League One final gives pause for thought about Japanese links to Super Rugby

By Brett McKay / Expert

It really feels like finals time kicked off around the rugby world properly over the weekend, with the European Cups being decided and Japan’s inaugural League One champions being crowned as well.

Super Rugby and the United Rugby Championship move into quarter-finals this weekend, and Major League Rugby will follow the weekend after. The English Premiership and French Top 14 begin their finals series that same weekend as well.

In Tokyo, the Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights claimed a gripping 18-12 win over the Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath, delivering Robbie Deans a fifth Japanese title to go with the similar haul he won with the Crusaders.

Wallabies centre Samu Kerevi, playing 13 for Suntory, and All Blacks fullback Damian McKenzie were the focal points in attack, and McKenzie was denied a try just before halftime when the ball was dislodged from his grip maybe a metre out from the try line. But such was the strength of the Wild Knights’ defence that Suntory didn’t have too many other opportunities to fire a shot.

Samu Kerevi. (Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)

Two tries to nil was the tale of the tape, with Wallabies winger Marika Koroibete being at his barnstorming best to score the first one, and he would have had a second not long after if not for a sneaky knock-on in the lead-up. Former Brisbane City and Australian Under-20s centre Dylan Riley bagged the winner seven minutes from time.

While Kerevi was strong if reasonably well-contained, Koroibete’s display would have brought a smile to Dave Rennie’s face, with his first proper Wallabies squad of the season now only a matter of weeks away.

He carried strongly, busted tackles regularly, and finished the opportunities he found himself in, even if one was overturned on closer inspection. There shouldn’t be any concerns about his selection on current form from Wallabies fans.

And this was a point Robbie Deans was very happy to make in the run into the League One Final last week, adamant that it would be a matter of when and not if Wallabies and All Blacks were being regularly selected for Test duty from League One clubs and with no sabbatical arrangements in place or even needed.

“The contact areas of the game are unrecognisable from when I first arrived up here [in 2014],” Deans told Paul Cully for Stuff.co.nz last week. 

“Two of last year’s World Player of the Year nominees (Samu Kerevi and Michael Hooper) came out of League One.

“People generally suggest that you’re only as good as the comp you come out. Well, we can’t be all bad.”

Certainly, the form that Hooper showed in the back half of 2021 after returning from his season with Toyota Verblitz alongside Kieran Read would underline that point. Jed Holloway was in the Verblitz squad at the same time, and he’s been one of the form players of Super Rugby Pacific this season.

Michael Hooper. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

And while Australia have employed a couple of iterations of what will forever be known as the Giteau Rule since 2015, New Zealand have remained steadfast in only picking players contracted to the national body, even with the numerous and fully-sanctioned Japanese seasons a number of their star players have taken over time.

“It’s inevitable, and essential,” Deans said of New Zealand Rugby adopting an overseas policy at some point.

“At the governance and administrative level, they’ve just going to get over themselves and get around the table and start working together. Because particularly in the south, we’ve all got the same challenges.

“The fact they no longer meet those South African players – most of them are up here in Japan – has impacted on the experience of the playing and coaching groups.

“Over time, that will make a difference if it hasn’t already. So it’s probably inevitable that they will ultimately look for some form of cross-border that will involve Japan. They’ve just got to get past all the political hurdles getting there.”

Former Wallabies and Queensland scrumhalf Will Genia is very much on the same page.

“The bigger picture is obviously trying to get a team into Super Rugby, because it’s the same time zone,” he told us on The Roar Rugby Podcast last week.

“And not just a team like the Sunwolves, but a team like Suntory or Panasonic, where they’re a club who already has a base of supporters, a base of an organisation rather than the Sunwolves being like a Barbarians team, with people just put together.”

Paul Cully, coincidently enough, echoed similar sentiments on the podcast in mid-April, that the goal remains for Rugby Australia, New Zealand Rugby, and the Japan Rugby Football Union to come together and form some kind of cross-border competition, exactly what Robbie Deans is calling for.

Of course, the format of such a competition would be an interesting one, and my own view is that it needs to be some kind of aspirational series that teams qualify for, rather than being a set, ring-fenced competition with the same teams every year.

As a guide, the Champions Cup tournament features 24 teams, comprising the top eight clubs from each of the Premiership and the Top 14, and then eight URC teams from a much more complicated qualifying method.

Summarised as best as I can, that method involves the four individual shield winners – that is, the Irish, South African, and Welsh team with highest competition points each season, plus the best team of the two Scottish and two Italian teams. Then, it’s the four highest teams on the table not already qualified.

So for next season, Leinster, the Stormers, Ospreys and Edinburgh go through as shield winners, as well as the next best four teams: Ulster, the Bulls, Sharks, and Munster.

