In the Courier Mail yeterday morning, there was an exclusive question and answer article, and the topic of expansion arose. Recently on The Roar there have been a couple of articles stressing the importance for Australian rugby to expand.
This is why I’d like to suggest introducing a southern hemisphere style Heineken Cup to replace the current Super Rugby tournament.
I am still questioning the intentions of SANZAR, as they have created the semi-national competition. I believe that they were trying to plant the seeds for a Heineken Cup to establish itself and for each country having their best players playing in a proper national competition to qualify for the revamped Super Rugby.
Although probably wrong in my assumption, I think this sort of competition would be brilliant for rugby, not only for the increase in matches per year, but for the increase in meaningful matches. It also allows for countries to have more control over the direction they want to take in expanding the game and it provides a greater climax to end the season with a real knockout finals series.
It also provides opportunities to include clubs from Japan’s top league and clubs from Argentina.
For the likes of South Africa, the Currie Cup becomes a 10 or 12 team competition, meaning more money, a meaningful nation competition and more provinces able to follow the game including, their Southern Kings.
For Australia, it’s a national competition to compete with rugby league and the A-League. It will mean more franchises to buy the talent, possibly free to air television, and the possibility of private investors in clubs.
For New Zealand, the NPC becomes the premier competition and it also has teams playing all over the country.
The negatives of the Heineken Cup involve the risk it could have in destroying the tribalism of the current competition and reducing the quality of competition. However, this system has worked in Europe in spreading the game.
It’s a long way off, but I believe it will help the game in developing countries like Japan and Argentina and help the game survive in Australia.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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