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About seven months out from the beginning of the next season of southern hemisphere rugby that isn’t extremely clear. We’ve had Super 12, Super 14, Super Rugby and SupeRugby. What are we going to get in 2016?
Before we get to that – what a final.
If that was the end of Super Rugby as we know it – if this competition jumps the shark (not the Durban ones) next year; if we find ourselves wondering what we’re doing watching a jet-lagged Japanese Kawasaki versus the Western Force in the back blocks of Tokyo one Friday night – then I’m glad that was the final to bring down the curtain on this era.
You could argue it was the perfect final. The Kiwis have ruled Super Rugby for the most part, first through the Blues, then the Crusaders and more recently with the Chiefs. It was fitting that two New Zealand teams play a close-to-perfect final as a final salute to a particular time in the history of Super Rugby.
The Hurricanes led the way all season, beckoning everyone to chase their style of never-say-die rugby, to trust skills as much as they do, to play rugby the way it will be in heaven.
In the final, another club finally caught up.
The Highlanders rode a month of sparkling form to pip the leaders at the post, not through sleight of hand or changing the nature of the fight, but by trusting those skills and playing their own brand of rugby from another dimension.
I’m not going to lie – I’m a man of many words. I’ll spout words about anything. But that match literally took my words away.
Late in the match, when Marty Banks aborted a drop-goal attempt and broke the line before offloading, a try looked all but certain. But Julian Savea came rushing out of nowhere and delivered a hit with the power of a maxed-out steam train to knock the ball out.
That’s when I finally didn’t have any words – “Whhhhaaaaaatdkfkvichwnektovociehebtnv” was what I tweeted; an accurate representation of what was happening in my brain.
Both sides had played at such breakneck speed, such commitment to the cause and to the game. It made me tired just to watch the lung-busting speed, the punishing collisions and dextrous skill, all applied in what seemed like a trance-like state. Very rarely are all 30 players on the field in the same ‘zone’ that sportspeople get into. It was a rare night.
Congratulations to the Highlanders and commiserations to the Hurricanes. And thank you to both. If we end up looking back on the 2015 final as a culmination of this era of rugby, it will be with fondness.
We’ve had two decades of Super Rugby. It formally began as a 12-team competition in 1996. That model lasted a decade before the Western Force and Cheetahs were added as the 13th and 14th sides for the 2006 season. In 2009 the Melbourne Rebels made it 15.
The latest evolution of splitting the ladder into three national conferences debuted in 2011, and on our next go around the sun they’ll be international conferences with additional teams.
Has the conference system worked? Are five seasons in that model long enough to know? I’m going to be a homer, ignore the lopsided draws and advantage handed to mediocrity, to say two Australian championships make it a success.
So what will be watching next year?
The Kings are back in South Africa. That’s good for them, they’ve had a few players do well since their last inclusion. And there will be a team each from Argentina and Japan added to the competition.
As of May 11 Argentina have signed 25 players to join the squad for the 2016 season. Many of those are capped at Test level and some have come back from professional careers in Europe.
Eddie Jones has been named director of rugby as the yet-to-be named Japanese team.
From here it gets a bit weird.
In February, Tatsuzo Yabe, Japan Rugby Football Union chairman, said the financial budget of the club would kick in from October this year. So, three months from now and just four months before the season will probably start, they haven’t signed a player. Not a single player.
The team name will be announced sometime around the end of July, the culmination of a competition from fans’ nominations.
Super Rugby got a run in the New York Times in April, but it was largely to list all the hurdles that need to be cleared to get this thing off the ground. The article quoted Yabe as saying the Japanese team would be made up of national team players and imports playing in the Top League.
No information I’ve found suggests the contracting has been sorted out yet. And there are issues in their sevens program, with players trying to leave Top League teams to play at a higher level.
So, no team name yet. No head coach. No budget. No players.
While I was watching the final I realised if either the Brumbies or Waratahs played either finalist in that particular mood, the score would be five or six tries worse. How poorly would a Super Rugby team made up of inexperienced players fare after coming together less than six months out?
If you’re expecting a team to compete at Super Rugby level you’d want more than crickets nine months out from kick off.
So, what exactly will we be watching next season? It sounds like the Argentinean inclusion will be feisty and well organised. The Kings will probably struggle, as they’ve been stripped of a number of good players that were there for their last Super Rugby appearance, but will progress on a South African rugby platform.
And as for the Japanese team – well the 2015 final was a great way to bring the curtain down on a season; we have to hope there’s a professional team in Tokyo ready to go when the curtain is lifted again.
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.