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Opinion
If there’s one topic that’s never likely to see conversation dry up, it’s what to do with a problem like Super Rugby. Everything from structure to competitiveness and why each country needs the other is constantly up for debate.
Today I would like to add to the archives of this great debate with the most out-there structure ever proposed.
But first off a list – albeit not a comprehensive one – of the key gripes I’ve seen with Super Rugby’s structure over the years:
This debate over the years has been conflated with concerns about national team performance, player development and various other union-specific self-interest agendas. But what would happen if we created a blank slate and focussed on what fans wanted to see – if we considered an out-of-the-box solution that maintains play across unions but introduces new revenue streams and fosters domestic tribalism?
With these thoughts in mind I looked to the United States of America’s top three leagues for inspiration.
Super Rugby Pacific 2024 could take the following structure.
A 24-team, two-conference and four-division championship played over a regular season of 16 matches, with a four-week post-season played with a division or conference-based qualification system that results in divisional, conference and overall Super Rugby Pacific champions.
The two conferences would be the current 12 Super Rugby Pacific clubs (Super Rugby Trans-Tasman) and the 12 Japan Rugby League One – Division 1 sides (Super Rugby Japan).
These conferences would be split into two divisions each. Super Rugby Trans-Tasman would be split into Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Aotearoa, with the Japanese teams split according to whatever method JRU prefers.
The regular season would then be made up of ten home-and-away matches against teams within your division, three matches against teams in the other division in your conference and three matches against teams from one of the two divisions in the other conference, with the division alternating annually.
(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
The intra-conference opponents would be decided based on prior year results – teams finishing in an even position would play even opponents and vice-versa.
This structure has several key advantages over both the current format and the previous Super Rugby conference model. The Roar’s resident oracle from Canberra, Brett McKay, wrote during the 2021 Super AU finals series:
“Away from those among the euphoric, heaving atmosphere within Suncorp Stadium, the TV and streaming audience made it the most-watched Super Rugby match on Australian screens since the Reds claimed the 2011 Championship over the Crusaders.
“After a weekend where the feel-good factor for the game practically overflowed in Australia, are we really prepared to give all this up completely?”
And yet sure enough in 2022 and 23 we have stepped away from this model completely and are back to a round-robin format. And all this is due to the concern that a NZ conference and an AU conference would not be equally competitive.
However, if we embrace the American divisional/conference/championship format, that concern is done away with, as there are champions at every level.
Instead of Chiefs fans complaining that they are losing out in the finals battle to the Waratahs or Australian fans thinking about how far an Australian team can really hope to progress, these fans are focused on a competition ladder consisting purely of their local rivals.
Is this structure convoluted, complex and confusing? Without doubt. Does it matter? No, because all any fan needs to worry about is how many points their team has on the ladder compared to the other teams in their division.
If they finish in the top three in their division they play finals – second versus third in Week 1, with the winner playing in the divisional championship. This guarantees an Australian champion and eliminates complaints that the best Kiwi teams are not given a chance to play finals.
The next week the conference championships take place, enabling a battle between Australia and New Zealand and the best Japan has to offer before culminating in a Pacific Championship between the winners of each conference.
The final benefit of this structure is that it enables Super Rugby to engage Japanese Rugby in a seamless format, thereby growing the game and enabling NZR and RA to gain access to the significant financial benefits associated with the much larger audience base that the Japanese competition brings.
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading. I look forward to seeing what the conversation brings.
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.