KEY POINTS:
Glory years: 1992, 2006.
2006 finish: 1st (W10 D1 L1), beat Wellington 37-31 in final.
Best result: 37-31 victory over Wellington in final.
Worst result: 24-21 defeat by Otago in Dunedin.
Dearly departed: Loki Crichton, David Hill, Sean Hohneck, Scott Linklater, Roger Randle.
Crocked: Richard Kahui.
Holidaying in France: Byron Kelleher, Brendon Leonard, Mils Muliaina, Keith Robinson, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Sione Lauaki.
New kids on the block: Vern Kamo, Mark Burman, Roimata Hansell-Pune, Watene Waenga, Jackson Willison, James Kamama.
Shooting star: Lauaki's World Cup call-up should see blockbusting No 8 Steven Setephano get his chance after waiting in the wings for the last few seasons.
Old stagers: Marty Holah and Jono Gibbes probably bleed red, yellow and black stripes. Between them they've clocked up over 100 games for the province and, much to the annoyance of Mooloo fans, have been snubbed by almost as many All Blacks coaches.
Coaches count: Warren Gatland has signed an extension that will keep him at the Waikato helm until at least 2009. The most successful coach in the comp, with last year's Air NZ Cup, three English Premierships, a European Cup and a few test victories with Ireland under his belt. Impressive.
Quirks of the draw: Second in line for a shield challenge but will have to defend against Canterbury and Wellington if they take the Log off Harbour. Home: Southland, Counties, Canterbury, Wellington, Northland. Away: Manawatu, Auckland, North Harbour (RS), Tasman, Hawkes Bay. Not playing: Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Otago.
Scouting report
Pre-season campaign provided little reason to dance in the streets, with a 38-38 draw with Wellington followed by a shock 29-12 home defeat by Taranaki. A come-from-behind, six-tries-to-three 43-26 victory at Bay of Plenty was an improvement but, having conceded an average of 31 points per match pre-season, the defending champs head into the season proper with a backline defence that appears easy to breach.
Prospects
With the most successful coach in the comp and a couple of players who'd be on World Cup duty had they hailed from anywhere else in the world, the defending champs will again be tough to beat. Biggest potential weakness looks to be the backline, where the loss of All Blacks Sitiveni Sivivatu, Mils Muliaina and Byron Kelleher - and the meteoric rise of backup halfback Brendon Leonard - has left the cupboard looking as bare as Mel Gibson's buttocks in Lethal Weapon I. Will need to stay healthy to have any chance of defending the title and could be an injury to first-five Stephen Donald away from a season of toil.
Prediction: Third. Lacking the gamebreakers to go back-to-back.
