Super 14 Round 10

Reds v Bulls: Wow, what a match! This was definately a defining game for the Reds. They simply never let the Bulls settle and ran them ragged. It was an up tempo effort from the Reds that can often come unstuck but mixed with a well excuted game plan, it came off. Self belief was apparent here and a lot has to be contributed to the coaching staff, in particular, Ewen McKenzie. Pats on the opposition heads, Quade Cooper's ungainly kicking style etc look much better when you are winning!

Chiefs v Stormers: Stormers too good and outclassed a struggling, injury ravaged, Chiefs side. If playing at home is an advantage it wasn't apparent here. The Stormers look composed and whenever they attacked they did it with precision. They have quality players from 1 through to 15 and must be title favourites at this stage of the competition. They were running rampant and few were more impressive than towering second rower, Andries Bekker. He has improved every week and his ball skills, support play, lineout work, work rate etc were outstanding. Not far behind him was the impressive Schalk Burger and number 8, Duane Vermeulen. Sione Lauaki tried hard for the Chiefs but he needs to run hard and straight more often to get the Chiefs on the front foot. Also impressive was fullback for the Chiefs, Tim Nanai-Williams.

Hurricanes v Brumbies: What a horrible first half it was in a game that never rose to any great heights. The Hurricanes in grey always play worse and I don't know what it is about that colour but it doesn't do them any favours aka All Blacks v France, 2007 World Cup Quarter Final. Surely there is a better alternative than grey? There is nothing to report on the first half except that Victor Vito imposed his physical presence and stood out in this dreary affair. In case you missed it, the Hurricanes won.

Blues v Force: The Force were suprisingly absent in this game ie they were there in body but not in spirit. Surprising, because they had shown improvement in their last 2 games but perhaps the Eden Park hoodoo that haunts the Wallabies, had an effect. In contrast, the hot and cold Blues were hot and showed what they are capable of. I still believe too many players are out of position in this Blues backline and coupled with changes from week from week they are sruggling to get any consistency. And, what's with the beards? In my day...aahhh forget it.

Crusaders v Cheetahs: Crusaders were cruising in this one and hardly got out of 2nd gear to topple the lowly placed Cheetahs. No real threat here and although the Cheetahs tried hard an upset was never on the cards. Something to look out for is the impressive Crusaders defensive qualities. Scoring a try against the Crusaders is like getting blood from a stone. Could this be their trump card leading into finals? Thomas Waldron ran hard all night although often undoes his hard work by losing the ball in the tackle.

Lions v Sharks: Quite an intense game considering these were 2 lowly placed teams. An improved showing from the Lions but not enough to keep the Sharks at bay. The Lions are in some desperate need of structure and until they do, will continue to strugggle. Carlos Spencer's move to fullback added some spark and he played his hand in a couple of Lion's tries but it wasn't enough. The Sharks were steady without being great and unfortunately have left their run too late to make the finals.