Super rookies to rock
While the Super 14 still has along way to go, the opening weekend did not see many of the much-talked about youngsters living up to their off-field hype.
Instead, it was the seasoned stars that had the biggest impact on the first round games with Brumbies captain Stirling Mortlock the most influential as he spearheaded his team’s come-from-behind-win against the Highlanders.
The indefatigable Richie McCaw was also colossal in the Crusaders’ tough win against the Chiefs and Juan Smith again carried his team’s hopes as they lost to the Lions in Johannesburg. John Smit also displayed fine form in the Sharks' victory at Newlands against the Stormers.
While the presence of experienced players are paramount to any Super 14 title aspirations many youngsters will be hoping to make the most of this year’s southern hemisphere showpiece to establish their own careers.
Waratahs centre Rob Horne was the standout rookie on the weekend as he caused havoc against formidable Hurricanes midfield while the Reds’ Digby Ioane was a shining light in their loss to the Bulls. Brumbies pivot Christian Lealiifano also showed neat touches and he dropped a late goal to seal the win for the Brumbies in Dunedin.
The Highlanders’ Daniel Bowden looks lethal on attack while the Crusaders’ Colin Slade also deserves praise for his composure against the Chiefs in the absence of Dan Carter and Stephen Brett.
The Stormers’ bold experiment with young Nick Koster failed to reach any great heights against the Sharks but Erasmus will need to stick with him to help build his confidence.
What has transpired after Round One is that the Australian franchises leads the race when it comes to producing exciting talent in Super 14 rugby.
Their efforts were also boosted when Robbie Deans took the bold step of including many youngsters in his new-look Wallabies outfit for their year-end tour to the UK in 2008.
The fact that Australia does not have a domestic competition such as the Currie Cup in South Africa or New Zealand's National Provincial Championship, may have caused their dominance in the international rookie department.
Domestic competitions have always been the breeding ground for talent but the Aussies have been forced to test their youngsters on an international stage such as the Super 14.
While the lack of a domestic competition could be viewed as a problem in many top tier rugby countries the Wallabies are likely to benefit from this by the time next World Cup kicks off, as many of these youngsters would then have had plenty of quality international experience.
The Reds may be one of the struggling outfits this year but exciting youngsters such as Quade Cooper, Berrick Barnes, James Horwill , Peter Hynes and Digby Ioane will definitely deliver some entertain play.
Rob Horne showed what he can do against the ‘Canes but the Waratahs also have young guns such as Lachlan Turner, Kurtley Beale, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Sekope Kepu.
The Brumbies rookies include Tyrone Smith, Josh Holmes, flyhalves Matt Toomua and Christian Lealiifano as well as No. 8 Julian Salvi while James O’Connor will get plenty of opportunities with the Force this year.
While Australian teams haven't dominated Super Rugby for some time the Wallabies looks set to benifit as all the above mentioned players are in their early twenties with 18-year-old O’Connor the youngest of the talented crop.
By Ebrahim Moerat
* Do you think having these youngsters in the S14 will benefit the Wallabies? What about SA’s young guns?