Australian sides have always promised a lot in the Super 14, but in terms of trophies they have delivered little.
The Brumbies are the only Australian team to win the competition, and the last time was five years ago.
And the likelihood of an Australian holding up the trophy this year looks slim.
The Force could implode at any minute, the Reds are too young, the Brumbies are too reliant on a few key players, and New South Wales may be a bit too brittle up front.
Australian rugby is like that size 11 chicken being divided among a hungry family.
It looks good when it comes out of the oven, but once it is split up there are just not enough good bits for everyone to be satisfied.
Four Super 14 sides in Australia may be one too many.
The playing pool is not quite deep enough - the chicken is too small - so players who are not of a sufficient standard for the competition get exposed.
Throw in some of the best bits of the chicken landing on someone else's plate - players going overseas - and Australian sides are up against it.
The New South Wales Waratahs are likely to be the Australian side which fares the best. The team made the final twice in the past four years.
The Waratahs have a quality backline, with players such as Timana Tahu, Lote Tuqiri and Lachie Turner able to make plays from nothing.
But much will depend on first five-eighth Kurtley Beale.
Beale has been talked about as the next big thing, but he sometimes appears to be reading a different play book than those outside him.
Halfback Luke Burgess faces that difficult second season after a break-out year last year.
The loose forwards will be dependable, with captain Phil Waugh ready to throw his body around again while Wycliff Palu is a hard man to stop.
But the side will undoubtedly miss blindside flanker Rocky Elsom, who has taken off to Ireland. Elsom got in the noses of opposition players.
Lock Dan Vickerman has also moved on, and his line-out prowess will be missed.
Throw in injuries to props Matt Dunning and Sekope Kepu and the pressure is on the Sydney-based tight five.
Further north, the arrival of former All Black Daniel Braid has been seen as a coup by Queensland Reds officials. Braid, who many seem to forget was off the pace in his only test last year, has big shoes to fill with both John Roe and David Croft retiring.
Former Otago No 8 Ezra Taylor is another signing, but he has an ankle injury and will miss the early rounds.
Queensland also has former Canberra Raiders back Mark McLinden, but the key men are inside backs Berrick Barnes and Quade Cooper.
Both are young and talented, but the side looks to have a lack of experience which may tell in close games.
Out west, the Force's campaign could go two ways, after coach John Mitchell was stripped of some of his duties following whisperings of ill-ease from the players and other coaching staff.
Mitchell could throw his toys, the team could turn into a shambles, and lose every game.
Or the side could unite, listen to or ignore big Mitch, play to its potential and crack the top four.
Matt Giteau will win games on his own, while skipper Nathan Sharpe will want to show he is still an international standard player.
Former Chiefs prop Ben Castle, who played club rugby in Dunedin, has joined the side, after a brief unhappy spell at French club Toulon.
The Brumbies still have the shadow of George Gregan and Stephen Larkham hovering over them.
The team has world-class players in Stirling Mortlock, George Smith and new signing Stephen Moore, but lacks a reliable inside back combination.
Captain and No 8 Stephen Hoiles will want a big year, after being dumped from the Wallabies last season.
Winger Clyde Rathbone is coming back from a knee injury, which has kept him out for nearly two years, but questions will be asked about whether he still has electric pace, which was his one major asset.
