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S Africans embrace Super 14 challenge

All Black flyhalf Daniel Carter runs through a new resistance training machine during a team conditioning session in Wellington, New Zealand, yesterday. Carter is one of 22 All Blacks who is skipping the first seven rounds of the Super 14. PHOTO: AP

Super 14 rugby will test the resilience of its new pecking order when the sixth round begins today.

After years of underachievement, South African teams have placed themselves among the top of the standings after a strong start to the season.

New Zealand sides -- in the absence of 22 All Blacks -- have come to occupy the mediocre middle ground, while the Australian teams, winless in the last two rounds, have fallen back to bicker near the foot of the table.

The resurgent Lions, formerly the underperforming Cats, have come to epitomize the improvement in the South African franchises in this World Cup year. They lie third on the championship table after last week's 26-20 win over the Queensland Reds, sandwiched between the unbeaten Sharks and the Bulls in a South African bloc which holds three of the top-four places.

In the past, South African teams have been let down by poor discipline, an inability to adapt to changing trends and an inclination to be one-dimensional. The South African sides in this year's competition are notable for the broad spectrum of their styles, for their sound tactical policies and their adaptability.

Most notably, however, the South African franchises have mastered the skill of winning away from home. While the Sharks' unbeaten record has been based around a beneficial home draw, the Lions have won twice in Australia and the Bulls broke a long-standing hoodoo when they beat the ACT Brumbies last week in Canberra.

Nor are the south Africans resting on their laurels. Their emphasis this season has been on steady and continuous improvement.

New Zealand still holds the top place on the championship table through the Auckland Blues, who lead the Sharks and Lions by two points and meet the Lions at Auckland on Saturday.

The other New Zealand teams will attempt in round six to perform more creditably than they managed in round five. The Hurricanes, second entering the round, lost to the last-placed Stormers and now face the Western Force in Perth, a ground on which the Force have never won.

The Otago Highlanders play the Reds, seeking to recover momentum lost in last week's heavy loss to the Blues, while the Chiefs and Crusaders return from South Africa to lick their wounds during sixth-round byes.

The Australian teams have more to prove. No Australian team has managed a win in the last two rounds of the competition and the Aussies have won only two games in three rounds.
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