Super 14 major happings

Milestones: Congratulations to Ma’a Nonu for playing in his 200th first class match last weekend.

Closing in: At the start of the Rebel Sport Super 14 season, Dan Carter was 71 points behind Stirling Mortlock. After four
weeks of Super Rugby, he’s narrowed the gap to 39 points: Mortlock is on 1019 and the Crusader is on 980 with Andrew
Mehrtens in between them on 990. Come on DC …

The matter of stats: It’s dead even with six games each for the Stormers and the Hurricanes. The Cape Town side has a
slight advantage on total Super Rugby points for and against: 294 to 278. It’s also pretty close between the Bulls and the
Highlanders, with the Highlanders on seven, the Bulls on six and a draw. However, it’s one-way traffic between the
Crusaders and the Chiefs with the seven-time champions ahead 10 victories to four, scoring on average, 10 points a
game more against their Waikato-based opponents than the Chiefs have managed against them.

Did you know: None of the New Zealand sides playing this weekend have played their opponent in a playoff match?

Sweet nothings: When the Highlanders didn’t score a point against the Stormers, it was the first time in Super Rugby that
a South African side has kept a New Zealand side scoreless - in answer to the three times our teams have done it to
them - and it was only the ninth time ever in Super Rugby that a side has scored no points. By comparison, at least 10
sides in the Heineken Cup have failed to score since 2006-2007.
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