KEY POINTS:
Back on February 4, even before a Super 14 ball was kicked, we tried to estimate the finishing order of the 2007 round-robin.
In this, the most difficult series of all to pick (and the one which has set a world record in usage of the word 'reconditioned'), we were partially successful.
Rugby writer Dylan Cleaver and sports editor Paul Lewis both correctly selected three of the four semifinalists to finish in the top four of the round-robin though neither chose the Sharks to finish top after pool play.
Lewis left out the Bulls and Cleaver the Blues from the top four. Both had the Chiefs in the playoffs. Cleaver picked the right finishing order for the Bulls (second) and Crusaders (third). Lewis correctly chose the Brumbies to finish fifth, the Hurricanes eighth and the Reds dead donkey last. The Waratahs (13th) fooled both. This just goes to prove... nothing at all.
HOW THEY DID...
Dylan Cleaver's projected finishing order
Chiefs
Bulls
Crusaders
Sharks
Blues
Waratahs
Hurricanes
Brumbies
Reds
Cheetahs
Highlanders
Stormers
Force
Lions
Actual finishing order
1. Sharks
2. Bulls
3. Crusaders
4. Blues
5. Brumbies
6. Chiefs
7. Force
8. Hurricanes
9. Highlanders
10. Stormers
11. Cheetahs
12. Lions
13. Waratahs
14. Reds
Paul Lewis' projected finishing order
Blues
Sharks
Chiefs
Crusaders
Brumbies
Bulls
Waratahs
Hurricanes
Stormers
Force
Cheetahs
Highlanders
Lions
Reds
