With Super Rugby just a matter of days away, although it’s only mid-January, these are the entities that need to hit the ground running.
Super Rugby as a whole
It’s a big year for this competition. Despite coming off one of the most exciting seasons in recent history – with a flip-of-the-coin South African conference, a resurgent Australian group, and a typically entertaining New Zealand pool – crowds continued to fall while TV audiences saw no improvement.
This year is important. Question marks remain over the tournament’s future and over its value to broadcasters. This edition is the final one of the current broadcast deal, where it’ll have to impress broadcasters ahead of next year. There will be much less content in 2021, going from an 18-week regular season down to 13, with the total number of games falling from 127 to 96.
That being said, next year will see the end of the unpopular conference system, as well as the axing of the woeful Sunwolves. So with a competitive season, SANZAAR’s product will look a lot better.
Rob Penney
The newly appointed coach of the Waratahs has got a challenge ahead of him in Australia’s biggest rugby market with a brand new halves pairing.
Early signs are good. He’s signed up former league player Phil Bailey and nabbed Jack Maddocks from the Rebels, which frees up Kurtley Beale to play fly half instead of the under-experienced Mack Mason.
(Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
It’s also a very young squad – although not entirely unrecognisable – with only two members remaining from the 2014 championship-winning team.
He can file this year under the rebuilding tag if it all goes wrong, but I doubt NSW Rugby will accept that excuse after a second season.
James O’Connor
It’s all very well to go alright at a World Cup, but if O’Connor wants to nail down a spot in the Wallabies, he’ll have to perform consistently in a Reds jumper.
The Reds flex a fairly strong back line with Filipo Daugunu, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Henry Speight and Jordan Petaia. O’Connor will have his work cut out for him just holding down a spot at a Super Rugby level.
The Highlanders
With the Lions, Stormers and Rebels breathing down their neck, the Highlanders snuck into the 2019 finals series by a solitary point.
They’ll be hard pushed to find that kind of success this time around, having lost a number of their core players in the off-season. A player exodus to the northern hemisphere is nothing new, especially post-World Cup, but the Otago-based team are probably the most affected this year.
Aaron Mauger’s team will say goodbye to more than 500 games worth of experience. Ben Smith, Luke Whitelock and Waisake Naholo headline the list of departing players, with Marty Banks, Elliot Dixon and Tevita Li also leaving.
In 2019 they took the penultimate spot in their conference, and with the continued rise of the Blues, they could be at risk of coming last in 2020.
Muglair
Roar Rookie
Interesting to watch maybe. Sadly I have an emotional investment in the outcome and I am not optimistic, especially since Foxtel's axing of NM and the mid-week show.
Chris
Guest
Waratahs 2017: 16th out of 18, 4th Aussie team. And that was the year Ned Hanigan got most of his test caps playing at 6. Absolute flop.
Steve
Guest
Yep, worst decision for any sporting competition in a long long time. Cutting the most well-attended, passionately-support team in the competition (I recall the Brumbies being grateful to play in front of such a crowd last year), from a resurgent country who just made the RWC QFs. Embarrassing. Aus/NZ should have separated from SA and embraced the PI and Japanese team (Especially with the quality of the Drua in NRC).
JamesDuncan
Roar Guru
Agreed. Great chance for the Jags to grab a title.
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
No chicken wing coaching i hope...
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
Petaia will be a great centre but is already class on the wing. Hope you’re right and both he and TK play for the Wallabies this year.
Carl Spackler
Guest
From 2026 no South Africa teams in Super Rugby, or what ever it will be known as by then. Ten teams from Australia and NZ plus some Pacific isles and Japan. Been rumoured for a long time, too expensive to travel to Africa apparently.
gatesy
Roar Guru
I think, with respect, that you are wrong about O'Çonnor. Having seen hiim in yesterdays trial, he still has an uncanny ability to work in traffic and unpick the defence. As defences get stronger, and more complex, that kind of player is pure gold. Gone are the days of crashball no 12's -though still useful, and we saw how the Brumbies used their forwards like Arnold to do that work in the mid-field last season - as forwards up-skill in those areas, the centres with guile and composure become more important.
Harry Jones
Expert
Yes, seriously poor marketing.
Big Dave
Roar Rookie
Mack may well be better than Beale, but he has a lot of work to do to redeem himself from last year.
