Super 12 competition result

There must be something in the water up there in Northland - as the two people who topped the adidas Herald on Sunday Super 12 competition both hail from the winterless North. Will Whyte, of beautiful Matauri Bay, and Sam Cross, of Kerikeri, were the two who finished with five franchises correctly placed after 12 rounds of the round-robin phase of the Super 12.

Will Whyte correctly selected the finishing places of the Brumbies (fifth), the Highlanders (eighth) and the three last place-getters - the Reds (10th), the Cats (11th) and the Sharks (12th).

Sam Cross selected the finishing places of the Crusaders (first), the Hurricanes (fourth), the Chiefs (sixth), the Highlanders and the Reds.

But, although the two tied on five correct placings each, the judges had no hesitation in awarding the prize - a selection of Super 12 clothing of the franchise of the winner's choice (availability permitting) - to Sam.

While Will had three of the top four franchises in his top four, they were all out of order and four of his five correct selections were in the last eight.

Meanwhile, Sam correctly picked two of the top four and also had three of the first six and four of the first eight.

The judges felt it was more difficult to pick the top end of the table than the bottom this year and plumped for Sam's entry on that basis.

In addition, he had the Waratahs highly placed (at fifh) in his entry and would have scored even higher had he picked the Sharks and the Cats the other way round at the foot of the table.

"I can't say I used any special formula or thinking in my selections," said Sam, aged 18, and now a management student at Waikato University. "I just chose them from the form from last year."

With the family home in Kerikeri and a university in the Waikato, we could expect Sam to be a Blues or a Chiefs supporter. But no: "I'm a Hurricanes fan, really. That is where the family originally come from and I've always followed them."

For many entrants, the last-round movements of the teams flummoxed most, including those of the leaders of recent weeks.

Few people out of the hundreds of entries had the Bulls at third - although several had them at fourth - and very few had the Blues at seventh or lower, another example of the high expectations for this franchise.

So the Waratahs, the Bulls and the Blues were the sides that threw most people off.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY