Bit's & Pieces

Place Your Bets. 500 days until the 2011 Rugby WC and NZ are favourites...no surprises there! They are considered favourites leading into every WC but always seem to come unstuck. There are many different reasons why but 1of them has to do with cycles. Often it depends on peaking at the right time. Do you go for youth and build toward the cup or just wait and see and pick the best team available at the time? Or do you go for a mixture and blend youth with experience? That's what makes it interesting. NZ are somewhere in between. They have a lot of senior players in the twilight of their careers and whether they can hold on or not remains to be seen.

Living in America. What is it with the way we are describing Super 14 Rugby these days? The finals are now called 'Playoffs' and according to Australian CEO, John O'Neil, the 3 countries involved are 'Conferences.'

Please Explain? Something needs to be done with the state of the Rugby Jumpers...it's getting out of hand. I am a little old fashioned but some of them are pretty ordinary. I appreciate they have to mix up the colours to prevent a clash and teams have alternate strips for away games but it's looking more and more like a circus. There are bright oranges, greys, all white, all red etc and are looking less like traditional rugby jumpers everyday. The other problem is that I feel there are too many teams for 1 competition. Next year there will be 1 more taking the total up to 15. Where do you draw the line without diluting the product if it hasn't been already? Also, what colour are they going to wear that hasn't already been taken?

Bonus Point. Finally, I am a fan of the bonus point system but I don't think they should count more than a win. Let me explain. Last year, the Warratahs ended up 5th on the ladder and hence missed out on the finals. However, they actually had a team finish above them, that had less wins, because of the bonus point system. The team that has the most wins should always finish higher regardless. That's what you play for, a win. A win should always trump. The only time the bonus point system should count is when 2 or more teams have equal number of wins. It's just not right under the current system!