Canterbury Crusaders reigned supreme during the Super 12 days winning half of the finals played but it has definitely been the Bulls who have been the kings of the Super 14 edition being crowned champions for the third time in five years. What will does the future hold for the teams as we enter the Super 15 age? On the evidence of the Super 14 finals between two or South Africa’s premier teams there is little to suggest that South African dominance is about to diminish.
New Zealand teams won the Super 12 eight of 10 times, denied a clean sweep by the 2001 and 2004 victories of the ACT Brumbies from Australia's capital, Canberra.
The era of the Pretoria-based Bulls was foreshadowed when they reached the semifinals in 2005, the last year of the Super 12. That was the first of five top-four appearances in six years and a precursor to their titles in 2007, 2009 and this year, two of which came from all-South African finals.
The Bulls lost only three matches in each of the 2009 and 2010 seasons, scored 435 points in 2009 and 500 in 2010, making them the most prolific of any winners. Springboks fly half Morne Steyn ended the season with 263 points, smashing the individual points-scoring record of New Zealand's Dan Carter.
Everything about the Bulls' back-to-back title successes in 2009 and 2010 appeared to be dynasty-building. They are not yet a team at its peak, nor yet threatened with retirements which might unravel their success.
The Bulls scored almost 40 points per game throughout the season, quashing criticism that they, indeed all South African teams, are one-dimensional. They and other South African teams adapted more quickly than Australian or New Zealand sides to new rule interpretations at the breakdown, destroying any impression that South African style is less innovative.
The Bulls had exceptional depth, the lack of which damaged the chances of the Australian sides and may be aggravated by the addition of a fifth Australian club. They were superb in rugby's fundamentals, where the New Zealand sides showed most deficiency.
The Bulls were terrific across the field but the crucial combinations of locks Victor Matfield and Danie Rossouw, scrum half Fourie du Preez and fly half Morne Steyn, backrowers Pierre Spies and Deon Stegmann, and centres Wynand Olivier and Jaco Pretorius gave them islands of strength.
Coach Frans Ludeke was also an integral part of the Bulls success, having built on the foundation left by the team's first championship-winning coach Heyneke Meyer.
"One day we'll be able to look back and have a full appreciation for what we've achieved," Ludeke said. "I'm so proud of the team because in this competition you have to be up for every game or you will be outplayed. The pressure associated with that is huge and to win it in those circumstances is special."
The Cape Town-based Stormers were only just inferior to the Bulls. They developed the best defence in the tournament while accentuating the attacking ability of players such as Springboks winger Bryan Habana. They were possibly the best team in the competition through the first half of the season but their form faded and their 25-17 loss to the Bulls in the weekend final revealed a gulf in experience.
The Bulls' win has helped endow the Springboks with favouritism in this year's Tri-Nations tournament. When they first won the tournament in 2007, New Zealand won the Tri-Nations but South Africa won the World Cup. Last year when the Bulls won the Super 14, the Springboks also convincingly won the Tri-Nations.
We could well be entering a golden era of South African dominance and long may it continue!
