It's here - well, almost! The new Super Rugby tournament is closer to lift-off as fifteen teams prepare to battle it out for southern hemisphere rugby's biggest inter-provincial prize. An extra team thrown into the mix means added fixtures which means the length of the competition in 2011 will increase from 16 weeks to 21 due to the forthcoming Rugby World Cup later this year (however during non-World Cup years, the length of the competition will be 24 weeks).
The 2011 season gets underway in Wellington on February 18 and continues for another mind-boggling 16 rounds before the knock-out stages climax in the final on July 9. That is virtually six months of non-stop rugby! Or as the missus put it, a divorce waiting to happen.
So how the heck does the new competition all work? It's been the topic of many conversations around barbeques and braais Down Under and in South Africa respectively, with the same blank look on everyone's faces afterwards - I for one refuse to explain it to my mother-in-law again. Though, in saying that, I don't think she knew how it worked last year either. So in a nutshell, here we go:
Conferences
The fifteen teams are divided into three conferences (each with five teams) representing their respective countries: Australia (Brumbies, Force, Rebels, Reds, Waratahs); New Zealand (Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders and Hurricanes) and South Africa (Bulls, Cheetahs, Lions, Sharks, Stormers).
Each team's aim is to win their conference!
Round-robin
Each team will play the others in their conference on a home and away basis (eight derby games). They will also play four teams in each of the other two conferences, four home and four away, in a similar way to how it worked in the Super 14. That gives a total of 16 games, although by only playing four of the five teams in cross-coference matches, the Cheetahs for instance won't meet the Force or the Chiefs in group play this year. It's the quirk of the draw.
This means each team will play 12 of its 16 regular-season games within its own country - with only four matches overseas.
Play-offs
Ok, this is when it gets a bit tricky!
There are now four tables to watch.
Each conference (country) has its own 'internal' table whereby the top team in each advances to the six-team play-off series. Then there is an overall table, which encompasses all 15 teams (like what we had last year) and from which the next-best teams - regardless of which conference they come from, will gain wildcard entry into the knock-out stages.
The top two teams, in terms of log points, will have a bye in the first week of the play-offs while the other four play in two 'quarter-finals'.
The two winners of the 'quarter-final' games advance to a semi-final to play the two highest-ranked teams. The final will be contested at the venue of the highest ranked team to reach the final.
Get it?
Australia:
Australian sides have just two titles in the 15 years of Super Rugby and there is little expectation that will change in this season's southern hemisphere championship.
The established trio of the Waratahs, Reds and Brumbies hold Australia's title hopes for this season's expanded Super 15 series, but it's newcomers - the Melbourne Rebels - who will dominate the early interest.
That means the Western Force are no longer Super Rugby's youngest franchise and results are dearly needed for the Perth-based team.
New Zealand:
Which New Zealand team might emerge from the internecine rivalries of conference play to challenge for the tournament title is not easy to predict.
The Crusaders - crowned Super Rugby champions seven times - are typically strong, and have more All Blacks on its roster than other teams. However they may therefore face more pressure to balance the workload of those players with the World Cup ahead, affecting its selection and combinations.
The Blues have talent but not depth, leaving them vulnerable to injuries. The Hurricanes, under new coach Mark Hammett, the Chiefs and Highlanders will also depend on the regular availability of All Blacks to be competitive but all three teams traditionally lack consistency.
South Africa:
For a third Super Rugby triumph in a row - and a fourth in five years - the Bulls will have to hold off an extended challenge at home with the new-look national conferences.
It means more local derbies. In South Africa, that means more bruising, physical encounters - which could have repercussions for the national team in rugby's most important year.
They face stiff challenges from the Stormers - last year's runners-up - as well as the Sharks, a team hungry to build on a domestic Currie Cup title and capture an elusive Super Rugby title.
Then there's the Cheetahs and the Lions - two teams that relishes its constant underdog status.
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