Japan beats Singapore for 18th Super Rugby side

What frustrates me is the simple logic behind it and still SANZAR doesn't see this. If each nation play their own domestic comp and let the top teams play a shortened version of SUper Matches.

The big question is: why put a Japanese team in SA conference? WHY? It is a big fu**ing mistake. Bad for business, PR, fans and players. Japan belongs to OZ and NZ.

This is like going to the farm stall and buying rich strong creamy milk, and loving it, while it comes in a super10, super12 pack, its highly regarded and savoured, but as the farm becomes more commercial, they start watering down the once rich product to the point that you start doing less and less journeys to the farm. Infact you even tell your wife its ok, to include you in kiddies parties, all the while you sit there and wonder where did this all go wrong ?

Great move, it was inevitable getting Japan into an expanded competition. I love Super Rugby, don't know why so many are critical of the format. Hopefully this will do wonders for the game in Japan leading into the 2019 World Cup.

Maybe your right Chivas, I have not provided a blueprint for the NRL & AFL, however i didn't realize that a domestic club based competition that is used in 99% of successful competitions in the world required that much understanding. It is sad though that the politics and self interest of people involved with the code here will never allow that to eventuate.

Pretty sure you didn't provide the AFL or NRL the blue print for their success any more than you are for rugby. Also not sure that your opinion of who would be welcomed as a fan and who wouldn't is particularly fair or valid. But certainly comments like that don't do anything for making your case more credible.

I'm worried about the Eastern Cape Kings of SA...That team is going to dilute the tournament as they finished last in the Curry Cup with only 1 team... As for the Japanese side i cant really say they will dilute the tournament as Japan did beat Italy and Wales although the teams were weakened a bit,but still it shows they have the players to perfom in a 2nd tier tournament.... As for the Los Pampas i expect them to reach the semis if their Rugby Championship perfomance is anything to go by

sheek, I will never understand why many of our fellow southerners do not see this model as the best one. This seems so obvious to me: you get to crown your very own champion (Oz, Nz, SA, Arg champion), AND you play the best of each federation to crown the best team in the region. Plus you can integrate as many countries as you want as only the finals would be different, domestic comps would remain untouched. I will never understand why ppl don't see this as the obvious best solution but as you say sanzar has other ideas. each to his own I guess.

Am just like sheek and a few others on this one mate, I prefer the European model, i.e. a model that's used in 99% of the world for 99% of the sports: keep the original clubs and don't tweak them to get something even better. I don't need Man U to merge with Liverpool and Man C to play all London clubs, some German clubs based in Bavaria or the north week in week out to enjoy euro football, basket, volley, hand, rugby etc. I prefer them to play each other during their regular season then play the best of each country in Heineken style cups like tonight in Europe. And most of all, I don't see the point of including teams from every part of the world just because we might get a few more dollars. I have the utmost respect for Japanese rugby that's precisely why I feel sorry for them. I will still watch SR as I love the sport but I just didn't see the need for this kind of expansion.

Lorry, Seven years on The Roar & I've done the domestic comp to death. Put simply, I would adopt the northern hemisphere approach of domestic leagues (4 major southern hemisphere countries) leading into a champions cup (say top 2 from each country). Of course, SANZAR has other ideas, but I'm just saying what I prefer. My domestic comp would mimic the great domestic comps of SA rugby (Currie Cup) & NZ rugby (NPC/ITMC). The following provinces might provide a starting point: ACT (Canberra) Eastern Australia (Newcastle) New South Wales (Sydney) North Queensland (Townsville) Queensland (Brisbane) South Australia (Adelaide) Victoria (Melbourne) Western Australia (Perth) Historically, this comp respects our provincial based history & traditions. But like I said, SANZAR has its own ideas, but I have my preferences.

I'm sorry i offended you regards your "derby dogs breakfast of a competition". And i agree it must have candy house and chocolate rivers in it. But i daresay the AFL & NRL are glad they didn't have supporters like you 20 years ago. Uno those codes with the $ billion TV deals.

Aus would be sent back to the stone age of rugby and lose all of its stars overseas because the domestic clubs could not afford them. The fans Aus has now would lose interest and the game would colapse as a major sport in Aus. But Ive been told thats the only way.

I agree

So if they take a Japanese club and tweak it they will be doing exactly like all of the NZ, SA and half the Aus sides did. I think you are failing to see what super rugby is Nick. Its creating a new side based on an old one and supplementing it from other smaller clubs. The Saders are based on Cantabury but are supplemented by other clubs and thats what a Japanese club should do.

The only way? A dreamer that assumes his dreams divine prophecy. Yes sure, if the ARU would only do what your guess-work then all would be awesome.

Agree the nrc is a complete waste of time and will never gain rugby support. Just look at the viewing figures they are farcical.

Sheek, you say: "Like fans of the AFL & NRL, I want to see the best Aussie sides play each other weekly, then our champions take on other domestic champions at year’s end." The thing is though, what are these "best Aussie sides" you're referring to? Obviously a handful of clubs in Sydney and Brisbane (e.g. Randwick, Norths, GPS, Sunnybank etc) and I suppose a couple of country areas in QLD and NSW, and Canberra have a long and great tradition of rugby union. I myself like to watch Shute Shield games, however where do these other "best Aussie sides" come from? There is no traditional rugby base in any other state, except for Melbourne perhaps, and even that is very, very limited. Do you really feel that people in S.A., Tas, NT, W.A. will be converted to rugby by watching a better version of the NRC? What is your proposal? And, I'm interested: would you personally really prefer to watch 2 Australian teams play each other, then say (a competitive) Buenos Aires v ACT, or NSW v Crusaders, or QLD v the Sharks? Or do you approach it from the belief that the only way forward for the game is through an Australia-wide comp? Why are Australians different to other rugby fans across the world? Are we more parochial? Says who? Irish rugby manages to coexist and in fact thrive in a market with gaelic football, hurling and soccer - all of those games are run on different models... Why does rugby have to be the same as AFL and NRL which, let's be honest, are not really national games/comps either - especially rugby league, which has a smaller footprint then union across the whole country... And AFL involves transplant teams in Sydney and Brisbane I personally love the internationalism of rugby and, if anything, I think the expansion into non-traditional rugby areas in Australia e.g. Western Force and Melbourne Rebels, and the resultant increasing local "derbies" (can we even call it a derby when there is no history behind it?) has actually been the reason my interested in Super rugby has waned somewhat recently.... Do you love nothing more than watching Melbourne play the Western Force? That's kind of like Aussie Rules fans loving to watch GWS and Brisbane Lions - I really doubt there's any from the AFL heartlands who love watching those teams battle it out... I'm sure you've probably said all this before, but I'm really interested to know why you feel the way you do and also what your idea of a better way forward is.... Cheers

Could you just stop constently complaining about everything the ARU does and declaring how they will only succeed if they do what you want, which by your post below is a dream so removed from reality it must have candy houses and chocolate rivers in it. I mean you constently moan about it and then I see your suggestion and its just ridiculous imo. You claim they dobt try to grow the game domestically as they obviously are with the NRC but then you say the NRC doesnt count and they should stop everything and start a stand alone comp. It isnt going to happen, stop whinging about everything.

Yeah but thats just it if australians prefer league and AFL then they can watch that instead it doesnt bother me. and while their union teams crumble all that means is that other countries get to move up the rankings at their expense and eventually 5 argentine teams will take their place in the super 15. Theyve tried to grow rugby in oz it hasnt worked time to move on imo

I think New Zealand would be fine