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Opinion
Looking forward to 2023, I would like to share a few thoughts on Super Rugby (men and women) going forward, especially Super Rugby Pacific. I would like to keep it positive especially given all the horrendous negativity in my job at present.
This could very well be part one.
And by that, I mean the local derby rounds have to go. Hear me out: to make space for future expansion or a crossover competition, we can’t afford to add to the playing schedule. At best, we need to play Tetris with it. This means Super Rugby will return to the format it was originally designed to be: an elite cap on an existing domestic competition. Domestic competitions will feed into the Super competition.
For New Zealand, not much may need to change. There can be an overlap of the two if need be. Fiji Rugby’s set-up is similar to New Zealand’s: 26 provinces with challenge “cup” competition; Samoa and Tonga may need to leverage off Australia and NZ playing bases.
Australia, to ensure popular local games, can use its five Super teams in a pre-Super domestic competition and add another team, perhaps based in South Australia or Tasmania given travel considerations. Conferences should have an even number of teams.
This needs careful consideration and there are legal aspects to it that I probably can’t imagine. But the establishment of an independent body to govern Super Rugby matters is a step forward in that direction.
Australia needs this more than NZ but both may benefit. One impact of this may be the creation of a Super Rugby bloc; Super Rugby is a fragmented competition due largely to geography. The competition’s current conference format didn’t work as well as it should have simply because there were not enough teams involved. A five-team format is always going to struggle.
Super Rugby needs to do more to compete in the face of the European threat (and no, I’m not talking about Russia’s ex-rugby fullback Vladimir “Bozo” Putin). Beef up the conferences. Have a Pan-American conference involving two teams from Argentina, USA, Canada. Add Hawaii to the Super Rugby Pacific zone, keep the Drua in the Australian conference.
Possibly have an Africa conference but that would largely depend on South Africa. Japan can play in a cross-over competition. Each conference would have to make its own financial and sponsorship arrangements but the governing body could also negotiate naming and broadcast (TV and online).
The games need to be marketed better. Looking at you, NZ; you avoided adding place names to your franchise teams because of the geographical reach of these franchises but a name like “Blues” fails to resonate outside their own market, especially in a country like Australia where there is an rugby league team with the same name.
A name like ‘Hurricanes’ can be confused with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
For tragic reasons, the Crusaders had to rebrand their logo and it seems to have worked. This marketing can be done online (too many platforms to name). The presence of marquee players may also help. These place names can also serve a tourism promotional role as well.
I could go on but there two ominous guys in suits who just turned up, asking questions in Russian and mentioning the word “Bozo” a lot. I feel I must move on.
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.