What a luxurious position the Warriors find themselves in. They have made the NRL finals with one week to spare. Anyone who has followed the ups and downs of this club for a while will know anything could happen from here. They could suddenly go cold and crash out of contention, or they could go all the way to the 2010 Premiership.

IIts official, I have a problem. I take great pleasure in the pain and suffering of others. More specifically the pain the All Blacks inflicted on the Springboks. Poor little Peter de Villiers crying into his bushy moustache. Poor John Smit. What a way to celebrate your 100th test cap, missing the tackle on Ma Nonu that set up the match winning try. I know its immature but ha ha ha. I guess this is how others must feel when the All Blacks lose.

All hail, the great revival of domestic rugby in New Zealand. Certainly the game has taken on a whole new importance down here in the Deep South for two very different reasons. For the ITM Cup leading Southland Stags, the impact of winning, and now defending the Ranfurly Shield has transformed the attitude of the entire district.

I’m starting to think that crazy little clown Peter de Villiers might be on to something. There is no way Tony Woodcock should have stayed on the field after delivering a cheap shot to one of the Wallabies on Saturday night. Maybe the All Blacks are being favoured by the referees. Either way, nobody can argue we don’t deserve our number one ranking as the All Blacks are clearly better than any other team in the world with or without the help of favourable refereeing decisions.

So now we sit at the top of the tree, the chasing pack will be aspiring to beat us, particularly next year at the World Cup. There is nothing new in this. It’s always been the case, if you want to win the World Cup, you have to work out how to beat the All Blacks. And the tactic being employed this time around is to invent a conspiracy theory that we are cheats and favoured by the referees. If anything, it would be better for us to be more harshly treated by the referees now to save us the pain of another Wayne Barnes shocker in the big dance next November. There is only so much ‘luck’ you get before the worm turns.

Almost over shadowing the All Black game down here in the Far South was the Ranfurly Shield game between Otago and Southland. What a cracker of a game with Southland proving they are deserving Shield holders with a hard fought and determined victory. As for Otago, good things always seem to be so close but yet so far. By rights, Otago should have beaten Southland on Saturday. They were however fraught by the sin-binning of two players, a dodgy refereeing decision that awarded Southland the winning try, and most tellingly their own inability to nail all the opportunities that came their way. Could’ve, should’ve, didn’t, and that is the truth.

It is true there is some real talent in the Australian rugby team. Unfortunately for them they lack one very important element only time can fix-experience. The problem is, the longer they wait for the benefit of experience to kick in, the more damage to confidence, the more doubt that slips into their minds and from an All Black point of view, it couldn’t be better. There really is nothing like beating the Aussies. It doesn’t matter what sport, it just happens the sport we beat them most at is rugby. And that is why rugby is our national sport, because we beat the Aussies at it. Simple as that.

So without getting too overconfident, given the fact the Wallabies do have the physical ability to win if not the mental ability, the mighty All Blacks should tuck away the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup on Saturday night in Christchurch. However that game will be the second most important match on Saturday in the eyes of many people from the Far South. Earlier in the day Southland attempt to defend the Ranfurly Shield against neighbours Otago.  With the Wakatipu on the boundary of the two provinces, this game is not only mate against mate on the field but in the pubs and sports bars all over town. Despite contrasting fortunes in the opening round of the ITM Cup last week, the sheer scale of occasion will make for a cracker game. Otago will need some luck to knock over a Southland side far superior on paper and performance. Southland’s warm up games and season opener against Manawatu have been impressive. Their play from set pieces has been impressive and lines of attack in the backs varied and efficient. On the other hand Otago will be desperate to pick up some ITM Cup points let alone win the Ranfurly Shield. With only the top seven teams keeping a spot in the top flight of New Zealand rugby next year, Otago will need every point they can muster. It is a distinct probability Otago will not make the top seven this year signalling a bloody disaster for Otago and Highlanders rugby, and that is the truth.