Super 14 warm-up matches were played in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa over the weekend.

Hurricanes (17) v Blues (19)

The Hurricanes took this game to the small Wairarapa town of Mangatainoka (famous for brewing Tui beer!) about an hour and a half north of Wellington.

The sell-out local crowd weren’t treated to a large score, but thoroughly enjoyed the game despite the poor weather conditions.

The Hurricanes led 17-12 with 10 minutes to go before a try to Blues replacement Taniela Moa sealed the game for the Blues.

After the game Blues coach Pat Lam said “I was very pleased with how the boys played today. They’ve worked really hard during the pre-season but you need to transfer that onto the field which they I thought they did today. The key guys really stepped up today.”

The Blues were well led around the park by Stephen Brett and Alby Mathewson, and while the Hurricanes will once again be strong this year, the Blues showed they may be tough to beat also.

Highlanders (31) v Chiefs (24)

The Highlanders beat last season’s finalists the Chiefs in their game in Dunedin.

The match was played in warm conditions in Dunedin, and the Chiefs dominated the opening exchanges. After 20 minutes the Chiefs had opened a 19-5 lead.

However this Highlanders side showed last year they possess a lot of determination and spirit and never give in. They managed to claw their way back into the game and scored 14 points in the last 20 minutes to eventually win 31-24.

The Highlanders did suffer a potentially serious injury to their No. 8 Nasi Manu, who left the field with a shoulder problem.

Waratahs (24) v Reds (26)

The Queensland Reds scored an upset win over the NSW Waratahs in the small NSW town of Lismore.

Both sides are due to meet in the opening round of the Super 14 in 3 weeks time.

Matches between these two sides often turn ugly and the Waratahs would have expected a comfortable win.

Both sides were missing many of their top players/Wallabies. The game was close throughout however it required a 45 metre penalty 32 minutes from time to seal the win for the Reds. Hero of the moment for the Reds was new flyhalf Tim Walsh.

The Reds are hoping for a change in fortunes this year and are now coached by former Waratahs coach Ewen Mckenzie. After the game he said “We’re trying to develop some habits around winning so it’s a good result for us from a confidence point of view. I know people say it’s a trial and whatever but you’ve got to start somewhere.”

He has his work cut out for him trying to turn a losing squad into matchwinners on a regular basis, but has tasted success before. I expect improvements from the Reds but can’t see them threatening the log leaders.

Free State Cheetahs (13) v Eastern Province (9)

The Cheetahs were unconvincing in beating Eastern Province at the New Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Eastern Province played with passion and determination in front of their home crowd as they tried to show their region does deserve a Super 14 side.

The Cheetahs failed to start their season with any real momentum and would have been hoping to score more points. However mistakes stopped them from gaining any momentum and they have plenty of work to do before their opening Super 14 encounter with the Bulls.

One positive for the Cheetahs was the experience gained by new flyhalf Sias Ebersohn who will be playing his first season of super rugby. Ebersohn controlled his backline well and was rewarded by scoring the games’s only try.

One suspects it may be another long season for the Cheetahs.

Stormers (54) v Force (12)

Despite playing a second-string Force side, the Stormers will be very happy to have won comprehensively in their first match at Newlands.

To win the Super 14 you have to win almost all your home games, and nothing is better than creating the winning habit.

The Stormers scored 6 first half tries and had raced to a 21-0 lead after only just 12 minutes. Good sides make the opposition pay, and it was good to see there was no let up in intensity. Later in the match when Stormers coach Alistair Coetzee made many replacements, the Stormers lost their sharpness, but they will have achieved many of their objectives from this match.

The breakdown and scrums highlighted areas for the Stormers to work on, but their backs looked sharped running into space and creating chances for each other. Perhaps this is the influence of Jaque Fourie and Bryan Habana!

Habana scored his first try for the Stormers in the 37th minute and both him and Fourie were substituted around the 50 minute mark.

It was not a great start for the Force, but they wanted to test their second string players and will look to field their top side against the Sharks on Tuesday.