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Greetings and welcome to the second instalment of my Super Rugby series. Thank you all for taking the time to comment and vote on the Sharks thread.
Here is the final Sharks XV selected
FULLBACK – Andre Joubert
WINGS – JP Pietersen and Stefan Terblanch (James Small out)
CENTRES – Francois Steyn and Adrian Jacobs (Honiball to first five and Pieter Muller out)
FIRST FIVE – Henry Honiball (Butch James out)
HALFBACK – Ruan Pienaar (sigh-Kevin Putt out)
NUMBER 8 – Gary Teichmann (c)
FLANKERS – AJ Venter and Bob Skinstad (Willem Alberts out)
LOCKS – Mark Andrews and Johann Muller
PROPS – Adrian Garvey and Tendai Mtawariri (Jannie du Plessis out)
HOOKER – Bismarck du Plessis
I was going to run through all of the South African teams first but thought I would try and break things up a little instead.
Today’s team is the Reds who are based in Brisbane, out of the Sunshine State of Queensland and possess arguably one of the more parochial fan-bases in Super Rugby.
The Reds started off the first season of professional Super Rugby as a title contender having won the last two instalments of the amateur Super 10 in 1994 and 1995.
This looked to be the case finishing top of the table upon completion of the round robin in 1996, but unfortunately they would go on to lose the semi-final to the then Natal Sharks.
During the balance of the Super 12 and Super 14 formats the Reds would only feature in the playoffs twice more in 1999 and 2001, bowing out on both occasions in the semi-finals.
It was fair to say the Reds were quite inconsistent between 1996 and 2010 and after scrolling through the players available I would suggest an under achieving franchise overall during this period of Super Rugby.
However the advent of Super Rugby would bring better fortunes to the franchise and in 2011 the Reds snared their first and to this point only professional Super Rugby title defeating the Crusaders at Suncorp Stadium.
They have not gone on to add to the trophy cabinet as yet but have made the playoffs in 2012 and 2013.
2014 shapes as another year of promise for the Reds who in my eyes look the best of the Australian Conference and I would be very surprised to not see them feature again in the finals of 2014.
Alright, let’s get voting and debating.
To recap on the rules:
• Players that have played for two or more teams will be eligible for the team they have earned the most caps for
• I will change my selections based on receiving three or more votes received for an alternative – any potential stalemates will be decided by the player with the most international caps
Just quickly, can I ask that you post your own preferences where they differ from my own, just makes it a bit easier in the wash up!
Here are my selections for the all-time Reds Super Rugby.
Reds All Time XV
FULLBACK – Chris Latham
WINGS – Ben Tune and Digby Ioane
CENTRES – Tim Horan and Jason Little
FIRST FIVE – Quade Cooper
HALFBACK – Will Genia
NUMBER 8 – Totai Kefu
FLANKERS – David Wilson and Scott Higgenbotham
LOCKS – John Eales (c) and Nathan Sharpe
PROPS – Dan Crowley and James Slipper
HOOKER – Michael Foley
What do you think Roarers, agree or disagree? If you don’t, please post your preferred selections below.
The next team we will be looking at are the Mighty Highlanders!
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.