Exclusive: Wallaby refused to play for Rebels against Reds over outstanding debt
As Rugby Australia and the Melbourne Rebels sit down to discuss the debt-riddled Super Rugby franchise’s future, it can be revealed star recruit Filipo…
I have just read about Rassie Erasmus’ involvement in a proposed new Super Rugby comp in 2012, which will be modeled on the very successful Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket competition.
Apparently the model will run “with shorter matches lasting only half as long as a normal game, and adjustments to rules to make the game faster.”
This is a very interesting and innovative idea. It is proposed to run for three weeks involving eight teams, with the aim of allowing the South African players to earn much higher incomes staying home rather than heading off to Europe.
I would assume that many New Zealand/Australian players would also seek to be involved. It will be interesting if this succeeds how the changes to the rules might force more widespread changes to rugby.
It will also be interesting to see if this type of competition filters through to have local models set up in Australia, like Twenty20 cricket. This could help to boost player numbers and crowd support.
I have often thought that pushing for improvements via separate competitions works better than going through the whole IRB process, but what does this mean for rugby locally? Can you see something like this being successful?
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