This time last year there were some glum faces in rugby circles.

None of the Australian teams had made the Super 14 playoffs and across the board the rugby had been dire, with way too much kicking and very little reward for teams prepared to take risks in attack. Crowds were down again and league, Aussie Rules and football were slowly squeezing the air out of the 15-man game.

And it was to get worse, as the Wallabies stumbled through a disastrous international season, winning just one of six Tri-Nations matches and underperforming on their European tour.

Things didn't look to be shaping up much better when the 2010 Super season kicked off. Behind closed doors there was worrying talk about the financial woes of a host of Australian and New Zealand provinces. Indeed, the Reds came clean about being penniless and went cap in hand to the Australian Rugby Union.

But then, a tiny miracle. A tweak in the rules to emphasise the attacking team's rights at the breakdown and a general embrace of an edict from the southern hemisphere to play positive attacking football and suddenly there was light at the end of the tunnel.

The Reds led the way in Australia, audaciously running the ball from everywhere. Despite a cruel injury list and limited resources in terms of backup they were in contention right until the end and spectators flooded back. In South Africa, the Bulls, so often associated with dour but effective forward oriented rugby, showed they were true champions, changing their game to accommodate the new zeal.

Along with the Stormers, they have become the ‘complete' rugby package: brutal in defence, inventive and adaptable in attack.

The icing on the cake for the Super 14, from an Australian perspective has been the Waratahs finally ‘getting it' -- against their instincts, apparently. They won their way into the semis on the back of a performance of excellent ball-in-hand and counter attacking rugby. The Crusaders too, may have rediscovered their mojo at the right time.

Certainly they are a shining light in what has been a disappointing tournament for New Zealand sides.

Now, with a new TV deal increasing revenues in the future and crowds coming back to the game in Australia, there's reason to be optimistic.

The Super 14 finals series is poised to be a blockbuster after an extraordinarily close regular season.

With that in mind, let's quickly reflect on the 10 teams that didn't make the finals and speculate a little on what they need to do to be still in the picture at the business end of next year when the comp expands and reconfigures to accommodate the Melbourne Rebels.

The South Africans

Lions (14th): Oh, the woeful Lions. Must be the thin air up there in Johannesburg that has turned this team into a group of rugby lunatics. They have a good coach, a proud tradition and a decent playing roster but tackled all year like they were playing in a Golden Oldies comp or worse, the AFL. Tackling practice should start Monday for season 2011 and it's pretty clearly they need to put a broom through the joint.

Cheetahs (10th): Finished the season in style, beating the talented Blues, overwhelming the Western Force and flogging the demented Lions. They rarely played to their potential and when inspirational Juan Smith was sidelined they were pretty much a rabble. Terrible tourists, they are a completely different team away from home (maybe it's the Orange jersey). They should go back to the basics, seek a consistency in style and execution.

Sharks (9th): Arguably the most talent team not in the playoffs. Choc-a-bloc full of Springboks, the Durban franchise seemed to find transitioning to the new breakdown interpretation difficult. Early in the season they couldn't win a thing, but they came home strongly. From afar, some of their selections looked curious, particularly in the halves. They need an authoritative and inventive playmaker.

The New Zealanders

Highlanders (12th): Never really in the hunt, they have some talented players but lack a game plan to take advantage of them. Look best when they are direct and abrasive as they were in embarrassing the Waratahs, but there's never a Plan B.

Chiefs (11th): How the mighty have fallen. They played the final last season and came into the year with hopes of doing the same, kicking off with three wins from three road games. But injuries and inexplicable inconsistency on the park, robbed them of any chance to be competitive in the end. They seem to lack leadership, and need to examine how they contest at the breakdown.

Hurricanes (8th): Genuine contenders late in the season, so much of their success (and failure) revolves around dynamic inside centre Ma'a Nonu and battling hooker Andrew Hore. But for all his attacking brilliance, Nonu is mistake prone and gives up too many penalties -- he's the most penalised player in the competition. The ‘Canes crack when they aren't allowed to play the game at their tempo. They'll have a new coach next year which could shake things up.

Blues (7th): A great counter-attacking side, but they lacked commitment to the grunt work. They have the personnel to threaten for the title next season, but need to be able to think on their feet a little more. When things went against them, they seemed to lose focus. Their set piece was surprisingly flimsy on occasion and they committed too many mistakes, but on their day they were close to unbeatable.

The Australians

Western Force (13th): The Force's awful run with injuries in the early part of the season robbed them of any chance to be contenders, but even at season's end there was wooden-ness about their play. They have Australia's best second rower (Nathan Sharpe), an astonishing back row and the precocious talent of James O'Connor, so next year should be better if they can get their hands on a great five eighth - nothing less. They also need more depth in the tight five and a few genuine flyers out wide. Let's hope their young half Justin Turner develops and Cameron Shepherd can stay healthy for a few more weeks than he usually manages. Coach John Mitchell reckons he's there for another year, but maybe the full house at ME Stadium would welcome a change at the helm.

Brumbies (6th): Apparently there was internal strife at the club and they paid the penalty. Their on-field decision making was poor and they failed to match up in the rugged stuff on a consistent basis. They were repeatedly guilty of trying to go forward before they had any momentum and were surprisingly awkward in the counter attack (except for Adam Ashley-Cooper who is back to his best). The forwards were disappointing. Rocky Elsom was called upon to do too much of the grunt work locks should be covering. They sorely missed George Smith and will so again next year. The young replacements have potential but that might not translate into mature performances next season. Josh Valentine needs better back up at scrum half and they need a few more ‘old school' second rowers.

Reds (5th): Despite the Waratahs deserved success, the Reds are Australia's team of the year. They ran the opposition ragged on numerous occasions and played with a great spirit and flair that must be the blueprint for the Wallabies. Lack of depth in the forwards, especially the second row, cost them dearly as injuries took their toll, but they can look to 2011 with optimism especially if they can rebuild the tight five. Will Genia is nothing short of inspirational and Quade Cooper deserves every accolade he received this season. They will desperately miss Daniel Braid next season and getting a world class flanker to replace him will be crucial. Building the stock of players and finding a few impact players for the bench will be coach Ewen McKenzie's other off-season goal.

Overall, it's been a promising season for the Australians and the Wallabies should be the beneficiaries, not only this season but next year when the World Cup is played in New Zealand.

The second row and front row stocks are a little thin, but there's remarkable backrow and backline talent available to coach Robbie Deans.

In terms of the way the games being played, let's hope the attacking team continues to get an opportunity to play positive rugby. The danger is the breakdown contest will be compromised totally if teams with the ball start to seal it off completely (which is what happened a decade or so ago), but so far, after a wobbly start, refs have done an adequate job of policing that facet of play.

The scrum unfortunately remains somewhat of a lottery with re-sets a definite blight on the game. De-powering the scrum is no answer, but finding the ways to limit the collapse on initial impact will be crucial to Super Rugby's continued resurgence.