Where to for Super Rugby?

[Twoilms]

I seriously hope any team looking to stay in the competition doesn't think is an effective method. It would basically add ammunition to the case of being cut

Yeah but no one wants to watch the rubbish Aussie teams have been turning out this year.

 

[Strewthcobber]

Any ideas how fans can protest at games this weekend to show support of 5 Australian teams remaining?

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South Sydney Rabbitohs

 

[blues recovery]

I'm amazed that in this whole sorry mess , very little has been made of the fact that there is currently over 60 Australian players plying their trade overseas including around 30 that have played for the Wallabies . Surely getting these players back into the Australian Super Rugby system should be a major priority for the ARU and would then completely defeat the argument re depth in Australian Rugby .
I know all too well the inequality in what players can earn in Oz vs Europe /Japan however in terms of the financial priorities in the game why isn't this right up there as an investment in a better quality Super Rugby product that then generated better tv ratings , more sponsors , better crowds etc . At the moment what we have is about equivalent to A League soccer vs the European model .
The other issue with this is how this would resolve the current massive inequality between the NZ teams and ours for whilst there are just as many if not more Kiwis
playing in Europe , their far superior system develops a much deeper talent pool that can cope with the loss of players at the top level
It is my proposition that there is not much difference between the best 50 players in NZ and Oz but there is a massive difference in quality of the next 100
Bring them home !!

 

[Tomikin]

I wouldn't even call them Sydney, etc. I'd just leave it the Reds, etc. we all know where the Australian teams come from or go back to QLD Reds, ACT Brumbies. As for the team who misses out, what about the Australian u20s being selected and playing out of that town to make another team to the comp. It would be one hell of a learning curve and give the players a genuine shop door to display their talents.

Actually this would just cheapen it. I'd rather just a game of super rugby taken there from another team and a game from a competition like this, then maybe a guarantee from the aru to have a wallabies game there each year.

You really think as a Brumbies fan I would turn up to watch the Rebels play in Canberra against the say Tahs.. If the Brumbies go union can go fuck itself... Im sure Rebels/Force fan's feel the same although Ive been a Brumbies fan longer then they have been in existence..

 

[Blue]

Sorry my bad, I was speaking purely from an Australian point of view. I won't be so ignorant to think only Australian's were on this board. I do apologise.

No worries was not looking for an apology but thanks anyhow

 

[Blue]

The Brumbies cannot be axed. History must carry a lot of weight, and the Brumbies have a lot of that.

I don't think anyone on their right mind will axe the Ponies over the Rebels surely?

 

[Highlander35]

Ok. Good idea. How?

As far as I can tell, those that go overseas and come back basically fall into 4 categories.

1) Those that still obtain very large pay packets through Wallabies top ups (e.g. Beale, Genia)

2) Those that return home to finish their careers (e.g. Mumm)

3) Those that come for family/emotional reasons (e.g. Douglas, Kepu)

4) Those that feel that they did not get a real opportunity to become Wallabies before they left (e.g. Fardy, DHP, Meakes)

What incentives can the ARU or a Super side offer: Luke Jones, Peter Kimlin, Jesse Mogg, Hugh Pyle, Berrick Barnes, Dave Dennis, Liam Gill, Peter Betham etc. Who've all spent significant time with Super Sides, maybe achieved a certain number of Caps, then left, and gain either or both lifestyle and financial benefits and give up nothing​except actually living in Australia.

 

[Merrow]

The Brumbies cannot be axed. History must carry a lot of weight, and the Brumbies have a lot of that.

I don't think anyone on their right mind will axe the Ponies over the Rebels surely?

You'd think so wouldn't you. Not sure that anyone that has anything to do with this decision could be classified as being in their right mind though.

 

[blues recovery]

And your absolutely right and I know it's not an easy answer .
However I reckon if you went back about 6 years the numbers of Australian players in these other comps would be less than half of the current number and they weren't our best players . In the days of David Nucifora running the ARU High Performance unit I know it was a massive priority to keep our players in Super Rugby . Super Rugby contracts ran Jan to Dec and if a player wanted to leave post Super Rugby to take up an overseas contract pre end of December it was nigh on impossible to get an ARU release from your contract other than on
compassionate grounds .
Other than for Cheika I just don't think it's a priority for Pulver , Clarke etc to keep these players . They've probably seen it as a way to cut costs and what they are now getting is an inferior product going out the back door fast . Paying a big price for their short sightedness

 

[No4918]

This is kind of nice isn't it?

Normally by this time of the season the Reds and Tahs fans are ready to come to blows because player X isn't in poster X's proposed Wallabies XV. Then the Reds and Tahs fans gang up on every body else for the same reason. Except Pocock who always created issues, because you know Hooper and Gill (criminally underrated that last one).

Instead we have everyone coming together and generally agreeing the parent body ARU has lost there marbles and should be sent to the nursing home, the NZRU are the spoilt child who always get there way and hoping the weird uncle in the SARU just forgets everyone else exists and decides on there own to move away and not come to christmas anymore.

