The Wrap: Everything that worked and didn’t work in Super Round

SANZAAR’s twice delayed Super Round finally saw the light of day in Melbourne across Anzac Day weekend, albeit with a few caveats and obstacles thrown in at late notice.

When it became obvious on Wednesday morning that the Force would be unable to field a side – around twenty of their squad coming down with COVID and the remaining players deemed close contacts, unable to fly across from Perth – portents looked ominous.

Fur flew as an aggrieved Moana Pasifika – who have suffered disproportionately – and a bemused Force let their frustrations show, but the reality is that it was always likely that COVID would catch up with the competition at some point.

Efforts to put together a scratch match were always going to come to nothing, so with Friday night’s fare halved, and crowd numbers low, things were off to a rocky start.

That gentle rock slide turned into an avalanche for the Waratahs who, within two minutes, were missing two-thirds of their front row; Angus Bell sent off for tipping Sam Cane on his head and, while referee Nic Berry was determining his fate, hooker Dave Porecki wobbling off with concussion.

The Waratahs were manful and brave, everything a supporter wants to see from their side, and to recover to 27-30 was close to a minor miracle. But as the game went on, petrol tickets were cashed in, and the ability of the Chiefs’ runners to punch through contact and allow for fast recycled ball, eventually told.

Flyhalf Bryn Gatland’s distribution was quick and clean, with winger Jonah Lowe a notable four-try beneficiary.

Saturday opened with a bonus match; the Super W final scheduled to allow Melbourne’s Fijian community an opportunity to support both the Fijiana Drua against the Waratahs, and the Drua against the Blues.

The final proved to be an outstanding advertisement for rugby, and for women’s sport. After a nervous opening, the error rate dropped away and the vocal, pro-Fijian crowd strapped in for a contest that was equal parts physical and willing, fast and skilful.

Two players scored three tries, the Waratah’s Natalie Delamere, and Fijian flyer, Vitalini Naikore, although it was hooker Vika Matarungu who was the source of most forward momentum.

After multiple lead changes, and with tension building, the Fijiana Drua overcame their dysfunctional lineout and found a way to work the ball to the wings, to score two late tries, and claim a thrilling 32-26 victory.

Super Rugby W has made giant strides this year, and while there are two considerable hurdles to overcome – the cash on offer to players from the NRL, and a northern hemisphere reality check at this year’s World Cup – this has the feel of a competition that is on the way to somewhere good.

The Drua hung in manfully against the Blues, mastering the short grubber and notching the highlight of the first half; a try by a hooker that wasn’t on the back end of a lineout maul.

Eventually going down 35-18, this was the best Drua performance of the season; manning up in defence, inventive in attack, and demonstrating the maturity that confirms they belong at this this level.

The Blues star midfield combination of Barrett, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Ioane were all kept under wraps. All Black fans should hope that it was just one of those quiet nights. Or that attention is drawn more towards players like Richie Mou’unga and Jack Goodhue, who appeared to be in sharper nick, on Sunday.

If Ardie Savea thought he had issues with New Zealand refs not liking the Hurricanes, Angus Gardner hit them like a whirlwind, firstly allowing a line-out throw that almost hit Reds stand-in flyhalf Lawson Creighton on the chest, before dishing out successive yellow cards. Not that a tip tackle and a high shoulder left Gardner with much choice.

The Reds took full advantage, racing out to 17-0, but a poor pass from Creighton gifted the Hurricanes a runaway try, before a needless high tackle from Conor Vest gave him his turn on the naughty chair. This opened the door for the Hurricanes to close the margin to 17-14 at halftime.

It was poor reward for the Reds after such an industrious start, but a harsh lesson on how, against New Zealand opposition, a heap of good work counts for little if you relax your discipline or shift your attention.

The Reds drew a lot of energy from Harry Wilson and Fraser McReight, but clearly missed James O’Connor, for his calm authority and also, a more mature tactical appreciation. Too many shallow kicks only served to bring Jordie Barrett into the match.

In the end it was 30 unanswered points to the Hurricanes, and a harsh reality check for the Reds, who need to lift several notches from here.

To Sunday, and Brumbies fullback Tom Wright threw in an early coach killer against the Highlanders, spoiling a tasty backline move by spilling the ball over the try-line in a too-casual put-down.

It didn’t stop the Brumbies totally dominating field position for the first half-hour, but towards half-time, the match had a similar feel to that of the previous night; another Australian side seemingly unable to maintain their early tempo and accuracy. The Brumbies’ lead of 17-7 felt ten points shy.

The difference this time was that the Highlanders didn’t have the attacking threats of the Hurricanes, and Brumbies’ defence was more secure; the loose forward trio of Jahrome Brown, Pete Samu and Rob Valetini outstanding in shutting the Highlanders out of the game.

Wary of the New Zealand teams finishing off strongly, it was the Brumbies who controlled the final stages, closing the match out 28-17, in the process striking the first blow for Australian franchises for the season.

From the outset, the Crusaders versus Rebels match had the feel of a rubber band stretching and waiting to snap. The Rebels were constructive and willing, but the Crusaders were desperate to play at high speed, the first tear eventually came in the 19th minute,

The full snap never really came, the Rebels going into halftime down only 3-7 off the back of some spirited defence, before better Crusaders accuracy, and fatigue setting in to the Rebels eventually saw the score blow out. Spare a thought for Rob Leota; out with injury all season, first game up, thrown into such a high-paced, high-speed affair.

