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In the comments below my piece on the best Waratahs XV of the Super Rugby era, fellow Roarer Magic Sponge commented, “That is a crap NSW team and a brilliant Hurricane team. Hurricanes would beat that NSW team by about 30 points.”
Magic Sponge was referencing my earlier Hurricanes first XV, and how my proposed New South Wales selections would match up.
I responded, “I like to think so Magic but the Waratahs have tabled top 2 more than once and competed in two finals, more than the canes.”
Roarer Jeznez followed up, “So the Canes are the under-achievers of the comp and the Tahs the over-achiever?”
Which left me pondering who the overachievers and underachievers are, and how to go about measuring that.
One measure would be purely on results, the other would be measuring the available playing talent. For me, it’s somewhere in the middle of the two.
Looking at the results in the New Zealand Conference, all of the original 1996 franchises have made and competed in a grand final and boast several finals appearances, with the Crusaders, Blues and Chiefs all securing titles.
In terms of overall consistency the Highlanders and Chiefs have four playoff appearances: Hurricanes six, Blues seven and Crusaders with a whopping fifteen.
Looking at the available talent over the years after completing the recent best-ofs, the Crusaders are without question the overachievers and the Chiefs are sitting about right. Despite only the four playoff appearances, they still have two titles.
The Highlanders have most certainly underachieved – particularly in the early years with some very healthy squads – but then they do not have the same player resources as other franchises.
In terms of said resource, the Blues and Hurricanes are the biggest underachievers. Some unbelievably talented squads over the years have coughed up some poor results. I would rank the Hurricanes ahead of the Blues here as the Blues still have three titles to their name.
So from New Zealand I would rank the Hurricanes as the biggest underachiever.
Of the three original 1996 Australian franchises the Brumbies lead the way with two titles, the Reds one and the Waratahs yet to secure a title but have made and competed in two grand finals.
In terms of consistency the Brumbies lead the way with seven playoff appearances, with the Waratahs and Reds tied on six each.
With regards to playing resources, I would suggest the Brumbies have made the best of starting out with the ‘rejects’. They would be my overachievers.
The Reds have averaged far better squads than the Waratahs. When one also weighs up the competition from rival codes and against similar player numbers, I can’t help but feel that the Reds are the underachievers. They did seem to lose many players to the more recent franchises in Australia, but given the talent over the years the Reds are my pick as the Australian underachievers.
In South Africa, the Bulls are the only title holder of the original four franchises from 1996 with three championships. The Bulls and Sharks have eight playoff appearances each, the Stormers five and the Lions two.
You would figure at pointing immediately at the Lions as underachievers given the history of the Johannesburg side. But when one considers the financial issues and politics along with the number of players lost at the introduction of the Cheetahs I am not going to pick on them although they have certainly underachieved at this level.
The Bulls with three titles are the overachievers in South Africa, leaving the Sharks and the Stormers.
The Sharks are the best franchise to never win a title, being runners-up on four occasions. This leaves the Stormers as South Africa’s greatest underachievers, especially when you weigh up the number of great players they have boasted.
So, as overachievers I have the Crusaders, Brumbies and Bulls, with the Crusaders in my opinion as the clear frontrunner there. You simply can’t argue with 15 playoff appearances from 18 seasons, at least not in my view.
The Hurricanes, Reds and Stormers are my underachievers. The Reds with their one title are ruled out, which leaves me with the Hurricanes and Stormers.
The Hurricanes have made six playoff appearances to the Stormers five, yet this needs to be balanced out by the fact the Stormers have hosted three of their finals appearances. Coupled with the Stormers’ harsher travel commitments and the fact that the Hurricanes have had stronger squads, and I am afraid my beloved Hurricanes would win the title of the biggest underachievers in Super Rugby.
Depressing stuff for this Canes man.
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.