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Is 2012 a year of transition for Super Rugby?

23rd January, 2012
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Roar Guru
23rd January, 2012
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2351 Reads

The four-year cycle which started in 2007 has ended with the 2011 Rugby World Cup and a new one is about to start with the biggest rugby ‘championship’ on the planet to kick off in a month time. Yes, that’s Super Rugby.

Yet many argue that the exodus of players to the Northern Hemisphere may affect the competition itself, its level and public’s interest. So what can we expect? Will the desertion of senior players have a negative impact on the comp’?

Well, first of all, it’s fair to say that the exodus of ‘top players’ hasn’t been consistent in the three countries.

If Australia and New Zealand have mainly lost players who were either on the way down, no offense, or not anymore indispensable in their own squad, South Africa on the other hand have lost a huge contingent of senior players who were the heart and soul (and fists) of their team.

How can you replace Botha (Gary and Bakkies), Matfield, Steenkamp, Rossouw, Du Preez, Fourie, Van der Linde or Smit? You just can’t.

With most of them being ex-Bulls, it’s fair to say that the Pretoria-based franchise will have to reinvent its brand of rugby in 2012 as the ‘tight five’ might not look as ‘tight’ at times as it used to.

The years of the bullying, rampaging Bulls up front might be a thing of the past and with it their domination on South African rugby, which means that Sharks, Stormers and even Cheetahs and Lions now have an opportunity of climbing up the pecking order and reshuffling South-African rugby.

How they want to achieve this will make this super rugby season the most open and interesting in years.

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How about the Kiwis? Donald, Sivivatu, Rokocoko, Tialata or even Muliaina weren’t the players they used to be in the last couple of years and it’s not being disrespectful to say that they will be replaced by young, raw talents who have been waiting for the opportunity.

McAlister still has many good years ahead of him and what he has shown with Toulouse in the last few months proves that he is still world class, here or there. Brad Thorn is a unique case: he is getting better with age and just chose to call it a day after the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Fair enough.

The depth of New Zealand rugby being what it is, there is no question they will be competitive this year again. The most intriguing will be to see how teams like the Hurricanes or the Blues gel and how long it takes to do so.

Plus the first steps of Ma’a Nonu and Piri Weepu at Westac Stadium with the Blues’ jersey on. Can’t wait for this one!

Finally, Australia. Fact: the 2011 Super Rugby trophy is ours. Fact: although many ‘top’ players have moved around, they are still on our shores and that’s the main thing.

Veterans like Dunning, Baxter or Waugh will be missed but again they would probably not have been in any starting XV this year. Giteau and Hoiles? Fit, both mentally and physically, they would be indispensable in any squad.

But years in Australian rugby have taken their toll: Hoiles might never fully recover from his injury while Giteau needed some fresh air after the 2011 Rugby World Cup fiasco.

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Many predict a more even competition within Australia with the Melbourne Rebels attracting a lot of attention: can Kurtley Beale and James O’Connor make the Victorian franchise a genuine contender?

So yes, 2012 might be a year of transition for Super Rugby. But there are many other sports who would love to have one like this in the pipeline. Bring it on.

List (non exhaustive) of ‘senior’ players out of Super Rugby in 2012:

Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Fourie du Preez, John Smit, Luke McAlister, John Afoa, Jo Rokocoko, Aled de Malmanche, Stephen Donald, Mils Muliaina, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Neemia Tialata, Chris Jack, Brad Thorn, Phil Waugh, Al Baxter, Sosene Anesi, Luke Burgess, Greg Sommerville, Leroy Houston, Mark Chisholm, Huia Edmonds, Matt Giteau, Stephen Hoiles, Josh Valentine, Matt Dunning, Scott Staniforth, Danie Rossouw, Gary Botha, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Skipper Badenhorst, Jaque Fourie, Francois Louw, Enrico Januarie, Conrad Jantjes, CJ Van der Linde.

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