Super 14

This week I bring a different spin on the Whats Hott In NZ.

Super 14 Rugby is "Whats Hott" at the moment. With the semifinals beginning and two of the NZ clubs squaring off against eachother the tension can be cut with a knife.

This Saturday night at 1935 the Hurricanes will face the Crusaders. The Hurricanes are the number 4 seed and represent Wellington region. The Crusaders are the number 1 seed and they represent the Canterbury region. Hurricanes stand to represent the North Island and Crusaders stand to represent the South Island.

The two teams have already met this year. The Crusaders won the first match, it was a long tough fight back in the middle of the season. Both teams have grown and evolved since then. This should be a great matchup.

The other semifinal is Waratahs against the Sharks. Both teams are not from NZ so at the moment NZ doesnt care about that match.

Super 14

The Super 14 is the largest rugby union football club championship in the southern hemisphere, consisting of four state teams from Australia (Queensland/Reds, New South Wales/Waratahs, ACT/Brumbies, and Western Australia/Force), five NZ franchises, each of which is comprised by a number of provinces (the resulting teams are based in Auckland/Blues, Hamilton/Chiefs, Wellington/Hurricanes, Christchurch/Crusaders, and Dunedin/Highlanders), and five teams from South Africa(Free State/Cheetahs, Western Cape/Stormers, Kwazulu Natal/Sharks, Gauteng/Lions, Northern Gauteng/Bulls). The fourteen sides all play against one another once in the regular season, with no divisional or pool system. With each team granted one bye week, this phase of the competition runs for fourteen weeks.

The teams are ranked according to the number of competition points they accrue throughout the season. Competition points are awarded as follows: - 4 for winning a match - 2 for drawing a match Additional Bonus Points are awarded as follows: - 1 Bonus Point for scoring four or more tries in a match - 1 Bonus Point for losing by seven or fewer points

The teams in the top four places on the competition ladder after the regular season enter the two-week knockout phase of the tournament. Two semi-finals (in which the top-ranked team hosts the fourth, and second-ranked hosts the third) are contested to decide the two finalists, which is played at the highest ranked winners' home ground, as opposed to a pre-selected neutral venue.

The current competition was inaugurated in 1996, and from the first season through to 2005, the competition was known as Super 12; the name change came about following the expansion for the 2006 season. The term Super Rugby is sometimes used when talking about the Super 14 and Super 12 collectively. Matches are now broadcast in 41 countries.

The Hurricanes are my favorite teams. For obvious reasons but most importantly because they are good. If you dont know the obvious reason then read the URL to my webpage and the lightbulb should turn on.

The Hurricanes are one of the original Super Rugby Teams. Representing the lower part of the North Island, the Wellington Hurricanes got their name from a play on the city's nickname. "Windy Wellington" The Hurricanes feature several All Black players.

My favorite Hurricane is Rodney So’oialo, he is a blockbusting No 8 with the size, speed and skill to play anywhere in the back row. Renowned for his exceptional fitness. He is the captain of the Hurricanes and leads the team on the field.

If I can stand up to the Crusaders I know that the Hurricanes will have no problems taking care of business.

This past Friday night I went to my first Rugby game. We had awesome tickets, mid field down on the field level. It was a great night for Rugby. The Hurricanes were visiting Auckland and playing the Blues. It was a great atmosphere. Even tho the Hurricanes lost it was a great game. The Blues edged the Hurricanes 19-17, but great action made the game so much fun. Here is the number one highlight from the game.

Hope you all enjoy that about Rugby and do a little more research on your own. I will keep you posted on how the semifinals go.