Power Rankings: Super 15

Rank	Team	Change	Last Week	Comment
1	4-1		1	The Greens must love the Chiefs - they are the great recyclers of Super Rugby leaving virtually no carbon footprint. They went to the tip and found Pauliasi Manu, Andrew Horrell, Rhys Marshall and Mike Fitzgerald. Dusted them off, lick of paint and hey presto they have Super Rugby players who look decidedly more capable of just being back-up men. Strength in depth - that's the reason to believe the Chiefs will still be winning come late May.
2	4-1		2	There is a bit of Stephen Larkham about Brumbies fullback Jessie Mogg which is why they are delighted to have him back to play the Bulls on Saturday. He'll give them the unpredictability they missed in Cape Town and George Smith will give them the ball - having shown that he is still the old master when it comes to pilfering turnovers.
3	2-2		4	No Dan Carter and no Kieran Read and two bruising games in South Africa followed by what has been for them in the past a banana skin fixture in Perth. The Crusaders have been outstanding in the last two weeks yet they could come home with zip and be on a 20 per cent winning ratio. The better bet is that they will come home with at least 10 points and sense of being very much on the right track with their attacking game.
4	2-2		10	As promised, the Stormers...sorry about this...storm up the rankings. It might be the time to do a bit of selective memory loss a la John Banks and suddenly forget writing off the Stormers in the early rounds and claim not to remember suggesting they would struggle. To be fair, though, if the Stormers didn't want to be written off as being crap they shouldn't have done such a convincing job of looking crap.
5	4-1		5	Credit to the Sharks for making it look like such a doddle to play the Rebels. But, for no other reason than to make a dramatic statement, the defining games of their campaign will be against the Crusaders next week, followed by the Stormers. Two losses and bye-bye: two wins and hello.
6	3-2		3	The Bulls offshore campaign began as a promising venture. It has now lost two wheels and a third could come off in Canberra. Might as well say it now - their only hope of actually winning the title is to finish top of the heap and stay in Pretoria for the playoffs.
7	3-2		8	This lot know how to dig in under pressure and for the first time in their not so impressive history, the Cheetahs, who are forever handed the worst draw, return to Bloemfontein with more wins than losses. They have been handed just one small slice of fortune - they return home to face the Rebels which is about as scary as being confronted by the French Army. On that: what's the difference between toast and Frenchman? You can make soldiers out of toast.
8	2-2		8	The Hurricanes have a big few weeks ahead - a chance to surge up the table as they have the Kings, Waratahs, Blues and Force. As long as he can overcome a slight injury concern, TJ Perenara looks ready to burst into life and indulge in the breathtaking as he did about this time last year.
9	4-2		9	It's an impossible business keeping up with the Reds. They are the new, old Blues - win, lose, win, lose as the Blues used to do under Pat Lam. That's the Reds these days but they can become more win, win if the forwards deliver as they did against the Bulls.
10	2-2		7	Sloppy and lacking intensity for the second game in succession, the Blues are in danger of being like the latest Bond movie, Skyfall: promising start, followed by not much. The front-row looks increasingly vulnerable - especially without Charlie Faumuina.
11	0-4		11	It's one of those tedious conversations - does the water in the Southern Hemisphere drain the opposite way it does to the Northern Hemisphere? Well, as the Highlanders' season is going down the gurgler, let's all watch and note - are they sinking clock-wise or anti-clockwise and then ring England coach Stuart Lancaster and ask in which direction his team sank when they blew the Grand Slam.
12	2-3		12	Victory changes nothing in terms of assessing the Waratahs. The Blues have an average age of 21 which is why they blew their strong half-time lead in Sydney last week. The Waratahs have an average rugby IQ of 21 - which is why they were trailing so heavily half-time last week. It's like the story about Winston Churchill being confronted by an irate lady who exclaimed: 'Sir, you are drunk!" "Yes madam," replied the British Prime Minister, "but tomorrow I will be sober and you will still be ugly."
13	1-4		14	In New Zealand there are give or take 400 players genuinely capable of making it in the professional ranks. The Force have to be congratulated for finding the select group of Kiwis who really don't look capable of making it in the professional ranks.
14	1-3		13	Welcome to New Zealand new boys. If the Kings don't find defensive line speed, or some genuine presence at the collision this week, the Hurricanes are going to go close to scoring 100. That's a genuine forecast - much like the one last week that predicted the Rebels would have someone sent home in a drunken heap. How come no one has to pay for these sage advisories?
15	1-4		15	Following the record 64-7 defeat to the Sharks, Rebels coach Damien Hill said: "You have got to be prepared to leave blood on the field when you are playing a team like the Sharks." Unable to get on the field due to injury, plucky Kurtley Beale did what he could to shed blood - his and others - off the field. .