(Photo By Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

It’s a bit long-winded, but it does ensure the Champions Cup features teams from all across Europe and now South Africa, and therefore maximises interest and commercial opportunities in more countries than would be the case if some countries went unrepresented. Obviously, the next-tier Challenge Cup helps in this department, too.

But that URC method of qualification probably provides a template for this cross-border – I’m going to call it JANZPac, for the sake of a name – tournament, in which you would want to provide an opportunity for the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika as much as you would want the best teams in Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

A 12-team JANZPac competition at this time of year before the July Tests would also open the door for Super Rugby Pacific to revert to the old 11-games-plus-finals format that Super 12 used quite successfully from inception.

How you want to get to that 12-team split is a matter of creativity, and I’m sure there’s plenty of ideas out there.

The League One top four, plus the best three Australian teams and the best three NZ teams, plus the best placed team of the Drua or Moana, plus the next best Super Rugby Pacific team, whoever that is, just came to me as an idea while writing this paragraph.

But whatever the format, it needs to be equitable and aspirational for everyone involved.

And it would need a proper, European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) type of governing body, too, not the current country rugby committee set-up that seems to run Super Rugby Pacific.

But with something like this, it’s not that big a stretch to see Wallabies and All Blacks being picked to play for their country from Japanese clubs, as Robbie Deans suggests is inevitable.

And from a local point of view, it’s surely better to be working with Japan and forging ties from which everyone can benefit than to continue this charade of paddling against the king tide in a mostly futile effort to try and compete.

The Crowd Says:

2022-06-02T08:28:17+00:00

NH Fan

Guest


Having the Champions and Challange Cups allows mediocre teams like the Tahs a shot at silverware. If they had been in the Pacific Challange Cup because of their poor year last year they could make a final. Lyon won their first major trophy and first final in 90+ years. Getting the big day out sometimes is more important for growing fans than being in the big competition and can be used as a springboard for the team mentally. Currently Tahs are unlikely to make a final so can't use it to grow and the fans don't get their day in the Sun.

2022-06-01T11:04:59+00:00

West Aussie Exile

Roar Rookie


Thanks Brett. enjoyed article and the range of suggestions it elicited , even though some a bit complicated for my simple brain. I think the idea in principle makes sense - I like the 'Champion's Cup qualification on merit' idea -I think teams earn the right to play. I do think engagement with Japan is the way forward but this ideas retains J league (?) and SRP. as you said, Brett, Argentina left out in the cold. I think they need the US to really improve rapidly and then Argentina could have serious competition

2022-06-01T09:41:49+00:00

Loosehead Greg

Roar Rookie


That's right. But you could rotate the hosting rights annually. That means Australia, NZ and Japan hosting the entire tournament at home once every 3 years. The good thing about this is that local fans aren't constantly tapped to buy tickets (poor old Crusaders fans playing multiple finals in little Christchurch every season; meanwhile in Melbourne...) Once every 3 years keeps it fresh. I think the ideal tournament format actually takes the home ground advantage out of the equation too: like Rugby World Cup (apart from the host nation obviously). Host the tournament in one country. This improves the integrity of the tournament by creating a more level playing field where travel is not an unevenly distributed factor. Most sports specify their final location in advance: NFL, NRL, AFL, RWC, football World Cup. In fact, I struggle to think of any tournaments apart from Super Rugby where you earn the right to play your knock out matches at home? And you could look at hybrid hosting where pool hosting rights are shared around the nations (including PI) and the final venue is known in advance to be played in Tokyo, say, so fans can organise to get there well in advance like they do for the RWC final; whether their team is playing or not it's a celebration of rugby. So many good possibilities with this mini-RWC format.

2022-06-01T08:16:30+00:00

AndyS

Guest


I'm thinking more about the balance and look, when the identifiable 'Challenge Cup' matches after SRP/L1 would appear to be the Japanese teams fronting up each weekend, against SH teams who would only be playing every second weekend as they'd already played most of their matches. With L1 already having the longer season, player welfare and fairness might well be a discussion. Although on the other hand it could perhaps also open the door to playing those matches as a mini-tournament in Japan, which could be interesting.

2022-06-01T05:24:55+00:00

nroko

Roar Rookie


4 matches is still decent. The others can have a bye etc. You look at NH the past weekend, there were only 2 matches Champions cup and Challenge Cup. The major comps England Prem URC French Top14 were all paused. I'm thinking 'player welfare', length of season etc etc will also be a factor from the Players associations. Plus quality over quantity, hopefully the bosses at the Unions and Broadcasters have learnt that. Ultimately I think it would add bit more excitement to SRP/L1 matches when there is more than 1 competition in line.

2022-06-01T01:37:55+00:00

Too hard for some

Guest


What was the Japan final crowd?

