Ali's Choice
Jimmy Flynn (14)
NZ sports journalist Wynne Gray makes some suggestions for improving Super Rugby in today's NZ Herald, including dumping South AfFrican teams, and creating a Trans Tasman competition.
I actually think that a Trans Tasman competition would work well. Last year, when the SANZAR nations were negotiating the terms of the new Super Rugby competition, and SARU CEO Andy Marinos was threatening to pull South Africa out of Super Rugby, I gave a proposed Trans Tasman comp some thought. A Trans Tasman Super 10, featuring the current NZ and Australian S15 franchises could adopt a home and away regular season over 18 weeks, and would have the added appeal that all games would be played in friendly timezones for NZ and Australian viewers. No 3am or 5am starts for NZ and Aussie rugby fans. Obviously the one massive negative for such a proposal would be the loss of the TV revenue brought to the table by South African viewers.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10725555Start it a month later in March and slash it to a transtasman contest just like the netball competition so we get all the games in a similar time-zone.
We're told South Africa brings a strong commercial component to the series but they also bring a so-what content with games screening in the middle of the night.
A transtasman competition would cut the travel, ramp up the sporting rivalry, provide more attractions for audiences and allow a test programme with greater intrigue if that involved the Springboks.
I actually think that a Trans Tasman competition would work well. Last year, when the SANZAR nations were negotiating the terms of the new Super Rugby competition, and SARU CEO Andy Marinos was threatening to pull South Africa out of Super Rugby, I gave a proposed Trans Tasman comp some thought. A Trans Tasman Super 10, featuring the current NZ and Australian S15 franchises could adopt a home and away regular season over 18 weeks, and would have the added appeal that all games would be played in friendly timezones for NZ and Australian viewers. No 3am or 5am starts for NZ and Aussie rugby fans. Obviously the one massive negative for such a proposal would be the loss of the TV revenue brought to the table by South African viewers.