South African Super Rugby '13 boycott threat

Wow once again Temba you go completely off topic and start abusing people and hurling the personal insults. Stop trying to be the martyr here and manipulating what others are saying. South African Rugby union has turned this into a race issue and they are forcing it on SANZAR partners. I couldn't give two hoots if you are yellow purple or a polka dotted martian. No one and No one should be permitted entry to Super Rugby based on the colour of their skin. Don't come in here trying to claim that your defending your race that is an absolute crock and you know it. South Africas Apartheid legacy is its and its alone to deal with do not bring it into the sports arena it has no place not now nor ever. I couldn't give a rats about SA politics there's enough for me to worry about in my own country let alone whats happening on the other side of the world. What I have always said and will say it again Temba is that the SARU has no right bringing its internal racial issues and politics into sport. While your at it leave the childish name calling and abuse out of it because it makes you look extremely bitter and immature.

The VAST majority of the SANZAR TV deal is generated by the Tri Nations anyway, not Super Rugby. So the S15 sides can boycott all they like but it won't hit the bottom line of the National Unions overly. So long as the Rugby Championship goes ahead SANZAR get most of their TV cash. SARU is stuck between a rock and a hard place. They have accepted the impossible task of trying to enter an inadequate team 1 year into a 5 year TV deal with two SANZAR national union partners who don't want it and 5 provincial unions who don't want it. So all of the key stake holders are against the concept, yet the promise has been made. The best scenario now is for SARU to lobby the 5 existing Super Rugby sides and getting them to agree to play the Kings twice during the Super season somewhere. This means an extra 2 matches for each South African side (which won't go towards table points in 2012) which will have to be played at some other stage of the season. This will have to be during bye rounds and the inbound test window. SARU should be responsible for finding at least 10 meaningful matches per season for the Kings to get them income, publicity and exposure to high level rugby so that when they do look to expand the competition they are ready. No other options will make all parties happy. Super Rugby has to be left intact to keep NZ, Aus and the RSA Super sides happy. A significant match schedule is needed to keep the Kings and ANC government happy.

If you whole heatedly agree with him then you are as ignorant as he is. How do you think it will go down if the Prime minister gets up in parliament and says "I don't know why you aboriginals are making such a big fuss, it’s not like we did what South Africa did" You cannot measure human rights violation and it’s a bigger ball game to SANZAR and rugby. Its reckless and does not belong here or anywhere in petty conversation. That I am being forced to defend my race on a rugby site due to the narrow minded views of 2 ignorant door stops is disgraceful. That any wrongs based on race no matter their size is so easily brush aside for the purpose of your own feelings and ego’s is a statement on your value as a person. You cannot discuss Human rights and rugby in the same article. Politics and rugby yes but there are degrees in this subject and ethics involved with sensitive areas that only the stupid will over step. Who are you and Slav that you think you can judge which wrongs are more wrong then other? What gives you the right to make statements on things that you clearly know nothing about? I suggest you go back and read Slavs comments again before you “whole heartily” agree with him, cuz I doubt you are that ignorant… at least you don’t sound it.

Unfortunately Temba that is a problem once again that SA needs to sort out. How do you think South Africans would react to someone else running their rugby, to be its not necessary and I would fathom a bet not too many South Africans would be happy about someone else running the institution that is SA rugby.

Temba you may choose to ignore this but the SARU have and are making this a political and race issue. I don't see anywhere where NZ and Australia have requested teams for maori and Aboriginal alike. The Southern Kings will be a black team and the SARU wants them permitted on this basis alone therefore it is forcing the views and politics of SA on the SANZAR nations and I whole heartedly agree with Battered slav here.

If only there was a way to rid the world of SARU without compromising the unions in SA or the rugby championship. This is trickery that can be done by a trickster of O'Neils caliber. Stuff SARU and directly contract the 5 unions in SA. They are all companies why can it not be done? If the regulating body of South African rugby was out side of SA it would mean no political interference, no more token selection of players, coaches or teams.

Your right Temba all three together make a very powerful unit. Any division will only hurt all Nations involved not one country is immune to a possible divisin and the financial implications that will be forthcoming. However with the current attitude the SARU has taken they are be it directly or indirectly forcing the internal politics on the SANZAR partners. There is absolutely no place for it like we both agree but unfortunately the SARU keeps forcing the issue. The SANZAR boss has already said no however the SARU still insist they will put it on the table in March. This is no longer just a SARU matter it is now an issue for all three nations involved, we can never allow any nation in the axis have more power than any of its rivals and currently the SARU is trying to hold its partners to ransom. Like I said in an above post no other competition in the world in their right mind would be willinging to engage with the SARU after such public displays of ineptitude, outright demanding, scaremongering and making promises it can not possibly keep. I'd like to know since when did the other two partners become silent partners. What did the SARU think they were doing promising a team a place in a competiton without consulting its partners. It would be damaging to their (Europe etc) own competitions and brands. Sadly I think the SARU is doing more damage to SA rugby and its brand than they think.

