Super Rugby review began with the wrong outcome in mind

I beg to differ Ozee316, as do the majority of those that have made a comment on this site or blog. Should you wish to provide an alternative (that's based on logic not emotions) let me know - it might take a few hours due to your timezone being different to mine by about 10 hours.

That's gold Mark, thanks for commenting.

Cunny Funts I love the concept of everyone playing eachother once. It's the simplest and most straightforward concept - the only reason I went with the model I did was to replicate the number of games that SANZAR had agreed upon for the new competition.

Hi Midfielder, thanks for reading and your feedback, much appreciated mate. Before I delve into it I want to state that my article was submitted with the plan named The Angus Plan, after my son, as I believe that generation are the games future and true stakeholders. This article also appeared on my blog and the poll currently runs at 94% of respondents stating an SA team should not have been included - just go to the website on my profile to vote. :) One of the best aspects of the current system is that as a supporter we get to watch our teams play teams from all three conferences and therefore test ourselves against different styles - thankfully we don't have to watch two teams playing Jake Ball too often. It's also important to not overlook the tremendous experience this provides our players to expand their horizons and see the world - Israel Folau has been quoted stating playing overseas is one of Rugby's biggest drawcards - maybe this needs to be explored more. The challenge with your question is that SA, NZRU and the ARU will each have their own short, medium and long term goals and the unfortunate thing is that they do not overlap. In Super Rugby both South Africa and New Zealand are reasonably mature from a market viewpoint, both in terms of players and supporters, with minimal competition from other football codes (except perhaps soccer in South Africa). That leads us to the question of how to expand the game? Midfielder you are bang on in saying there are there are significant opportunities in Australia, particularly in Western Sydney (you only need to take note of the Wanderers success) as well as foreign markets most notably Japan. I question whether we have the depth for a sixth team, however perhaps it is like the Field of Dreams and if it's built with infrastructure at the grassroots, school and NRC level the talent will develop. Perhaps the idea of seeding a sixth franchise with players from the Pacific Islands and basing it in Penrith is something that needs to be considered, as it certainly would allow the team to quickly gain traction with the communities of Western Sydney - maybe some of their away teams could be in Samoa, Tonga and Fiji? We could also allow Australian players playing in an Asian team to be considered for Wallabies selection. Without strong leadership from the ARU, the goal of expanding the domestic rugby will remain unfulfilled. Getting rugby on free to air, might be a good start as well. Thats it for now, will ponder more deeply.

That's a good alternative 7/8s- whilst I really would love a team or two from the Pacific Islands region I can't help but think the powers that be just don't want to share the talent pool. NZR and the ARU wouldn't be keen, not to mention the fact the damage they would cause - who will ever forget the contact and hits when there was a Pacific Islands team in 2004! It would be the right thing to do though, as they have given so much to world rugby.

Hi Darwin Stubbie, by the 13 team reference I can only take it you are referring to some of the names used for the teams. The background to this error is that I had all the teams listed, and in my haste to included location references for each team at the last moment because I thought it would better illustrate my intent. Little did I know that the Blues aren't located in Auckland and the Crusaders must come from a region other than Canterbury - I do note an error or two with the South African teams and I must also ask for leniency in calling the use of Dunedin Highlanders instead of Otago Highlanders - that happens when its late and you have had a big day. I must admit Sheek and soapit I did have a chuckle at the reaction. Sorry for late responses, massive day and only noticed the Roar notification on my way home.

That's more like it! Sometimes the simple solution is the correct one Eddard.

You are quite correct Michael. I had all the teams listed, and in my haste omitted the wrong team - much the same with some of their names as well. I had them listed as they are now known, and at the last minute I popped in the location reference and made a couple of typos or errors - I can only trust that my Rugby brothers and sisters can look past these and gain a sense for both the issues raised and some options to improve the game structure.

Thanks Johnno, great to know I will have good company if I am ever relegated to the doghouse! Would love to see a super club finals series with the best of Currie, ITM and NRC along with a few other ring ins. Thanks for the feedback.