I’ve found tipping on this year’s Super 14 tournament to be a nightmare. So last week, I was thrilled to pick as my bonus point victory the Sharks to defeat the Cheetahs, even though they were playing away from home.

It looked all so easy: the top-table side with seven wins would bolt home against a side with no wins and only two tournament points.

It’s history now that the Cheetahs thrashed the Sharks.

The manner of victory was so convincing, with the Cheetahs getting bonus points for four tries, that watching the match, you’d have been hard pressed to work out which was the top side in the tournament and which was the bottom side.

This is the tightest Super 14 tournament, in my opinion.

It seems possible that any one of nine teams – from the Brumbies, Crusaders and Highlanders on 22 points, the Blues 23, the Hurricanes 24, the Waratahs, Bulls and Chiefs 27 and the Sharks 30 – are potential finals teams.

Making this battle at the top of the table even tighter is the fact that the Sharks and the Waratahs are the only sides in this top nine that have yet to have a bye. So, in theory, at least they are even closer to the back of top pack than their points really indicate.

Chris Hickey reckoned some weeks ago that 40 points would guarantee a team a finals position.

For the Sharks and the Waratahs, there are four games and a total of 20 points available. Bonus points in two winning games, or three victories out of four, or two wins and two losing bonus points games, will fit the bill for these teams.

The other members of the top pack have 25 points available to them.

A series of strong performances will be crucial for teams, therefore, wanting to be the top-four breaking away from the pack at the end of ther tournament.

This large dollop of points might have been behind Colin Cooper’s thinking when the Hurricane’s coach predicted that the Western Force, although only on 19 points, were certainties for the finals.

I got an interesting email from a rugby fan a couple of days ago which suggests how the margin between the teams is so thin that a bit of faulty, careless time-keeping, perhaps, might make or break a season.

“Did you happen to note the time keeping during the Western Force game on Friday night? Twice in the latter stages of the game, the time-keepers forgot to restart the clock when play recommenced. The first time was around the 65th minute mark and the second time was about the 73rd minute, when play went from one scrum to another without the clock restarting. The full-time hooter went off when the clock hit 80 minutes, but there were about two minutes of extra time played from those two instances alone.

“I only noticed it as the game was so tight and I found myself watching the time clock. By my reckoning, the game should have finished a lot earlier and, if so, the result might have been quite different.”

Aside from issues like this, another complicating factor has been the use of non-neutral referees.

It’s not as if the referees are biased or anything like that. But teams are more comfortable playing with local referees.

On occasions this season I’ve seen even a bit of jocularity between the local referee and the local team.

As one Roarer noted early on, it’s a matter of justice being seen to be done. Virtually all modern major sports have moved to having neutral referees.

This is to ensure that favouritism or bias can’t be raised against a referee.

I’ve no doubt that several teams have played better with a local referee than with a neutral referee, or when the referee is a local of their opponent.

We can do, and should do, without these complications.

Victor Matfield, after winning most of the Waratahs lineout throws, made the point that the Bulls victory against the Waratahs was worth a ‘double win’ because the Bulls and the Waratahs were head-to-head virtually for a finals position.

This tenth round of the 2009 Super 14 is chockers with ‘double win’ games.

The Blues Vs Highlanders at Eden Park, for instance, will take one of these teams out of the running you’d think. But which team?

The Blues are a strong team at Eden Park and they’re the top scoring side in the tournament. But then, the Highlanders are one of the better defensive sides.

Brumbies Vs Bulls at Canberra is another double win game.

On form you’d have to go for the Bulls. But the Brumbies have something like an 85 percent winning record against South African teams at Canberra. It’s a question of the fluid play of the Brumbies against the simple, muscular play of the Bulls, who will be without their enforcer Bakkies Botha, which will be a big loss for them.

Onto the Hurricanes Vs Stormers at Wellington.

The Hurricanes are the most exasperating team in the tournament. The talent is there, but this side makes so many stupid plays that they give stupid plays a bad name.

They are easily rattled and the selection of Piri Weepu at first five-eighth instead of halfback actually weakens the side rather than strengthens it.

But then, they are at home and did score two tries against the Force in about three minutes to snatch an exciting victory for them.

Reds Vs Lions at Brisbane is the one match in the round where only bragging rights are involved. I’d think that the Reds will carve up the Lions, the way they threatened to do early on against the Highlanders before lapsing into a sort of rugby reverie.

Waratahs Vs Force at Sydney is a match that is crucial for the faint hopes of the Force and important but not crucial, yet, for the Waratahs.

At times, the Force have looked the best of the Australian sides and the Waratahs the worst. But their points tally does not reflect any of this.

You’d have to think that the Waratahs, with 10 wins from the last 11 matches at the SFS, will overpower the Force in the forwards and the backs, finally, will score a couple of tries.

The Waratahs were tryless last week for the first time since in early 2007, which is as worry.

Cheetahs Vs Chiefs at Kimberley promises to be an enthralling match.

The Chiefs can murder sides, but they can, too, be weak in the scrum and lineouts. The Cheetahs have a terrific lineout when Juan Smith is playing, as they demonstrated last week. They’re at home, but the game is a day match, which should suit the Chiefs’ flamboyant style of play.

Sharks Vs Crusaders at Durban is a crunch match for the Crusaders. You’d have to think that they need to win to stay in touch with the top teams. The Sharks will be playing at home, but coming off a thrashing.

So we’ve reach crunch time for the top teams. But the beauty of this year’s tournament is that any result is possible.

I don’t see any game where it is clear that one side can’t possibly lose.

Luckily, journalists are prophets of the past and we’ll be very precise about why certain results went a certain way. But this will have to wait until next Monday.

For now, we know it’s crunch time, but for which teams?

Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.