I want to make an appeal to my fair-minded Kiwi friends on The Roar.
Let me tell you the plan, and then let me address your concern. Here’s the plan.
For the next two years, we stick with a separate Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Aotearoa competition with six teams each.
A six-team home-and-away season will take us to 13 weeks including finals, a bye week, and an Anzac Bledisloe Cup game (see below).
Both the AU and Aotearoa finals would be played to a packed house, as would the mid-season Anzac Bledisloe Cup game.
The AU and Aotearoa finals would be followed by a Super Bowl game between the winner of Super Rugby AU and the winner of Super Rugby Aotearoa. Boom! Another packed house. This takes us to 14 weeks.
(Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images)
This would be followed by a Champions League played over five weeks. The top two Japanese teams would join the top two Aotearoa teams and the top two AU teams. Each team would play all other teams not from their own domestic competition for four games followed by a final between the two best teams. Boom! Another packed house.
At the same time as the Champions League is being played, the bottom four AU teams would play the bottom four Aotearoa teams in a shorter Super Rugby Trans-Tasman. Again, each team would play all the other teams not from their own domestic comp for four games followed by a final between the two best teams.
The Champions League and Trans-Tasman would take us to 19 weeks, which would fill the window between late February and the July Tests.
Every team from New Zealand and Australia would get a minimum of seven home games and seven away games each year. There would be plenty of blockbuster events and finals throughout the season to capture the interest of spectators.
The season would look as follows.
Week 1: Super Rugby AU/Aotearoa
Week 2: Super Rugby AU/Aotearoa
Week 3: Super Rugby AU/Aotearoa
Week 4: Super Rugby AU/Aotearoa
Week 5: Super Rugby AU/Aotearoa
Week 6: Super Rugby AU/Aotearoa
Week 7: Super Rugby AU/Aotearoa
Week 8: Super Rugby AU/Aotearoa
Week 9: Super Rugby AU/Aotearoa (week off for all Test players in camp)
Week 10: Anzac Day Bledisloe Cup (week off for all non-Test players)
Week 11: Super Rugby AU/Aotearoa
Week 12: Super Rugby AU/Aotearoa semi-final
Week 13: Super Rugby AU/Aotearoa final
Week 14: Super Bowl
Week 15: Champions League/Trans-Tasman
Week 16: Champions League/Trans-Tasman
Week 17: Champions League/Trans-Tasman
Week 18: Champions League/Trans-Tasman
Week 19: Champions League/Trans-Tasman final
Now let me address your main concern.
You say Super Rugby Aotearoa is too intense for the players and too boring for the fans.
But here’s the thing I want to say to my Kiwi friends: Super Rugby Aotearoa is not the worst thing that could happen to you. Seriously.
You don’t realise how good rugby fans have got it in New Zealand compared to Australia.
I’m absolutely befuddled that more Kiwis aren’t besotted with Super Rugby Aotearoa. It was such fantastic rugby! And look at how good it has made your teams and players. They’ve never been better!
Being worried about the intensity of Super Rugby Aotearoa or feeling a bit bored by it are seriously not big problems compared to the negative impact losing Super Rugby AU and replacing it with a full season Trans-Tasman will have on Australian rugby.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Let me say that another way: retaining Super Rugby Aotearoa will hurt New Zealand rugby a lot less than losing Super Rugby AU and replacing it with a full-season Trans-Tasman will hurt Australian rugby. That’s the bottom line. Please hear this concern.
Australia needs Super Rugby AU in the short term. And we can’t afford to have a full-season Trans-Tasman comp at the moment because of the competitive gap that exists between our teams. The above plan gives us the goldilocks amount of Trans-Tasman games for now.
Now, please don’t threaten to walk away with the two new Pacific Island teams. That’s just silly. A seven-team home-and-away Super Rugby Aotearoa would take up the whole season, leaving Australia alone to do something special with Japan after Super Rugby AU. You don’t want to miss out on that. The above plan is better for you.
However, if you really can’t accept Super Rugby Aotearoa, then at least bear with it for the next two years before we join together for a full-season Trans-Tasman comp. This will give Rugby Australia time to put in place and execute a plan to develop the depth and competitiveness of our Super Rugby teams while we play slightly fewer games against the New Zealand teams in the Champions League and Trans-Tasman as explained above.
Surely that’s a fair deal, and not too much to ask from our noble Kiwi friends.
