their latest result in Newlands...
Although the treatment of Ross Taylor was beyond poor, and yes we all admit that, New Zealand cricket cannot sit there and feel sorry for themselves any longer otherwise we will continue to get trounced by top tier nations, such as has happened in South Africa.

What Needs To Happen Inside and Outside The Team..

Ross Taylor:

He needs to come back. Simple. Yes he was treated very badly by NZC but Brendon McCullum is the captain now. Ross Taylor can't change that, but what he can change or at least have an impact on, are the teams on field performances. He has to return for the England series, by the time they show up on our doorstep Taylor will have had 3 months away from the game to get himself sorted. I believe that if he chooses not to front up for the England series then he should consider himself dropped from the team and he should have to fully earn his re selection, like every other player in New Zealand.

Martin Guptill:

He needs to start making runs at test level, or the BlackCaps need to pick a new opener. Again, simple. A top score of 13 from his last six test innings is simply unacceptable for any batter, let alone an opener! The fact that he makes big runs in the shorter form of the game cannot justify him remaining in the side at test level. He is no longer a threat to opponents, because they know how to get him out and get him out early! If I was Mike Hesson, I would seriously have my eye out for a new opener.

Team Changing:

Our test team needs to stop changing so often! Look at the top ranked nations and how consistent they are with their selections. That's why they do so well! The BlackCaps however reckon it's pretty reasonable to change the test team every single tour that comes their way and expect partnerships and combinations to form and the team to succeed. We need to consistently keep our team the same, with the exception of injuries of course, and build them up to be able to take on any team. This of course is with exception of particularly bad form i.e Martin Guptill.  

A tougher side will start resulting in a better side. We need to start making tougher selection choices, we need to stop wrapping Ross Taylor in bubble wrap and tell him to hurry up and return to the side. He's not getting the captaincy back, so get over it and get on with the job. That's the harsh reality of it. Yes he was treated incredibly badly, everyone admits that, but what's done is done. Surely time to move on?? Surely given the BlackCaps recent run of results, he'll want to get back in the side just as quickly as New Zealand does?