S14 Preview: Round One, Part One
The fourteenth season of Super Rugby action is upon us once again and for the first time in a long time, this year's tournament looks wide open. Send the wife shopping, buy a Playstation game for the kids and arm yourself with plenty of fluids because the 2009 Super 14 is set to kick-off!

Highlanders - Brumbies. No love lost.

Friday's action opens up with two Trans-Tasman battles starting with the Highlanders and Brumbies, who will be striving to claim only their second Super Rugby win in Dunedin.

Next up, the injury-struck Western Force host the Blues who enter Perth with a few casualties of their own. The Force will need to improve on their 37 per cent winning record at Subiaco Oval, but will take some heart entering their fourth Super 14 campaign on the back of narrow trial losses to the Crusaders and Reds, but showed enough in both hit-outs to suggest they will be competitive this season.

The first local derby sees last versus second-last on 2008's table as the Lions prepare to tackle the Cheetahs in Johannesburg. It might be Week One but these two sides could battle it out for the wooden spoon again this season. Just one point separated them in last year's clash and this should be another close affair as well.

An alternative commentary - warning, strong language

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