From what you have seen at the weekend, will the Air NZ Cup be worth watching?
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KEY POINTS:
Assuming they'd been able to sleep at all, rugby followers in the Deep South could have been forgiven for peeking out of their windows before getting out of bed this morning to make sure the sky hadn't fallen.
Such an event would have been fairly minor compared to
the seismic shift they witnessed over the weekend when the New Zealand rugby landscape appeared to have been significantly altered, perhaps permanently.
Otago's record 68-7 trousering by Wellington and Southland's first defeat by Hawkes Bay in 13 years suggests the rejigged national provincial championship may have taken a giant step towards its stated aim of creating a more even competition. That said, the other 12 teams in the competition might well be stretched to lower themselves to the southern duo's level.
Between then, the two major partners in the Highlanders franchise shipped 108 points over the weekend while scoring just 20.
Shannon Paku would have a more testing time negotiating the aisles of his local supermarket than he had sauntering through the half-hearted clutches of half the Otago team on his way to a 70m try on Friday night.
Replacement Wellington hooker Dane Coles was equally as untroubled shrugging off the fact he hasn't yet reached puberty to cross for two debut tries during the 10 minutes he was on the field.
Southland, sporting a backline of players who seemingly possess feet for hands, turned the ball over 27 times against a vastly improved Hawkes Bay.
Perhaps the most worrying thing for Otago and Southland is that, on the evidence of the first round of matches in this Air New Zealand Cup, they are the only teams that appear to have gone backwards. And we're talking way, way backwards here. Pre-continental drift backwards.
Having failed to beat Northland, North Harbour could perhaps question that. But Harbour at least have a long-term plan and can point to giving youth a chance.
Otago and Southland seem to have chosen to give the physically impaired a chance. Quite how they'll drag together a Super 14 side out of that lot is anybody's guess.
Elsewhere, it was better news for the "minor" unions.
Last season Manawatu just managed 10 tries in nine games. In Thursday's competition opener, they scored two of sublime quality against the defending champions and actually led for about eight minutes. They might not be top-eight material, but they showed enough to suggest they should win a game or two this season - probably against Otago and Southland. For a team that managed a solitary draw last year, that's progress.
Tasman were the only team Taranaki beat last year (twice) and, while the Makos never seriously threatened to turn the tables at the Bread Bin (Yarrow Stadium), they at least showed a merged Nelson/Blenheim side can hold its own in an expanded top division.
Quite why Rico Gear didn't see fit to help out the Southerners is anyone's guess. It might be he was still busy putting all the toys back in his cot following last Sunday's All Blacks squad announcement.
Then there was Counties-Manukau and Bay of Plenty, who managed to hold Goliaths Auckland and Canterbury to halftime draws.
The Steelers may have fallen away in the second half against an All Black-laden Auckland side but they did enough to show they can hold their own in fairly illustrious company. They scrummaged well, had a sound defensive pattern and strung together multiple phases on attack.
As for the Steamers, they took a typically dogged approach to their work that gave the Red and Blacks a few nervous moments.
Oddly enough, if the Steamers had showed a bit more steel and the Steelers hadn't run out of steam, then both sides could have pulled off shock wins.
Regardless, they both achieved meritorious results in the big boys' backyards.
All up, you'd have to rate the first weekend of the competition a success, although they probably don't see it that way in the Deep South.
The plight of the southerners is a real concern. When levelling out a competition the preferred method is to raise the standard of the lesser teams rather than bringing everyone down to the lowest common denominator.
Unfortunately for Otago and Southland, that lowest common denominator appears to be them.