Battered slav, lets not weigh up political wrong doing its immature and plain wrong, hunting aboriginals and stuffing their children into white homes might have happened on a smaller scale but life is not measured in amounts. Apartheid was wrong but its gone, no one that was not involve should pay for it not even the people living in South Africa. I had no hand in it, why should I suffer? If you want to discuss politics we should find another medium and you should correctly educate yourself before we do because right now your comment smacks of ignorance and Hippocracy. Not a single player in South African rugby was at a age to have had any doing in Apartheid and saying its more of a wrong than what was done to the aboriginals will infuriate them and their cause.

Greg Growden is making the same mistake a lot of people are making. The 5 current South African Super teams are boycotting to put SARU under pressure not SANZAR, this boycott is not an attack because ARU and NZRU for not adding a team. It a fight for survival against a politically driven SARU. Don't hate South African rugby because of politics, you would be no better then the fools in charge at SARU. These 3 nations have a rich and powerful history and are directly responsible for each others success and the quality the southern Hemisphere rugby. Constantly driving to better the game by using our schools and collages even super rugby it self to trail law adjustments to better the game. ARU and NZRU need to directly contract the South African unions for super rugby under SRU (southern rugby union) in stead of SANZAR. I cant stand SARU not many saffas can, but what makes Southern hem rugby so good is the clash of styles 3 unique back grounds and styles in the hardest, most exciting rugby comp in the world.

South Africa need to keep their political agenda to themselves. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it wasn't Aus/NZ that had apartheid in full swing as little as 20 years ago (sure we've had our own historical and even some contemporary issues with race, but nothing like RSA had). Why should we, Aus and NZ, be paying for their sins? They can piss fart around with the Currie Cup all they want and have five blacks only teams in that comp if they so choose, but Super Rugby involves two other countries, a fact I think South African rugby apparatchiks often seem to forget. Keep the politics out of rugby you tools!!!

Keep it above board please gentlemen. Play the ball, not the man. Thanks, Tristan (Ed.)

I think you may want to pull your head in here a little bit Temba resorting to name calling how very grown up of you. Its pretty obvious you do not like people pointing out the bleeding obvious of which you by the way have not come even close to giving any rebuttal except resorting to hysterical ranting and childish posting. I have not said anywhere that you said they would leave show me where I did. Stop trying to manipulate what I said. What I did say was that you are living in a dreamworld if you think SA are the be all and end all of SR. Sure you can claim to be the biggest Rebels fan in Australia for all I care however it does not take away the fact that you are South African and a very parochial supporter and all power to you I admire your passion and it can only be a good thing and more of us could do with some of that passion you have. However sometimes our passion can lead to a very one sided viewpoint which is what I accuse you of. I agree with you not one nation stands to gain anything from a split it will damage everybody involved however don't for a second think SA will generate the same revenue nor will it maintain its current competitiveness without playing its SANZAR partners. The partners will also take a hit financially for sure and the standard of competition will surely drop however it will not drop to the level that SA potentially will and could if it trys to go solo. Acting like a spoilt brat isn't going to win the SARU any favours with fans, broadcastors and the rugby public alike. Do you think Europe will really want to go into an agreement with SARU considering the hostage tactics that they are using? The if we don't get our way we are going to go elswhere throw our toys out of the cot scenario? Do you think Europe is going to allow SA to thrust it's corrupt political issues on them to deal with? What I say is SA stands to lose a lot more than you are willing to acknowledge both financially and competitively. SARU also knows that a TT comp could be very successful hence why the backed down in the last round of expansion. We all need each other in this but to infer Aus and NZ would suffer more due to SA absence is ludicrous.

Danny SARU cant organize a p*ssup in a brewery, their a mix politics and business with rugby last on their list. They have not made a single right choice before the appointment of Meyer. Its high time the top 5 unions stand together and hold SARU to account and this is what they are doing, lets hope they come right. After 07 RWC SARU was in a perfect position to spend money on the Kings and get them up to CC standard, if they pushed semi's in CC id agree but they don't even feature in the 2nd tier comps, it is purely political and SANZAR along with the 5 unions in SA need to put pressure on SARU. Alos I think the IRB needs to get involved to action SARU on a international level. Transformation is impossible from the top, if combined government and SARU investments in grassroots took place 10 years ago it would be barring enough fruit by now, yet they insist on implementing players on color not merit, coaches on color and not merit and finally now they are trying to implement teams based on color and not merit. Not once on gov or rugby level has this worked why they continue down the line baffles me.

