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Opinion
From a neutral perspective in the ideal time zone I must admit I am desperately disappointed about the demise of the old Super Rugby.
We had New Zealand and Australia games in the morning, South Africa games around dinner time and then Argentina games later in the evening.
However, I obviously wasn’t paying the airfares, and I’ve heard a rumour SANZAAR might be looking for a wider audience than just me – though sorting out a broadcaster in my region more than half an hour before kick-off would be swell, but I digress.
It got me thinking about how southern hemisphere rugby looks for 2022 and beyond. I’ve more chance of understanding Inception than the format of next year’s tournament, so I’d like to get the views of the Roarers on what I have come up with.
I have seen many comments saying Super Rugby AU is great – local derbies and an Aussie winner every week, and no more shellackings from Kiwi sides. I have also seen many people say that Australia needs the Kiwis to keep the Aussie teams on their toes to avoid a big bash of the reality sledgehammer in international matches – See Super Rugby Trans-Tasman 2021. Ouch.
My solution: why not have both? Watching the National Provincial Championship in New Zealand and the Currie Cup South Africa, it’s glaringly obvious that there needs to be a second-tier competition in Australia.
My proposal would be to run Super Rugby AU concurrently with the two competitions mentioned above. It’s got the tribalism and the established rivalries, which might solve the issue of relatability with the NRC that I’ve been reading about.
Now to Super Rugby, whatever its name will be. My suggestion is for Australia to have three teams, but not like the Waratahs, Reds and Force – sorry, Brumbies fans, but the Force are just such a loveable team. Instead the three sides would be more like State of Origin teams than club sides. Players for New South Wales would play for the Blues (take it easy, it’s just an example), Queenslanders for the Maroons and the other players (Victorians, Western Australians, Fijians et cetera) would play for a Barbarian team that would host home games in Melbourne and Perth as well as potentially Adelaide, Darwin and Hobart in the future.
These three teams would be more than a shout against the five Kiwi sides and the two proposed Pacific Island sides. I would also suggest that the players from these three teams who do not make the Wallabies or any other respective international team would be signed to one of the five franchises for provincial Super Rugby AU – say, for example, if Cadeyrn Neville were to play for NSW and not be in the Wallabies squad, he would be able to play for the Brumbies.
I hate to overuse the phrase ‘glaringly obvious’ – although it’s glaringly obvious I in fact do not, far from it – but it is sadly the case that Australia cannot match New Zealand five teams for five teams. I look to the Trans-Tasman tournament and the 2017 Super Rugby seasons as examples.
I personally glean from the limited time I have spent in Australian rugby circles that rugby union faces far too stiff a competition from the other three footy codes to have representative teams getting trounced every week.
Please be gentle. I may not quite have the rugby brain of certain other authors on the site, but I am passionate about Australian rugby and would desperately like to see the Wallabies back up near the top, starting with a win at Eden Park on Saturday.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.