Emery Ambrose
Roar Rookie
My Choices 1st - Super 14 - 5 NZ, 3 AU, 4 S Africa( there 4 extra franchises or there top 4 coming back from NHemisphere) 2 Pacific - 1 Round robin then finals 2nd - NPC for NZ with 12 or 14 teams, new National Comp for AU, 10 Unions rep teams selected from clubs in there union, super teams part of this where the union aligns. 3rd - Super 16 - 5 NZ, 5 AU, 4 Japan, 2 Pacific - 1 Round robin then finals 4th - Super Rugby Trans Tasman/Pacific
Yes, Scotland has been that bad.
Rocky B
Guest
I would rather see a rebirth off the NZ NPC then watch anymore seasons of Super Rugby Aotearoa. You can’t sell a brand that only has 2 games per week. If Australia doesn’t want a 12 team Trans Tasman comp with a round robin, semis and final then better off scrapping it and going our separate ways.
AndyS
Guest
Right, so you are in fact saying that TT absolutely is a joint venture between NZ and Aus (not just NZ doing everything and Aus cruising along behind), and if it doesn't stack up for both then it will need to be something else, but if NZ goes it alone there is no certainty that MP would be involved (otherwise there would be no reason they couldn't be recruiting right now). Glad we got that sorted out, assume we won't hear the 'NZ is doing all the work', 'They'll just switch to a seven team SRao then' narrative again?
NZ has signed off on their participation......Now waiting for Aus to do the same. keep throwing the same thing all you like but I cant be clearer than I have already been Andy.
AndyS
Guest
But you've said that NZ has completely decided about the PI teams, so regardless of what Australia decides they'll have a comp to play in. I think the phrase was "from an NZR perspective all decisions were made and PM and Fiji are in for next year", so whether it is a 12 team comp with Aus or a 7+ team comp with NZ, what are they waiting for?
CUW
Roar Rookie
40 degrees Celcius ??? :shocked: how far is japan from the equator ?
McLennan also wants NZ to share its higher TV revenue with Aus and also wants a garranteed semi between 2 Aus sides and therefore a garranteed Aus team in the final.
So the same as the rest of the teams in SR?
RA needs to sign-off on them. I dont know why but I presume its the rather simple fact that they have said they want to be involved in some form of comp v NZ somewhere. But they have stated a deadline of end of June so if their plans are to go it 100% alone then why arnt they doing just that? They want it all. And as usual want others to organise it and set it up and then hand over a whole lot of money to pay for it.
JC
Roar Rookie
Not a draft necessarily but there would have to be a salary to cap to encourage talent to spread around the 7 teams reasonably evenly. It could be a fresh start for some experienced players, having a key role in founding a new side. Plus, as nroko says above, you'd have to pay more professional players overall, 75-80 more, presumably from the NPC. Plus staff, facilities etc -- it's not an overnight thing. The broadcasters would have to want it, and be prepared to pay more for more games. But it's an option if NZRU want to drop the intensity of Super Aotearoa slightly, and of course, provide opportunities to more players. If the Trans-Tasman comp wasn't a possibility, they'd have to consider more teams, anyway.
AndyS
Guest
But you said above that all the NZR decisions are completely made, so they are definitely in one competition or another. So what's stopping them recruiting?
potsie
Guest
The speed difference is probably reflective of the fact that SA were already prepared for the split and transition to a new competition but NZ and Aust were caught unaware when SA unilaterally cancelled super rugby, cast NZ, Aust and Arg adrift and left them scrambling for a new structure.
DAVEC
Roar Rookie
our commentators are bad enough in nz thanks
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
nroko, sounds like JC is advocating a TT player draft. Which is the offer McLennan made to NZ and what Marinos confirmed had been raised with NZ.
alex
Roar Pro
We did they told us to get stuffed
potsie
Guest
And imagine what the up-swell would have been if NSW were having a good year and made the final.
potsie
Guest
You still have a problem. If you play high level rugby in July- August in Japan, it will only be a matter of time before a player dies. 40 degree temperatures with 90% humidity and taxing exercise takes you beyond the bounds of homeostasis. And only Kobe of the current top teams has access to an airconditioned stadium.
I presume its still under some SAANZAR banner of some description. I just hope like hell SA isnt getting any of the revenue like they did for not showing up to the RC last year. There is no SA so moving forward is the answer.
potsie
Guest
You seem to be of the opinion that NZ fans don't like Super Rugby Aotearoa and want a trans-Tasman competition. All the data (tv viewership, crowd sizes) says the opposite. But the players like going on tour and NZAo is a fly in, fly out competition, and NZR want to increase quantity of content and want to do it the easy way (incorporate Australian teams) rather than the better way (grow 3 more NZ teams). But other than the obvious problems of integrating the new Japan 25 team competition and season alignment, this is easily one of the best and more thoughtful proposals going around.