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A lot is being said, debated and threatened at the moment about the new format of the Super Rugby competition after the 2015 season.
At times the talk and posturing has become silly with talk of two conferences, Argentinian, Japanese and American/Canadian participation, South Africa joining the Northern Hemisphere etc.
However I have just had an enlightened moment and all of a sudden the solution appears so obvious to me. Why hasn’t anybody else seen it?
It boils down to having more, but less!
One of the biggest problems for Super Rugby is that the three partners have different agendas and priorities. The biggest challenge is to satisfy their individual requirements while at the same time not compromising the other two.
South Africa is under enormous “political” pressure to expand their number of teams to six, to the point that they would be prepared to walk away from the competition if it doesn’t happen (or so they say).
Australia are in dire need to expand their base and present a palatable product to their public who are spoilt for choice with a number of competing codes.
I don’t care what anybody else says, an international competition with integrity will always be attractive as long as the product stacks up.
New Zealand seem to be the easiest to please, as they are where they want to be at present. As long as the new format doesn’t compromise their revenue streams or put enormous stress on their player welfare they will go along.
So here is my solution.
Firstly, forget everybody else. At this stage Argentina and Japan should look more to setting up/joining competitions in the Americas and Asia.
If that’s not possible then it is too bad, as there’s no point in destroying a good competition by trying to accommodate everybody else.
Create two tiers, a first and second division with teams nine teams in each, three from each country in each division.
Instigate a promotion/relegation system in each country, where each country’s bottom first division team swaps with the top second division team or has a playoff to decide who takes the spot at the end of the round robin.
A playoff of the four top teams in the first division will decide the championship, and there could also be a second tier playoff in the second division (although I wouldn’t bother).
This way each country has six teams and maintains the status quo. Australia might struggle initially but with some wise importing and developmeny of local talent I think they will cope.
At a pinch they could have a foreign team (Argentinian?) based in Australia, although this is not the ideal solution.
Teams in each division could play each other twice, but I would prefer to have them play each other once. The big plus is that this shortens the season considerably and allows more time and strengthening of local comps such as the Currie Cup, ITM and the Waltzing Matilda Championship (or whatever the ARU decides to call it).
It will also help South African teams overcome the travel factor. With less games and clever scheduling they can probably have a two week window before they embark on their overseas sojourn.
As it is not possible to tow the good ship Australia and New Zealand closer to South Africa this is probably the best solution.
What is also significant is that the quality of the two divisions should be reasonably close, and if funded correctly both divisions should be able to keep their top players and not lose them to first division sides, especially if the remuneration is similar or the same.
It would also keep teams on their toes to the end of the competition with the thread/reward of relegation/promotion, as well as the first division playoffs, thus maintaining public interest with few dead rubber games.
Finally I should scrap the guarantee of at least one team from each country in the playoffs to make them earn the right. With a four team playoff we are guaranteed at least two countries will participate and I think it would be a rare occurrence where all three countries were not represented.
Finally, for the sake of argument, if I was a Highlanders supporter and in the second division, I would enjoy watching my team play the Lions or the Rebels as much as an Aucklander watching the Blues play the Sharks.
And there you have it, sometimes I scare myself with my brilliance! Now I am steeling myself to be shot down in flames.
Feel free to pass this to SANZAR, ARU and NZRFU, just remember it is my idea and my last chance at a comfortable retirement!
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