Last Friday morning I awoke in a bit of a tizzy, suffering the effects of post-nightmare panic. My sleep had been destroyed by disturbing visions of Super 12 mayhem .

You know the sort of thing, the strident sound of the referee's whistle at every tackle, the unrecognizable patterns of the Crusaders' first two games, players selected out of position, players dropping the ball, players passing to invisible team mates outside them and even wearing white boots. With the opening game of round three rapidly approaching I needed some reassurance. It was only a dream, wasn't it ?

I needn't have worried too much.

There was obviously some truth in the rumours filtering through from the IRB's law change meeting in London of a highly contagious infection threatening Southern Hemisphere referees. In Wellington, Australian referee Scott Young was visibly suffering the effects of a bout of common sense, appearing to be able to differentiate between attacking players falling over in the tackle area in the pursuit of securing quick phase ball, and therefore continuity, and those defending players diving over the ball with the intention of killing it, delaying it, obstructing the pursuit of continuity. The same thing was clearly afflicting Paul Honiss in Sydney and Kelvin Deaker in Christchurch. Even Wayne Erickson in Durban was seen and heard allowing all sorts of things which the previous weekend had been deemed illegal. The acid test , though, came at North Harbour Stadium in Albany, where Tappe Henning, Mr Fussy to those not enamoured of his style, was in control of the Blues v Reds match.Two years ago , at the same venue, at the same fixture, he presided over one of the most dismal matches in Super 12 history, a 12-12, try-less draw. Pedantic is his middle name. If the infection had got hold of him , then there really was a serious outbreak of common sense to be investigated . And lo and behold, he played a blinder, between them the sides scored ten tries, the winner coming with the game's final play, and Henning gave a model display of how to control the game at the breakdown.Even both coaches were magnanimous in their post-match assessment of his performance.

There is much relief abroad. The law interpretation muddle could have been far worse, it has only taken three weeks for this issue, seemingly, to be resolved. It is being reported in sections of the New Zealand press that agreement has indeed been reached amongst the game's great and good and that we can look forward to the remainder of Super 12 free of the pedantry that was threatening to bury it and turn audiences away.

Meanwhile, back at the action, the Blues' last-gasp victory over the Reds narrowly avoided the prospect of Monday morning headlines being completely dominated by a dismal round three New Zealand performance. But if New Zealanders are honest the Blues' win does not disguise a malaise they seem to be sharing with the other kiwi franchises, the Crusaders excepted perhaps.Their passing and handling was atrocious, and the Hurricanes handed the Stormers victory on Friday precisely because of the sort of sloppiness which allowed Breyton Paulse to intercept close to his own goal line and gallop the length of the field to seal his side's priceless away win. I know Tana Umaga and lots of good judges think otherwise, but isn't Umaga really a winger and wouldn't he be better employed out wide where he had established himself as one of the world's best exponents of wing play ? He and numerous others share a determination to throw the 50/50 ball in tight situations instead of taking the intelligent , more considered option .

If rugby intelligence seems to be in short supply in New Zealand at the moment, contrast this with what is happening in Australia. Watching Bob Dwyer's Waratahs was again thrilling, his side thinking on their feet to construct and execute moves which made the most of their individual and collective talents. It is a delight to see how Dwyer's coaching is bringing out the best in players like Luke Inman, Manny Edmonds and David Lyons. You can see the effect his coaching is having and if anyone ever doubted the importance of intelligence in a game of rugby have a close look at this side. But a word of caution : their season starts to get tough from this point onwards , with successive fixtures against the Cats and Sharks approaching. If they can prosper, or even survive, in South Africa then we could be looking at serious title contenders.

I have never seriously doubted that the Crusaders would again be in contention come the end of May, despite their poor form in their opening two games.The attitude they displayed against the Chiefs made all observers realize that the heart and soul of the side is intact, the offensive and defensive strategies still sufficiently well rehearsed to trouble all eleven other sides. The bonus for Robbie Deans was the superb form of Aaron Mauger, under severe pressure to perform in Andrew Mehrtens' absence, but motivated by his presence on the bench to take the game by the scruff of the neck and suggest, probably for the first time , that he has what it takes at this level. Another underestimated , and frequently maligned , individual is Reuben Thorne , but he had a magnificent match, especially in the second half, to hint at the possibility that the Crusaders' forwards are also returning to something like respectable form. As has been said often enough in the past, timing is everything in Super 12, you don't have to win every match to become champions, but you do need to know how to win most matches, and to win the really important ones. That is the secret of the Crusaders' success. They now have a week off, which is probably not what Robbie Deans would opt for with his side up and running.

It was good to see Bobby Skinstad beginning to play with his pre-injury flair , athleticism, speed and , yes, intelligence. It was also a relief to see Taine Randell back where he should have been all along , on the blindside, but disturbing to see his side lose a 13 points advantage as the Sharks scored two tries within the final ten minutes to get up for the points. Disturbing also to see his familiar rabbit-caught-in-the headlights demeanour at the post -match tv interview as he tried to explain his side's collapse. How many times was he forced into that posture as All Blacks' skipper ?

So, after three rounds Super 12 is hopefully back on track, my worst nightmares now distant , if unpleasant memories. But I am certain I didn't imagine it all, wasn't Percy Montgomery still wearing those white boots against the Hurricanes ?