South Africa get a last chance to finish first in the Super 12 southern hemisphere rugby union championship this year.
The Coastal Sharks have come closest to winning a competition that will be expanded to 14 franchises next year, reaching the 1996 and 2001 finals only to come unstuck against the Auckland Blues and the ACT Brumbies.
PHOTO: AFP
The Golden Cats and Western Stormers (twice each) and Northern Bulls have reached the semifinals in an event dominated by the Blues, Brumbies and Canterbury Crusaders since its inception nine years ago.
PHOTO: AFP
A Stormers squad containing reigning IRB Rugby Player of the Year Schalk Burger is considered to be the strongest South African contender this year, although local optimism is not matched by international bookmakers.
One firm makes them joint sixth favorites with the Bulls at 20-1 and the Sharks and Cats are given even less chance of winning the Super 12 one year after the Springboks captured the Tri-Nations title.
PHOTO: EPA
Allister Coetzee, assistant to Bok coach Jake White, believes one of the four South African challengers can emulate the national team and go all the way.
"I believe two of our teams can reach the semifinals this year. Our players are good enough to be right up there with the best from Australia and New Zealand. We must believe in ovrselves," Coetzee said.
The Stormers and Bulls fit the bill of potential semifinalists while the Sharks will do well to finish in the top half of the table and the Cats' ambitions are even more limited under coach and former Springbok wing Chester Williams.
Burger, fellow Springbok Joe van Niekerk and newcomer Luke Watson form a potentially powerhouse loose trio for the Stormers while centers De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert are streetwise international campaigners.
The biggest worries concern goal kicking, with utility back Gaffie du Toit prone to erratic form, and finding an adequate hooker to replace David Britz, who failed a pre-season drug test.
Much is expected of new Bok center Bryan Habana in the blue strip of the Bulls, although coach Heyneke Meyer sprang a surprise by selecting him on the wing for the season-opening fixture at the Cats today.
Meyer has guided the Bulls to three consecutive Currie Cup titles only to flop on the international stage, claiming just one victory in 22 Super 12 outings. It is a record he will surely improve on this year.
World class locks Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha and workaholic hooker Gary Botha form the backbone of a powerful pack, Habana and center Ettienne Botha are outstanding backs, and fly-half Derick Hougaard a deadly goal kicker.
Fly-half Butch James is back for the Sharks after missing most of the 2004 campaign through injury and Brent Russell is a potential matchwinner with his jinking runs..
Williams won just once last year after inheriting a team struggling under Australian coach Tim Lane and the Cats do have the advantage of five home fixtures before flying to Australasia.
Six nations
England face the unusual scenario of being underdogs in Dublin this weekend but coach Andy Robinson says his ailing world champions have no intention of helping Ireland towards Six Nations triumph.
Ireland have won both their opening games while England have lost theirs, making Sunday's clash at Lansdowne Road something of an about-turn for the two countries.
"The mood is good," Robinson told a news conference at the squad's training base on Wednesday.
"Everyone is very disappointed with what's happened and with the criticism that has been levelled but we are very focused.
"We know we can go to Dublin and win. We are going there to get into their faces. We are not going there to watch Ireland play and be their bridesmaids.
"We plan to do what we did in the first half against France," he said.
Robinson has been clinging on to that opening 40 minutes at Twickenham like a drowning man grabbing a piece of driftwood as he seeks to make some sense of his side's worst start to the Six Nations for 20 years.
Two well-made tries for Olly Barkley and Josh Lewsey helped England to a 17-6 lead over the Six Nations champions by the break but a second-half display badly short of creativity and discipline enabled France to snatch an 18-17 victory.
Robinson and his coaching assistants have identified slow ball as the major problem in England's second half against France and also in their opening defeat by Wales.
"The rucks will be a key battleground," he said. "If we had had quick ball in the last two games, you would have seen a lot more attacking rhythm and flair.
"That's one thing we have been working hard on, generating a blast at the contact area, to make sure we win it dynamically, so no slow ball," he said.
One of the vital men in that role, flanker Lewis Moody, is in danger of missing the Dublin game with a poisoned finger. He was due to go to hospital for treatment later on Wednesday, with Andy Hazell standing by as cover.
Robinson also accepts there will have to be a major improvement in the lineout where he expects Ireland to put his jumpers "under extreme pressure."
"In each game so far, we've missed a number of lineouts and against Wales in some respects that cost us the game -- their only try came from that area," he said.
"It was better against France and will have to go up another notch against Ireland. It will be a huge battle. Look at the way they tore us apart last year. If it doesn't function, we will be in for a torrid time."
The same could apply in the scrum, where England's dominance is becoming a distant memory with each new injury.
The loss of Julian White and Phil Vickery led to Robinson handing a first start to Bath's Matt Stevens, currently a loosehead but with wide experience at tighthead.
"He trains both sides with us and has been progressing well in his scrummaging ability," said Robinson, who otherwise has kept faith with the starting team against France.
South Africa-born Stevens, who has two caps as a replacement, said: "I'm very excited. It's amazing being here and I am going to try to seize the opportunity with both hands."
Flyhalf Charlie Hodgson, whose errant goalkicking display was a major factor in the French defeat, was unconcerned at the widespread media criticism.
"The press have been dwelling on this a lot more than I have," he said. "It would start to worry me if I wasn't striking the ball well but I was.
"I'm disappointed, but you've got to go on. You can't go into a game feeling negative," he said.
Ireland ready
Captain Brian O'Driscoll has returned to the Ireland team after injury for Sunday's Six Nations championship clash with world champions England.
However, his center partner Gordon D'Arcy, who also sustained a hamstring injury in Ireland's opening win over Italy, was left out of the team named by coach Eddie O'Sullivan on Wednesday.
O'Sullivan told a news conference O'Driscoll had come through training sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday without any trouble.
"All the indicators are now he'll be fine," O'Sullivan said.
Speaking of D'Arcy he added: "It's just going to take more time than we thought."
O'Driscoll and D'Arcy both missed the second round 40-13 win over Scotland.
Kevin Maggs has been relegated to the bench in the only change from the Scotland match.
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