Why is it that the Super 14 hasn't had me biting my nails until the last round of games?
Talk about passion, moments of individual brilliance and flair, controversial referee calls, and intensely close games.
Trust the three Cs (Chiefs, Crusaders, Canes) to scrape through to the semis like they did. I actually got excited by the Super 14 rugby.
Better late than never, I suppose.
Some players had a blinder in terms of point-scoring.
The two Donalds, as in Steven Donald and Leon MacDonald, stepped up to the mark in particular.
Piri Weepu's post-try victory dance, for instance, was worth a giggle and has been described by many as a cross between line-dancing and the haka.
What was he trying to do? Weepu explained that he was trying to do the soulja boy dance as a tribute to a popular American rapper.
Upon this confession I checked out youtube footage of the same dance.
If you want to see what the dance is meant to look like, check out the soulja boy kids doing the dance much better than Piri!
He gets my vote, though, for showing a bit of flair and humour in an intense match and despite Ma'a Nonu's bear hug, he threw caution to the wind and gave it a crack, which is what he'll have to do to beat the Chiefs.
Now, back to the serious business of rugby.
How will the New Zealand teams go in the semis? At least we're guaranteed to have a team in the finals.
The Chiefs will more than likely be without Richard Kahui, Brendon Leonard and Ben May which will make it difficult for them to repeat the win of a few weeks ago against the Hurricanes.
However, the Hurricanes are known as chokers and to counter this the Chiefs have empha-sised in media interviews their mental toughness.
So it will be brawn v brain in Hamilton on Friday night.
My money is on brawn to win, although my Waikato roots will be more than pleased if they prove me wrong.
In terms of mental toughness, the Crusaders will have to invoke Dr Hannibal coolness to deal with the Bulls on their home turf.
Having been to South Africa, I've seen how passionate they can be about rugby and it takes a brave side to go over there and beat the Bulls in their own ring.
Of course, that is what makes the Crusaders team a class act.
They are cool, calm and collected under pressure and, if they can block out the screaming fans, testosterone-laden Bulls players, and intensity of the occasion, they could castrate the Bulls at the final gate.
Let's hope MacDonald and Stephen Brett have been practising their drop-kicks because I'm sure a drop-kick will be the nail in the coffin for one of the teams.
I'm chuffed that there are no Australian sides in the semis. It feels like redemption for the thrashing the Kangaroos gave the Kiwis in the Anzac test.
And what happens to the New Zealand teams that didn't make the semis? What do they do now?
The Blues will go back to the Bombay Hills licking their wounds, and the Highlanders will retreat to the lowlands to assess their season.
The highlight for the Highlanders, in my opinion, was their win against the Bulls in Palmerston North - an awesome achievement when you consider that the Bulls ended up top of the table.
The Manawatu crowd also enjoyed the opportunity to don blue buckets in support of their new-found surrogate franchise.
And what will happen to Super rugby now that Sanzar has agreed that another team will be included for the 2010 season?
How will that impact on the Air NZ cup, tri-nations, and World Cup? Why did we have all those reviews, forums and meetings last year when it all may have been a waste of time?
After watching Reunion it sounds like the 15th team will be based in Australia but that the Australian Rugby Union will not determine who that team will be.
Sounds like a bit of a raw deal to me. Is one more team in the Super rugby competition going to improve the product?
Will it feather the nests of the Sanzar family or will it be to the detriment of rugby in general? Who knows.
At least we know we will always be entertained by crazy Dunedin students playing naked rugby on the beach in the autumn sunlight.
My mind boggles at the post-try renditions that may have gone on in that game.
Focus on the footy, Farah; focus on the footy!
