The Super 14 Season Is Underway

As many parts of Australia struggle through its hottest summer in recent memory the Super 14 season kicks off this weekend. This is a contentious issue that will continue to plague Rugby in this part of the world. Should we be placing the safety of players at risk just so we have a perfect schedule of international rugby right in the heart of winter? It was only a few years ago that some of the New Zealand teams threatened to boycott the early games at this time of the year, if conditions were considered unsafe for players.
The answer to this dilemma is a hard one. In fact in many ways it's impossible. As long as no one collapses through heat exhaustion then the competition will continue as planned and no one will ask too many questions. It would, however, be a shame if it took an incident like that to happen before the powers stopped to think about the ramifications of such an early start to the season.
For what it's worth I think that rugby is one game where there is too much pressure placed on its players. Top players are expected to play Super 14 and international matches and then even club rugby if they have any time off. This is too much to ask, the powers that be should be looking at ways to reduce the work load. The crazy thing is that some international games see second rate teams take the field as the countries rest their players. Test match rugby is what makes the game special and it should be protected at all costs.
The opening round looks to have some great matchups and I am sure we will get some good games regardless of the heat. Sportsbet.com.au will have markets on all games and there should be some good early betting to take advantage of. My line bets of the week are; Brumbies, Lions, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Sharks, Western Force and the Bulls. My bet of the round is the Brumbies who should be better this year with a more credentialed coach and a more stable line up.

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