Once again we have to suck down abject political garbage out of Africa. If it's not "we too travel too much" it's "no way an expanded 15 team comp" and now the perfect backflip "the comp has to expand to allow us 6 teams". The bottom two teams in SA have always been rubbish and they want to hoist one more on us! Of course Australia and NZ needs SA rugby - we're all stronger together. But we need post-apartheid SA rugby politics like a fish needs a bicycle. We've already accomodated SA travel gripes by introducing a conference system, a system that rewards the worst conference (2012 Aus) by helping its top team (Reds) to the top of the overall table by giving it more games against the worst teams in the comp (Brumbies, Force, Rebels 3 of bottom 4 in 2012), thereby giving it the ultimate leg-up with home ground advantage in the finals. Now because Hoskins is incompetently running a weak and broken SARU, a SA team either faces relegation in 2012 or Aus and NZ have to bend over once again. Fifteen teams is already three too many - Super Rugby is diluting quality for media revenue. That SARU hasn't come out and quashed any rumours it is set to ask for one more team in 2013 is symptomatic of an organisation that cares little for its own public image, preferring to kneejerk from one stupid position to the next. It's a miracle SARU managed to select a high class coach like Meyer to run the Boks rather than reappointing the clown to continue performing in its own circus.

RUGBUG before you go on another rant I want you to find where I said it qwould be good for SARU to leave SANZAR. Thing is I never said it, you are raving and making all this noise for nothing chump... I want SANZAR to survive, for all the reasons you mention... All I am adding is that a Tasman comp wont work, if it could it would have been done already. I have not once said SA would be better off outside SANZAR.

nah rugbug. i'm against having another team in nz, solely because it wont add anything different. it would just become a team of NZ PI's based in auckland. hell most of them would be from sthAux i'd recommend having a PI and Asian team combined. so send all the poly's over to say either japan or hong kong and base them there. this would have the advantage of giving the poly boys somewhere close to be based. the asians would be rubbing shoulders with professional players and getting heaps of tips on how to improve and would open the asian market. in regards to the asian market can u imagine how popular the island boys would be? they'd be looked on as super heroes with their size and speed. japan adopted and loved Ray "sugarfoot" Sefo and i imagine something similar would happen to this team. asian populace would bring heaps of money into SR provided they were well marketed and the populace buys into the idea of having their own superRugby team also another reason which is probably a bit more subtle is i dont trust the NZRFU to treat the PI's with respect and fairness. if removed from the NZ and Aus environment it will help iterate that this isnt a big bro lil bro scenario and that they're a wholly idependent team. NZRFU (and the NZ govt) has in the past treated its Samoan and Fijian players atrociously in the past and i wouldnt want to give them another opportunity to do so

Rugbug now you are making assumptions... I am a fierce Rebels supporter, I was plat member last year as well as this year. I visit the army every game that's at home and support my team all the way. I have every player from last year including captain Sterlo's signature on my top. I do extra free work for the rebels and go to most the functions. So now that you look like an even bigger fool, would you like to say sorry for making assumptions about me?

The only teenage boy here it seems Temba it is you. You bang on about the CC, unfortunately Temba it is not as lucrative as you wish for us to believe, SA rugby would not survive at its current level on its own and many top flight players would head to Europe and or Japan. Whilst not in place currently a TT comp would be a lot more appealing than a domestic SA comp because as I keep saying to you NZ and Australia are the two best rugby nations on the planet and broadcasters pay to see the best play. yes SA is important to SANZAR as ar Aus and NZ a breakup would damage everyone involved including SA however NZ and Australia have the stable politics and economies and business nous to get a TT competion up and running and quickly and could easily involve teams from Japan if need be. Explain to me Temba how a sole SA comp would work but a TT comp wouldn't I'd be very interested to know.

Temba your right all that the competition is strong due to the SANZAR teams. However for the first 12 years of this competiton SA did not win a single title, it is only in the last 5 years it has actually come up to speed and in 2011 completely fell to the wayside and regularly has the lowest placed teams in the competiton. I would say SA has benefitted greatly from Playing NZ and Australian teams more than the others have benefitted from playing SA. NZ in particulary were the front runners in SANZAR for the first 10 years of this competiton and for the majority of that time had more teams yet the smallest population. Of course you would rather put up with the SARU and a TT comp would be boring for you as you are after all South African so would have nowhere to show your loyalty and a pick and go loyalty (moving to a new country and supporting the local team will never bring out the passion and fire that you have for your own home teams, its simple human nature and instincts. I would say to you go back through the results of SR and you will see that they have largely come to the fore because of their regular contact with the best two rugby nations on the planet. A Trans Tasman comp would still be significantly tougher than a solely SA domestic competiton