First off, I realise that rugby may not be very geek, but I enjoy the game and look back fondly on the days sitting in front of the tube watching it with my dad.

He was one of those people who would moan before, after and during the game but I still used to love watching games with him. He had a knowledge of the game and it’s history that to this day no-one I know could match.

I miss those days but I still love the game. We are a rugby loving nation and I hope this will never change. There is nothing like going down to a pub donning you teams jersey and watching the games on a big screen with a ice cold draught in front of you or going around to a mates house and having a braai. Luckily for us South Africans, there are plenty of opportunities for this! From February until the end of May there is Super 14, which for those who don’t know is an interprovincial tournament between 14 South African, Australian and New Zealand teams. Then there is the Tri-Nations, again involving SA, Australia and New Zealand, but involving the national teams, between July and September. The last of the big ones is the ABSA Currie Cup between July and October which is a tournament between several local provincial teams.

My favourite is the Super 14 for a lot of reasons. All bets are off when it comes to the Super 14. Even if you are the biggest Springbok supporter no-one will think twice if you do support a non-South African team. Personally I support the Sharks and secondly the Bulls. I have both jerseys hanging proudly in my cupboard.

But this year I did something I have never done before. I signed up for the Sports Illustrated Super 14 Fantasy League. I then roped two good friends to create the own fantasy team and we created a league with the 3 of us competing. The Fantasy League involves choosing your team of 15 players, which can comprise of any player from any team. Your players then get points based on whether the appear in the match, whether their team wins the match, whether they score a try and several other criteria. You add up all your players scores and then you get ranked. If you aren’t happy with one of your players you can transfer them for other players each week, but these transfers are limited.

What this has done though is make me want to watch more games than I ordinarily would have, so that I can see how “my players” are doing. So for the next 4 months, I plan on watching a LOT of rugby.

GO SHARKS!!