Drivers, start your engines

Well, the moment we were all waiting for came this last Friday night as Super 15 took off at last.

The opening weekend delivered a mixed bag of results, some surprising, some thrilling and some just down-right shocking.

You know you're in a bit of trouble when you're at a game and the crowd is cheering - for the Mexican wave! Yes, I was at AAMI Park and the result was doleful. But the first 20 minutes were great!

Then the Rebels seemed to forget that this was full halves rugby - rather than the 20 minute quarters played in each of the trial games - and got a bit confused. I'm not entirely sure the forwards really came back on the field in the second half, the lights may have been on but it didn't look like anyone was home as the Waratahs completely out-muscled the pack and took control of the scrum.

Scrum Trouble. Seemed to be the order of the day virtually across the board.

The Cheetahs had an absolute shocker, going early in their first 3 scrums against the Sharks (who then got a little over-eager themselves) and then pinged a few times for putting a hand on the deck. The Lions had similar issues at times against the Bulls.

The Crusaders/Blues game was a thing of beauty - pity about the result (I may need to re-think the stream of conscious tweets during games I'm going to get fired up about, although at the time I felt BASTARDS was totally called for).

If you could indulge me for a moment, if stats aren't your thing scroll down now, have a think about this: 

Only 8 handling errors - combined - through the whole match.
(The stats don't lie: Blues v Crusaders, New Zaeland Herald, 21 February 2011, www.herald.co.nz)

I know the Sharks/Cheetahs (and the Bulls/Lions) had issues when their pill turned into a bar of soap, but the Chiefs had no such excuse, and they absolutely butchered at least 3 certain tries through poor ball handling.

First round picks are usually a bit of a stab in the dark. No no, I'm not trying to make excuses, honest.

But you kinda have to go in sight unseen on a lot of teams and make your pick based on last year's form, when some teams have changed quiet substantially.

The Highlanders surprised me - helped a little by Nonu's brain explosion. Yes, Jimmy Cowan milked it, but I still think it was a fair cop.

I thought the Rebels would have been a lot closer, I definitely expected them to score. They played much better in the trial game against the Crusaders and I'm sure they will be looking at both those games very closely in the build up to Friday night's clash with the Brumbies.

Damn Blues.

I was lucky with the Brumbies - the Chiefs look like being their own worst enemies again this season, and spot on with the Sharks.

The Bulls should have accounted for the Lions much more easily than they did. But now they've had a nasty scare which, unfortunately, will probably only make them more dangerous.

The Reds/Force was a bit of a lucky dip. Apparently I couldn't even remember my own guess and seemed to have picked both, in different picking comps. That's a first.

My game of the round for Round 2 is: Sharks vs Blues.
Both played very physical games against their first round opponents, and, although they couldn't show it this weekend, I think the Sharks are keen to play open, running rugby so we could be in for a cricket score.

If you can't be bothered to wait up, Hurricanes vs Crusaders is always a goodie.

So, now we're underway. Already commentators are talking up the fact that its a World Cup year and players will be putting their hands up for selection. I think its a bit early for that kind of chatter. Let's take it one thing at a time, and enjoy what's in front of us.

All-in-all its going to be a long season, and I can't wait.