Wallabies 2020

[dru]

WOB I'm lost.

There's nothing on the official SANZAAR website but in today's Hurld Gregor Paul claims the draw is in for a radical overhaul from 2021:

Australia v NZ home & away every year

Wouldn't this mean 10 games in a season for Aus; 8 for NZ?

Argentina v SA home & away every year

Australia v Argentina two at home one year, two away the next, v SA two away one year two at home the next
NZ v Argentina & SA opposite to Australia's draw

I presume this is Argentina playing Aus, twice in any year, so one game per season for 1/2 Aus conference. None for the other half.

Also for Aus teams 2 games in a season v SA.

It's hidden behind the Hurld's partial pay wall but that's the guts of it: still six matches per team per year but clearly some years will be more challenging than the previous one. Allegedly in the interests of cutting the amount of travel players are required to do & purely coincidental that it will cut costs. Also you may have noticed the complete absence of Fiji and/ or Japan (unless of course they're somehow going to be tacked on or shoe-horned in somewhere).

Again, nothing on the SANZAAR site but I can't imagine GP has just made it all up.

WOB I must be reading this wrong? I don't get a 6 tally.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

^^ interesting. Paul's hard-copy article mentioned AB & Wobs playing two-match series v Argentina & SA in the same season & speculated that there might even be extended squads & midweek fixtures.

Dru:

AB v Wobs x2 home & away
AB v SA x2 home OR away
AB v Arg x2 away OR home

Again, according to GP who has been known to be wrong on occasion.

 

[Slim 293]

WOB I must be reading this wrong? I don't get a 6 tally.

dru, read the article I posted above.............

The proposal is actually for a reduced schedule of 4 matches.

 

[dru]

dru, read the article I posted above.....

The proposal is actually for a reduced schedule of 4 matches.

OK, confusing internationals with Super Rugby. Thread confusion.

 

[Braveheart81]

WOB I'm lost.
Wouldn't this mean 10 games in a season for Aus; 8 for NZ?

I presume this is Argentina playing Aus, twice in any year, so one game per season for 1/2 Aus conference. None for the other half.

Also for Aus teams 2 games in a season v SA.

WOB I must be reading this wrong? I don't get a 6 tally.

This is the Rugby Championship, not Super Rugby.

I don't really get how you can make it four rounds long and of those four games, Aus vs NZ happens twice and SA vs Argentina happens twice. That's an incredibly unbalanced draw for such a short competition.

Keeping 6 rounds and having it as follows makes more sense:

Australia
vs NZ
@ NZ
@ SA
@ SA
vs Arg
vs Arg

NZ
@Aus
vs Aus
@Arg
@Arg
vs SA
vs SA

SA
vs Arg
@ Arg
vs Aus
vs Aus
@ NZ
@ NZ

Arg
@ SA
vs SA
vs NZ
vs NZ
@ Aus
@ Aus

 

[dru]

This is the Rugby Championship, not Super Rugby.

My bad, though this is a thread called Super Rugby.

 

[kiap]

My bad, though this is a thread called Super Rugby.

I'll add just one reply.

Mods - feel free to move all these posts to another thread.

I don't really get how you can make it four rounds long and of those four games, Aus vs NZ happens twice and SA vs Argentina happens twice. That's an incredibly unbalanced draw for such a short competition.

I think it's about having fewer matches for the RC trophy but play other non-RC matches instead. Currently one Bled game per year is outside the RC. This non-RC match could be joined by others in the schedule.

Having a single round-robin TRC as the yearly baseline can bring positives.

Increased flexibility e.g. Two-test tours to/from SA (you could even tack the tour onto the last test of TRC and have a 3 Test tour). Fewer air miles if you tour to one of Arg/SA instead of playing away to both each year (as now).

Alternatively, play extra one-off Tests against non-Sanzaar teams (e.g. Japan, et al).

 

[Jimmy_Crouch]

WOB I'm lost.

My understanding was four games. H&A for AusvNZ and SAvArg. Then H or A for AusvSA/Arg and NZvArg/SA.

For example TCR draw would look like the below

R1
AusvNZ
SAvArg

R2
NZvAus
ArgvSA

R3
SAvAus
ArgvNZ

R4
AusvArg
NZvSA

The H or A games would alternate each year.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

This is the GPaul article (you may need to turn screen rotation off to read without damaging your neck ):

 

[MarkJ]

He doesn't give away stupid cheap shot penalties

. Maybe not cheap shot penalties, but my recollection is that Simmons was just about always good for at least one dumb penalty per test, things like pulling blokes down in the lineout, blatant ruck penalties etc.

