With the COVID-19 pandemic, Super Rugby 2020 is dead in the water.
Super Rugby to date has been an internationally FIFO sport. With international travel now in lock-down for the remainder of this year, international rugby is looking increasingly unlikely.
In the NRL, the innovation committee is considering two conferences: one in NSW, and one in Queensland. All players would be quarantined for the duration of the competition. Sure, it would take a commitment by players and their families, but it could certainly work.
Perhaps Super Rugby could follow suit.
So what would a quarantined domestic Super Rugby competition look like? Well, it couldn’t be the endless merry-go-round of four teams constantly facing off. Aside from the fact the four teams are interstate, a silo conference would very quickly become tedious to the viewing public.
The best way to pull this off is a national club tournament comprising 16 rugby clubs (four conferences, four clubs per conference) that makes use of a draft system to bolster teams with Wallabies and Super Rugby players. That, of course, is when the time is right. That time would require close scrutiny and agreement by all parties.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Four conferences would neatly fit into the four Super Rugby franchise locations.
1. Reds conference in Brisbane: semi-finalists from the 2019 Hospital Cup.
2. Waratahs conference in Sydney: semi-finalists from the 2019 Shute Shield.
3. Brumbies conference in Canberra and Country NSW: finalists of 2019 regular season John I Dent Cup, and the finalists of the NSW Kentwell Cup (Country NSW).
4. Rebels conference in Melbourne: 2019 Dewar Shield finalists, plus 2019 Pindan premier grade finalists.
How would it work with COVID-19?
After a mandatory 14-day isolation period for players and officials, the format would see each conference feature quarantined regular-season games. The top two teams from the conference would face off in a knock-out eliminator to determine who qualifies to play against other conference champions.
Then it is straight to business. Private planes and buses would ensure safe passage to championship venues.
1. Qualifying final 1: winner of Reds conference versus winner of Rebels conference.
2. Qualifying final 2: winner of Brumbies conference versus winner of Waratahs conference (these conferences are within driving distance).
3. Grand final: Winner of qualifying final 1 versus winner of qualifying final 2.
Getting it off the ground will be monumental challenge. That said, a willingness from the often-warring stakeholders and power brokers to turn crisis into opportunity could be just the tonic Australian rugby needs. Fox Sports should see the value in club content, rather than no content.
Where do you stand: give Super Club Rugby a crack? Or are there any other options people see out there?
fast freddy
Guest
Best Idea yet, scrap the Super teams and promote the club rugby to a higher level, local clubs to support, pathways for juniors and funded by the super rugby funds. Get twiggy to invest his GRR funds as well!!
Will Garret
Guest
A lot of tossers with a lot of money rule the city. A lot of teams pump up the teams with overseas giants and make mainstream ozzies the minority.
Bob McCarthy
Guest
Most illogical comment I've read in a while. Clubs play in England, and they were in World Cup Final. Should definetly be trialling innovations in the year of Corona.
Noggy
Guest
Personally, we need to look after the heartlands first.
Hooker
Guest
Here here. Will add, we should be able to draft teams from Force into the Melb- WA conference.
Eric
Guest
What good is a dead year to anyone? Jaeger has a point. Borders have closed up. For that reason alone, only comp that will work is Australian Club Champs with draft.
Big bopper
Guest
Why not have a draft to balance out comp and make Rebels & Brumbies competitive?
jeznez
Roar Guru
Are you from Sydney? Why do you feel more engaged with a club you don’t follow than with a genuine Sydney team?
rebel
Roar Guru
Congrats on your article, of all the national club models proposed, this is the best one I've seen for including non Bris/Syd areas. However it's a no from me for all the reasons Jez has pointed out. The NRC is the best national model and NSW appears to have finally got their structure right.
ScottD
Roar Guru
The NRL are kidding themselves , Soapy. It'll never happen.
ScottD
Roar Guru
There is plenty of support for NRC, just not in Sydney
ScottD
Roar Guru
Jaeger - congratulations on your first article. I'm sorry but your concept has big holes and is once again a manufactured concept designed to do what exactly? It fixes nothing that i can see and creates a lot of costs that there aren't funds for. Better, I think to simply support the restart of club rugby in each state (at each state's sole discretion) and then move to the NRC. If that means pushing the rugby season back 2-3 months or even having no state rugby because of pandemic issues then that is fine. The "Internal Super Rugby" concept will be expensive, complicated and will mean we are starting a new concept with probably limited crowd attendance. It will dig a massive financial hole and deliver not much. Whereas club rugby with NRC will not be as expensive and has at least half a chance of delivering some local interest and rugby joy to the community.
Mark Townrow
Guest
Why does WA need to combine with Victoria?? Between the force and Pindan there is enough quality even without the ex force players now in Melbourne. Let’s not forget the NRC results over the last years RA deemed Victoria a better state for Rugby than WA, lets see them stand on their own two feet. yes, I get that makes 5 conference’s But once again WA bears the brunt of expense due to geographical location Merge them with Canberra and let NSW work out what 4 teams they want
Iain
Guest
I like the idea with the one exception of not including a side from WA which has a solid union base - but I also get that distance & covid restrictions are a problem there. What is interesting reading the comments & responses is that almost everyone would apparently see Rugby Union go down the gurgler if their club wasn't involved 'cos they wouldn't watch it. Wow !!! WTF - maybe we don't deserve any viable competition if personal interest is such a strong factor in determining the format. I understand that sport is tribal so maybe we should be looking at teams with a new name which draws its players from existing clubs within its geographical constituency? That way you could see some connection to your club and develop an additional allegiance? This process would possibly be less relevant to teams from Melbourne & Perth where the club rugby is perhaps more centralized to those cities. I'd watch that but what I definitely won't support is anything that smacks of the good old boys from NSW & Qld trying to hog the cake to themselves and FEE.
Hello?
Guest
...maybe because very few feel that NRC teams represent them? I feel that's the key that you're missing here, jez - few rugby supporters (myself included) feel any sort of connection to NRC. Even if I don't support Uni, Norths, Eastwood or Warringah, they're teams I am more engaged with.
JSJ
Roar Rookie
From what I have heard, NRL are in big financial trouble as well, and could be losing clubs next year. Their broadcaster Channel 9 has been putting the boot into them. Sounded just like News/Foxtel bashing the RA
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
And that’s the thing Jez, “plastic” franchises with no history are set up to represent regions which capture all fans in it, not clubs which were set up to be clubs, and have evolved into bigger clubs, but still represent small areas, and compete with many other small clubs for the emotional attachment of people.
Bevan
Guest
We get out of super rugby and go club, we can forget about tear one international rugby !!!
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Yeah but there’s something like 7000 rugby clubs. There’s more people with absolutely no connection.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
If there was this dormant group of people who just wanted to watch some rugby, would Super Rugby and NRC rate through the roof?