Of more concern is that no one seems to care about the Wallabies and is ready to walk if a team gets cut. Not sure what to make of that but I don't think it is a good sign.

Maybe this isn't so nice.

Can't we just all go back to trivial anti-Tahs parochialism?

 

[Rebels3]

The Brumbies cannot be axed. History must carry a lot of weight, and the Brumbies have a lot of that.

I don't think anyone on their right mind will axe the Ponies over the Rebels surely?

It's a tricky one. The 3 franchises all offer strengths and weaknesses

Things will change depending on results this week and again the week after that. Say the Brumbies go down to the Tahs easily and the Rebels show some real fight against the Chiefs, the pressure will be on the Brumbies.

Then the week after the Force lose easily and the Rebels record a win it'll be on the Force. Its a fickle game played by everyone. It was only 2 games ago people were picking the Rebels to challenge for the Aus conference because they had been much improved the past 2 years and won 5/6 aus conference games last year. Not creating excuses but if the Rebels season didn't start with Blues (h), Hurricanes (a), Chiefs (h), Waratahs (h), Highlanders (a), with 2 byes in that time for everyone to tell them how crap they were, id dare say it'd be a completely different story.

Brumbies have crusaders (a), sharks (h), force (h), waratahs (a), highlanders (h), reds (h)

and the force - waratahs (a), reds (h), brumbies (a), crusaders (a), blues (h) with a bye between.

It'd be safe to say if both teams had the same fixture list there would be a strong chance of them starting with 0 wins from 6 games also with even potentially no bonus points.

The sooner someone comes out and says, 3 teams will get cut, 2 from SA and 1 from Aus the better for everyone. It doesn't have to have teams named, we just need to know that someone is going to get cut.

 

[blues recovery]

Got nothing to do with in field performance .$$$$

 

[Slim 293]

It'd be safe to say both teams would prob start with 0 wins from 6 games also with no bonus points potentially.

But, they didn't?

And not possible when both those teams played each other.

 

[Braveheart81]

Can't we just all go back to trivial anti-Tahs parochialism?

It's actually lucky that Michael Hooper came out yesterday and said that he thought Australian rugby could support all five teams and that they should remain.

Otherwise people might start blaming him for wanting a team to be canned.

 

[dru]

You'd think so wouldn't you. Not sure that anyone that has anything to do with this decision could be classified as being in their right mind though.

I really dont think it is that clear. Clearly the right answer is all 5 stay.

But if you must cut:
X ACT region is kind of a sub set of NSW anyway
X better chance of de-canting fans to another franchise at the ACT. Cutting Melbourne or Perth is to hand over a nascent fan base to AFL.
X Recent financial shenanigans dont help
X The SA story of population to fill the stadium, Brumbies are more like the Cheetahs than the Bulls
X Both Melbourne and Perth offer something that Canberra cant in term of national coverage.

I dont agree with it, and I know there is a long history of rugby in Canberra, but I would suggest that the Brumbies are definitely on the list as these discussions proceed.

 

[Slim 293]

Yeah, but they're also a foundation team, have a more recognisable brand, successful history on and off the field, their crowds are comparable to Perth and Melb with a smaller population base, and have been attracting some big sponsors lately so their finances are on the up..........

The Force's finances too also looking up after their deal with the WA Govt...........

The Rebels are privately owned, but as mentioned earlier the ARU are still pumping significantly more money into them than the other teams.

 

[Jamie]

It's been quite depressing in terms of news over the last couple of weeks, what Aus Rugby really needs at the moments if for all our sides to fire! A few wins on the board will do wonders for morale and the game at the moment.

I was watching the Reds game in Byron at the pub over the weekend, the place was packed, not many people watching sports and the ones that were watching sport were glued to the NRL, basically it was only me watching the Reds (And I am a Tahs supporter!)

Sure enough the Reds start on fire and get up to a good lead quickly, I turn around and there are 4 - 5 people watching the game now, s...t some of the were even cheering! The barman says I'm changing the TV and said mate we are watching, ten minutes to go and couple of more people watching... I'm praying for a win... When the Reds lost the game someone said ... "Typical Aus rugby"

 

[Inside Shoulder]

How long have you been around? The buggers have never in recorded history failed to take every legal and illegal advantage that helps them win. And I am talking about a long, long time.

The NZRU has more than once bailed out the ARU.
The simple reality is they do not want their product contaminated by association with inferior offerings: if Australians took that view rugby union would be the only code watched or played.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

I know all too well the inequality in what players can earn in Oz vs Europe /Japan however in terms of the financial priorities in the game why isn't this right up there as an investment in a better quality Super Rugby product that then generated better tv ratings , more sponsors , better crowds etc .

Because the ARU would rather pay:

• Pocock to swan around africa so he can become head of the UN when he retires
• Folau to run across field
• to build a multi storey facility right next to the Tahs
• JON a $2m golden handshake

 

[mudskipper]

Rebels owner may wish to pull out too as numbers and results are poor...i really dont think the ARU wont to be paying for the force and rebels...