Hurricanes, Hurricanes...

Go the mighty Hurricanes! Whew, they have just made it into the semi-finals of the 2005 Super 12, finishing fourth on the table. They are the second of the New Zealand teams with the Crusaders qualifying first, followed by Waratahs (Australia) and the Bulls (South Africa). So it will be 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3 in the semis, so the two NZ teams will battle it out next week. I don't hold out too much hope for the Hurricanes as the Crusaders are a real class unit.

Next year the competition will be expanded and will become the Super 14, with a new team added from Australia and South Africa respectively. My concerns with this are related to whether this will mean for these coutries that their talent will be spread a little too thin - especially South Africa, as their other 3 teams were all in the bottom 4!

My pick for the finals will be Crusaders vs. Waratahs, with the Crusaders winning the final.