 

[Braveheart81]

This is the GPaul article (you may need to turn screen rotation off to read without damaging your neck ):

This is very clearly saying it would still be a 6 game tournament where you play each team twice.

I like it.

 

[Braveheart81]

. Maybe not cheap shot penalties, but my recollection is that Simmons was just about always good for at least one dumb penalty per test, things like pulling blokes down in the lineout, blatant ruck penalties etc.

He certainly used to be bad in this regard but hasn't in recent years.

 

[kiap]

This is the GPaul article (you may need to turn screen rotation off to read without damaging your neck ):

What does this bit mean … ?

"While unlikely, the possibility will exist of the All Blacks travelling with an extended squad to play mid-week fixtures in either Argentina or South Africa."​

​

To me, the mid-week dirt-trackers in Argentina suggests a possible (if unlikely) two-match Argentina tour. Unlikely because it's not the most lucrative alternative.

Perhaps Sanzaar are shoehorning in a flexible, lop-sided annual shedule like this under the banner of the Rugby Championship because the WR (World Rugby) player release regulations specifies a window for the RC only?

Mind you, I seem to recall from To'omua's recent participation that the window doesn't cover the full Rugby Championship as it is now.

(I mispoke about one post. So it's more than one )

 

[Braveheart81]

What does this bit mean … ?

"While unlikely, the possibility will exist of the All Blacks travelling with an extended squad to play mid-week fixtures in either Argentina or South Africa."​

​

To me, the mid-week dirt-trackers in Argentina suggests a possible (if unlikely) two-match Argentina tour. Unlikely because it's not the most lucrative alternative.

Perhaps Sanzaar are shoehorning in a flexible, lop-sided annual shedule like this under the banner of the Rugby Championship because the WR (World Rugby) player release regulations specifies a window for the RC only?

I would assume they would still have two bye weeks as they do now and WR (World Rugby) would still require players to be released during the bye weeks. The only change would be that instead of a two week stint where you play South Africa and Argentina at home or away in consecutive weeks, you would play two home games against one then two home games against the other.

The suggestion of a mid week tour match would presumably be between the two tests you are playing in that country. I'd be surprised if it happens though. The cost is too great.

 

[kiap]

How many weeks does the RC release window cover?

Got a feeling it doesn't cover the full rounds + two byes.

 

[Braveheart81]

How many weeks does the RC release window cover?

Got a feeling it doesn't cover a full 6 weeks.

It covers the 6 weeks there are games.

To'omua and TPN both had to return to the UK in 2018 during the bye weeks.

The Rugby Championship runs for 8 weeks. R1, R2, bye, R3, R4, bye, R5, R6.

 

[Brumby Runner]

If it's four matches only for the RC, then I can see issues that won't necessarily go down well with Aus and SA Unions.

Wallabies would have to play NZ twice every year, ie 50% of the RC games. Given our history against NZ, I can't see Aus being in a position to win the RC any time soon.

Saffa rugby would probably also complain about the easier path that would give NZ to win the whole thing.

There looks to be an imbalance about that proposal.

 

[kiap]

^ Presumably the saffers are agreeing to it. They do like the idea of Bok-AB tours.

I think Wob-Bok tours might be a useful change-up as well.

To'omua and TPN both had to return to the UK in 2018 during the bye weeks.

No good for the players or national teams - barely worth anything to the club either, getting back knackered players.

 

[Brumby Runner]

You've had a go at people for their selections not being based on form or being "wild" but you've happily said someone who has played one Super Rugby match in week 1 this year as outplaying Rob Simmons.

Good try BH. My comments about the comparative abilities of Swain and Blyth against Rob Simmons take in all of last year as well as 2020 so far. I have not selected either in my Wallabies squad, but honestly believe both are better value than Simmons right now and will be hugely better with another year or two under the belts.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Sorry for hijacking the thread, guys, but I couldn't find a TRC 2020 thread & didn't have time to make a TRC 2021 thread what with having to get back to work & shit .

If it's four matches only for the RC, then I can see issues that won't necessarily go down well with Aus and SA Unions.

Wallabies would have to play NZ twice every year, ie 50% of the RC games. Given our history against NZ, I can't see Aus being in a position to win the RC any time soon.

Saffa rugby would probably also complain about the easier path that would give NZ to win the whole thing.

There looks to be an imbalance about that proposal.

If (IF) GP has indeed scored himself a scoop, it's still six rounds not four.