It must be said the sides who have made the Super Rugby quarterfinals deserve their positions; they have played well all year. It has been a long season but we have got what we wanted with some fascinating games ahead.
The Crusaders' victory over the Blues showed the defending champions remain the measure for every other side in the competition. They are clearly the team to beat.
They face the Sharks who are, as we have said all year, a side on the rise and are pretty much spearheading the resurgence of South African rugby. The Crusaders are a class act but you can't underestimate this Sharks side because there is a lot of talent there and a lot of muscle. They knocked off the Blues in New Zealand earlier this year and really should have beaten the Hurricanes, too.
But they face the best defensive team in the competition, who have try-scoring machine George Bridge on the wing. He is testament to what the Crusaders' environment is capable of throwing out there. Bridge has gone from strength to strength and is the example of a number of young players who have really stood up for the Crusaders. He is an absolutely dangerous strike weapon for them.
Around him are players like Jack Goodhue and Richie Mo'unga while both halfbacks Bryn Hall and Mitch Drummond are still young, as is fullback David Havili and back-up five-eighths Mitchell Hunt. And that's only the backs we're talking about.
When you look up front Tim Perry and Michael Alaalatoa are props pushing their case forward as Wyatt Crockett nears the end of his time. Hooker Codie Taylor is still a young man and then there's Scott Barrett at lock and Quinten Strange.
A lot has been made through the years that to win the Super Rugby competition you have need a quality first five-eighth and while there is a bit of truth in that, I also believe the best forward pack is absolutely crucial.
No matter how good your first-five is, if you can't play behind a solid platform then you're in trouble. You look at that Crusaders team and you've got someone like Sam Whitelock who is still going strong after 80 minutes; he's still scoring tries under the posts. Whitelock is a man who is feared, he is a superb leader.
He's a hard man up front and if we were to look at teams like the Blues they lack that physicality and that fear factor that someone like Whitelock offers. For the Chiefs, it's Brodie Retallick, while the Highlanders have Liam Squire and Jackson Hemopo. They're respected tough men up front and that is a key component of any good side.
The Sharks are another good example. They've got a really good forward pack who can lay a solid platform down. And they've got a top first-five in Robert du Preez who hasn't missed too many shots at goal this year.
The same could be said of the Hurricanes and the Chiefs. Beauden Barrett is there for the Hurricanes, while Damian McKenzie will be back for the Chiefs.
But continuing that front-five theme, Retallick's presence made a huge difference for the Chiefs in their "curtain-raiser" with the Hurricanes last Friday.
The force the Chiefs' pack exerted resulted in Beauden Barrett having one of his worst games in a long time. Whether that was him being flustered or lacking a platform to work from, the Chiefs really got in his face, in the first half especially. That's uncharacteristic of Barrett but I don't think he'll have two bad games in a row.
What will be different about their rematch is the knockout nature of the game. It is completely different from pool play. It's a different mindset and the whole attitude thing kicks in for finals rugby. It's one-off; turn up or go home.
There will be an attitude this weekend, for all the qualifying teams, that the season will be all over if they don't go out and perform.
It's hard to go past the Crusaders winning their game, but I do tend to go with the Chiefs, especially with what they can do in the first half. If they can extend that to well into the second half they will have every chance in Wellington.
With the Lions and Jaguares, I think home advantage will count for a lot. But again, it is almost like a Test match between two international sides and because it's a finals game you would never write the Jaguares off. In my mind this is the tough game to pick.
Patriotism suggests I should go with the Highlanders but the Waratahs are a dangerous side and should not be written off. Again it's come to that stage of the season where the Championship is just around the corner and there is a bit of self-belief there. I will go with the Highlanders but it is a tough one to call.
I suppose the features of the weekend past were the different nature of the red cards issued. The one against Sunwolves back-rower Ed Quirk was just silly; it was more of a yellow card incident than a red. But on the flipside, Johnny Fa'auili's shoulder charge to Wes Goosen's head was a clear red card; it would have been a sending off 15-20 years ago even before all the modern-day worries about concussion. It was a terrible tackle; Fa'auili got six weeks and he deserves every week of that.
Just a final thought on the Blues, who have had another long season of disappointments. It's back to the drawing board for them. But when you look at the coaches who have now been involved without having any effect on the side -- Pat Lam, Sir John Kirwan and Tana Umaga -- I can't help but wonder if there is more going on inside the squad than just the coach.
I wonder if the board, and I am only surmising here, are too close: is the rein too short; are the expectations too high? For any team, when you are having fun and a bit of freedom they thrive, and it just looks like something inside that environment is strangling the Blues and holding them back.
It's time for everyone to look in the mirror, not just the coach, not just the players, but the whole organisation.