The loudest cheer of the weekend came in the 70th minute when the impressive Carter Gordon expertly nudged through a grubber for Reece Hodge to run on to and score. The Rebels racing back to halfway, as if they were a chance of overcoming a 25-point deficit in 9 minutes, was a tad ambitious.

No-one deserved to close things out more than lock Matt Philip, who crashed over late, but Leicester Fainga’anuku stole the last act off him, closing out a solid 42-17 win to the visitors; delighting coach Scott Robertson, who spoke afterwards about loving the opportunity for an early surf on the morning of the match.

So, what worked and what didn’t with Super Round? Let’s start with the positives.

All of the teams loved it. Player after player spoke of the fun of being involved in a special event, and the opportunity over the week, to share coffee and tall tales and true, with their opponents.

While there were criticisms from many watching on television, the vibe inside the stadium was cheerful and positive, right across the weekend. And they saw a lot of good rugby, while they were at it. Results went mostly as expected, but no losing team was embarrassed or looked out of place.

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The Super W final deserves its own place, and a larger audience, but it was a special occasion for those who were there, and added to the festival atmosphere. It was a shame that prior scheduling wasn’t able to be worked around, to ensure that the Waratahs men stayed around to cheer on their women’s team.

A word also for the AAMI Park turf. Ridiculed and shamed a few years back, coping with six straight matches (with the NRL Anzac Day match between the Storm and Warriors to come tonight) was highly impressive.

On the downside, for those attending, there was a lack of additional infrastructure, such as the tent cities seen at a golf tournament, which a three-day carnival like this is perfect for. No ‘big sponsor’ outside beer tent, no proper merchandising, and very few activities for kids and families to be involved with.

There was also insufficient entertainment between matches. Money isn’t always the limiting factor in things like this; it felt like more like what was missing was imagination and – not for the first time in rugby – a failure to understand what fans want from the match day experience.

Clearly, an event like this would have worked even better in its originally scheduled Round 2 slot. That’s when fan anticipation is high, and nobody has written their team off or had a chance to get negative about the ‘gap’ between New Zealand and Australia.

Due to COVID, that of course was out of everyone’s control, but the new scheduling fell awkwardly into the school holidays, and came too soon for many people to feel confident about making concrete travel plans from interstate and New Zealand.

There were questions raised about the suitability of Melbourne as host, but the reality is that the bigger elements impacting upon the weekend, would apply regardless of where the event was held.

News broke this week that Nielsen ratings for Super Rugby in New Zealand in 2022 are nearly half of what they were three years ago. There has been a negative vibe around this year’s competition across the Tasman, reflected by only one non-Sky journalist or broadcaster attending in person.

News Corporation outlets effectively boycotted the event, with the ABC also choosing not to have anyone on the ground, making pre-publicity a difficult proposition.

This is, of course, an ongoing problem; something that won’t be fixed until Australian teams, including the Wallabies, become more successful, and media outlets then decide to hitch themselves to the bandwagon.

Underlying everything however, was a sense that nobody was ever really sure who was running and promoting the event. As far as MBA business case studies go, this would make a fascinating one.

Super Rugby is SANZAAR’s competition, although rights for promotion and events operation was shifted to TEG Live, a well-known events management company. Complicating things further, matches were designated New Zealand home games.

This means that complaints aimed at the Rebels organisation were miles off the mark; this just happened to be their home ground that was in use. And Rugby Australia too, weren’t directly responsible for delivering the event.

But here’s the rub; SANZAAR cannot continue to be a screen of convenience for Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby to hide behind. SANZAAR is effectively them; just in a different guise, as partners.

For far too long now, Super Rugby has been constrained by its owners; never properly resourced, never allowed to stand on its own feet and be the best competition it could be.

Super Rugby is ailing because the business model under which SANZAAR was established, is no longer fit for purpose. At its core, is a gross misunderstanding of the what and how of how to promote rugby in our region.

When it comes to marketing and promoting rugby, franchises are left to fend for themselves. Apart from on Stan and Sky – both subscription services – there is little in the way of promotion of rugby itself, and never is there a genuine attempt made to understand how to connect to core rugby audiences, nor is there sufficient money and expertise provided to do this.

This year, two new franchises have been added, and while they add welcome flavour and long-term possibilities, they don’t bring any commercial impetus, and are not yet truly competitive.

Rugby needs to sell its heroes and do it through channels – including social media – that are relevant to audiences in today’s highly competitive market. A number of the world’s leading players appeared this weekend, along with other potential drawcards like Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. But matters were allowed just to drift along, pretty much like normal.

The underlying reason for that is a lack of clarity around rugby’s organisational structure in our region, and the purpose of Super Rugby within it. Without that clarification, there are blurred lines of responsibility; witness many of Rugby Australia’s management team attending over the weekend as spectators.

For comparison, look for the upcoming Brazil versus Argentina football World Cup qualifier at the MCG to be hyped to within an inch of its life, and the stadium filled. This despite the match having little at stake with both teams having qualified already and players not putting their bodies on the line in case they injure themselves ahead of the World Cup.

Super Round was highly enjoyable and has vast potential. If COVID allows a free run at things next year, the concept will grow and almost certainly, it will become a successful, permanent fixture. Perhaps the injection of some Private Equity expertise – more so than the cash – will help.

But for things to really blossom, Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby need to get out of their own way, and get serious about SANZAAR, and the future of Super Rugby.