Big Dave
Roar Rookie
The Gibson era was awful for the tahs. But comments like Richie's are still rubbish. Inane tah bashing adds nothing to the conversation. He'd see a lot more clearly if he removed his heard from his sphincter.
Big Dave
Roar Rookie
Yeah you've got nothing, troll. Move along.
Baylion
Roar Rookie
Lions: An interesting year with a new and young coaching team and more than half the squad 23 years or younger and more than half the squad with less than 10 Super Rugby Caps (not necessarily the same half) Former captain Warren Whiteley has been appointed lineout coach, new defence coach Sean Erasmus, an experienced schools coach and former SA Schools coach, has brought in a new defensive system while former wrestler and forwards coach, Philip Lemmer, is the Collisions and Rucking coach and is teaching the Lions players wrestling techniques to improve their dominance at collisions, both on defence and attack Coaches: Ivan v Rooyen: Head Coach Sean Erasmus: Defence Neil de Bruin: Attack, Backs & skills Julian Redelinghuys: Forwards - Scrum Warren Whiteley: Forwards - Line-Out Philip Lemmer: Collisions & Rucking
Midfielder
Roar Guru
Will be watching how SR reinvents itself this year as Rugby & Football have similar issues pertaining to the games key metrics in crowds, rating and media space. Football has emerged from a 3 year civil war, with new governance procedures in place and a new board. Rugby has been as I see it in its own internal civil war maybe not as toxic as Footballs but in a state of many and constant negative articles. As somewhat a student of sports management, tis interesting if you look at the USA, Baseball & Basketball have falling rating and have had huge falls, Nacar racing has been the biggest looser. Gridiron has lost some but not as much as the others only the MLS over recent years has increased its rating but even they fell last year. SR in reducing games is interesting when using USA stats as the sports with the biggest falls are those with wall to wall massive coverage... Gridiron only has a short season, & the MLS out of close to 400 games only nationalises broadcast around 100... Good luck for the season and I hope you start to recover to your past achievements.
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Yes I’m certain he has. Lucas and Hegarty are both better at 10 and 15. Useful on the bench, the 3rd backs spot goes to him or Jock Campbell depending on whether you want a defender or attacker to close out the game.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
Unfortunately, I wonder whether Stewart might have missed his opportunity to really nail a starting spot?
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Agree and yesterday’s trial suggests that’s the lineup Thorn will start the season with. 10.Lucas 12. JOC and 15. Hegarty looked like a good fit. And Daugunu looked good, 3 pies in about the first 10 minutes!
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
But over the last four years, the Waratahs have come: 2016: 10th out of 18, 2nd Aussie team 2017: 16th out of 18, 4th Aussie team 2018: 3rd out of 15, 1st Aussie team 2019: 12th out of 15, 3rd Aussie team Fans of the Tahs will be happy to removing on from the Gibson years, which were dreary beyond belief. I personally think it is a shame that Thorn is coaching the Reds though, with the great young players in that squad.
Machooka
Roar Guru
This is true Harry... but I'll be most interested to see how the 'youth' perform, this season, in SR in the SH. NZ has always been a factory when it comes to unearthing future talent for their SR teams... let alone their national team. Aussie, on the other hand, has struggled in this regard recently, but with so many senior players leaving our shores we're now forced to blood some 'youth'... and I'm excited by that prospect. And, without knowing for sure, I think Argentina have some quality 'youth' coming through if the last U20 Championships was a true indicator. SA? Wouldn't have a clue really... you may wish to enlighten me :happy: :thumbup: :rugby: For mine the real issue with SR is it's ineptness to successfully market it's product... a product, just look at last season's as an example, that's worth marketing. The product is good, it's just the front office that is woeful. :unhappy:
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
I wouldn't have JOC back three anymore, no way. I still think that the following is the most likely, and makes the most sense: 9. McDermott 10. Lucas - young and very exciting, more skilled and dynamic than Hegarty 11. Daugunu - best attacking player at the Reds 12. JOC - his preferred position, and can take some pressure off Lucas 13. Petaia - needs no explanation 14. Speight - very good in recent years, has put defensive woes behind him 15. Hegarty - steady hand, quality player, good goal kicker, can play fullback as well as 10. Can take pressure off Lucas.