SO there you go, who would have thunk it!  The round robin of the SUper 14 over at last, and what a final weekend it was, the top four went through more teams and orders than the local brothel used to on a good Saturday night.  The final shaking out of the blanket, saw the two Boer sides, the Sharks and Bulls finish one and two, with the Crusaders and Blues rounding it out!  That wasn't on the books a month ago, but there you are, that's rugby!!

The Bulls clinically took apart the piss poor Reds to the tune of 92-3 to leap frog them from 4th to 2nd on point difference.  They'll face the Crusaders, who thanks to not being able to win against the Chiefs, at home, lost their home semi final and potential home final positions.  They will not be happy, piles of cash lost, and I think if they had got to play those two games at home, they would have won them.  So along with the piles of cash, a seventh title is down the gurgler.

Personally, I blame Rico Gear for that loss - sure, his partner / wife / whatever had given birth, but FFS, it was 13 hours before the game, the Mrs would probably have been stoked for him to sod off and leave her alone by then, and let her get some bloody rest!  So him not playing, while obviously not really the difference between winning and losing, as the Crusaders pack was shredded by the Chiefs eight on the night.  But, having one more class player on the field might have been the difference between hanging out at home waiting for a semi final and winging your way over 20 hours to Boerland!!

So, Gear to blame for the Crusaders loss, and McAlister to blame for the Blues win, and consequent loss to the Sharks next weekend, as his china glass body is injured again - hammy strain meaning that he will miss the semi with the Sharks. 

Who to blame for Ali Williams acting the goat with the Blues this season after his return from All Black training duty?  A combination of factors, not getting any game time of note would be the main one I am picking.  Then throw in personal problems (he always has these you may say), but apparently he has recently split with his chick, so that'll be adding to the equation too.  Whatever happens, we can but hope that he comes right soon, as a fit and firing Williams is not a bad footy player, and with Eaton and Ryan both out of the RWC, suddenly the RWC locking cupboard is looking a little empty, so we do need this loose unit, and at his best - circa 2005 Lions form would be nice!

The Bulls, I remember slating them over not kicking for goal early in the season, and they lost a bonus point because of it (I know, I hate the bonus point system, but it's there, so use it).  I was hoping that they would miss out on the semi finals by one log point, or by a home semi final because of that!  They didn't though, and are playing some pretty good football at the moment, and would currently be my pick to win the whole shooting box.

However, first they must get past the Crusaders.  They are at home, so that is a bonus, but the Crusaders are the Crusaders!  Six times champions.  Eight times finalists.  Add in the Deans factor, and the fact that Boerland is his personal final frontier, and if any team can beat the rampaging Bulls, it is the Crusaders.  They will need to step up ten fold in the pack though, and hope like hell that Carter is on the field.  A daunting task, but they have faced and beaten these tasks before, half their titles coming away from home.

An enthralling weekend of finals footy coming up, and best results (for Kiwis, obviously!) will see a final in New Zealand in a weeks time.  Can't see that happening though, the Blues wheels have fallen off in the last month, and the Crusaders look to be still shaking the rust from their armour.  The semi finals probably coming a week or two early for their All Blacks to be up to full speed.

So next week.  Sharks hosting the Bulls in a heavyweight slugfest at the fishbowl.  Or whatever it is they call the Sharks home ground...!!

*please use an Irish accent when reading this headline.