2022-05-31T22:10:23+00:00

Wheelbarrow

Roar Rookie


Just make it open for everyone- I’d they can play for Australia if they play for any team in the super rugby comp ( incl Japan teams if it happens). That way aus rugby doesn’t have to pay the bucks to keep the mid and top level players as much. Also let’s the weaker positions to be filled by other players outside the each team… This will be like the English union or the NRL… currently to confined to the local crop of players and very little movement between the big states. The Oz team needs 4-5 players from overseas to be successful.

2022-05-31T18:44:28+00:00

Emery Ambrose

Roar Rookie


Excellent Brett!!! And run from a separate entity that can really enhance it as a spectacle.

2022-05-31T18:38:25+00:00

The Ferret

Roar Rookie


If that is what gets them to qualify then so be it. They still have to have the best team on the park to win the comp. Top three Aussie, top 3 kiwi, top three jap, top PI, top MLR and Top South American team would be my ideal comp. 4 pool of 3 with winner moving forward to Semi final. Keep it simple and fast. You can always expand from there but you want the yanks in as they have some serious marketing coin to add.

2022-05-31T16:05:13+00:00

NH Fan

Guest


Why should they be integrated into SR. They will view their league as a competition that rivals SR. There should be moves made to be equal partners definately but SR is just one of the many professional leagues out there. I agree with Japan being part of the RC but only seems to be discussed in terms of a world league structure which says the RC don't want them but using them as a pawn in discussions.

2022-05-31T16:02:50+00:00

RobC

Roar Guru


Thanks BeeMc. The Japan market itself is lucrative. However, like everything there its a closed system. Would be interesting to see how it may "blossom"

2022-05-31T15:59:20+00:00

NH Fan

Guest


Going off comments here people have said that they should get a couple of Japanese teams into super rugby (as though it is some prize for the Japanese clubs) but not a make up team like the Sunwolves. Most seem to view SR as the top and this new comp would be an add-on. While some people will claim their league is more important every top club wants to win Europe and the last 4 are generally the best teams in Europe.

2022-05-31T15:51:07+00:00

NH Fan

Guest


Scots and Welsh forced the shield champions get champions cup as they feared the top 8 would be Ireland and SA. Only fitting it comes back on them. Zebre and Benetton are like Dragons and Cardiff so no benefit to the Scots.

2022-05-31T15:44:04+00:00

NH Fan

Guest


Look at the Sharks starting 15 v Ulster. Most of the top SA players are in the 3 European leagues

2022-05-31T15:42:01+00:00

NH Fan

Guest


Just england. They didnt get any growth in their last TV deal but had to give up part to CVC. URC and T14 got jumps in their TV money. Team like La Rochelle get about 5m from TV rights alone and sell 14k tickets on average for 16+ home games, plenty money generated in France and URC. Lots of players from England are returning to SA which tells you how money has changed, not sure SR teams will see the same flow. They have gone from 20 professional clubs to about 15 and the money has shrunk with it.

2022-05-31T14:54:03+00:00

AndyS

Guest


If you combined the CC matches with SRP/L1 matches, wouldn't that reduce the identifiable CC to the outstanding four matches a weekend between Japanese and SRP teams with a lot of other teams sitting around doing nothing? Not sure TV would find that overly compelling or spend-worthy.

2022-05-31T14:12:45+00:00

nroko

Roar Rookie


Interesting article and some food for thought. I think Jap, Nz and Aus are interested in a Champions cup style tournament that's for sure. I'd like to see SRP go to a top 6 tournament for the finals. The qualification for following year Champions Cup would be top 8 from SRP + top 4 from League one. 2 groups of 6 + semis + final. I don't think it should be a set amount from each country - that has irked many in the past. Champions Cup should be wholly on merit. You want teams fighting for positions to qualify in the top 8 of SRP. Especially because SRP doesn't have promotion/relegation. Additionally I don't see the need to have an entire separate fixture list for Champions cup. Where possible you combine SRP (or League one)+Champions Cup fixtures, hence not repeating fixtures. This minimises the number of weeks for crossover SRP and League one fixtures.

2022-05-31T14:03:49+00:00

AndyS

Guest


In which case, what is the point of 'qualification'? Just pick the four richest teams.

2022-05-31T12:52:38+00:00

The Ferret

Roar Rookie


How ever many you add from Japan will have to be consistent with how many you add from Aus and NZ. Fairness will be key for the 3 major countries.

2022-05-31T12:43:58+00:00

The Ferret

Roar Rookie


I think you are right there on the quality of the jap teams. They would simply buy their way to be competitive. While the league one has regulations on the number of non Japanese players eligible on game day there might not be that same restriction in this new “championship” comp. This will give them a more competitive leg up.

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