Any remaining Super Rugby competition is a better option than that.
A domestic comp as the level below test rugby would be such a massive step back that it would take years to recover from (if we ever did). It's not an option to pursue as a stepping stone to something better.
Braveheart, you must be pretty ignorant of the current state of Australian Rugby. We've already reached that point.
I'm of the firm opinion that in response to this threads title: "Where to for Super Rugby?" the best option is e) No super Rugby.
We gave NZ the chance to Trans-Tasman this shit. They denied. Fuck 'em, and fuck super rugby, it's doing Aus Rugby NO favours.
Sometimes to save the village, you've gotta burn the town.
They say don't put all your eggs in one basket, but at the moment the ARU's only basket has a massive hole in the bottom. The eggs won't break if the baskets on the ground.
Yes a crowd of less 10k says it all where professional rugby is at the moment. Just loss of interest.
How do we get it back...? Serious question..
The best response in my opinion would be:
1) Take a leaf from the Big Bash and put two teams in your two biggest markets. Cut NSW country, we can't afford it. QLD Country becomes "southside", i.e. anywhere south of the Brisbane River. Country supporters support the QLD Reds.
2)Rebrand NRC teams to sync up with current Super franchises. We're not in the position of cricket to start completely from scratch, we need brand recognition for market penetration.
3) Run the 8 team comp (5 Super Franchises, +Western Sydney & Soufside & Fiji) in the NRC window until Super Rugby agreement finishes in 2019, then move to a standalone season.
4) Move to make the 2 expansion franchises semi-professional in 2018 & 2019(30k max per player), in order to be professional in 2020. This will cost $1.2mil.
5) Whichever Super team is cut retains professional status over the two year period. The big-name players are loaned to other franchises to save costs. Cost: unknown
Start small, shoot big. Hell, shamelessly introduce a State-of-Origin series between QLD, NSW & "the rest" over a 6 week period with each team playing home& away. Play it as the lead up to the RC.
I think Aus Rugby could even get behind the culling of a Super Rugby team if the ARU put forward a transparent proposal for us to go it alone. We all know it's broken. We just haven't been shown a light at the end of this very, very long dark tunnel that we've been travelling along since the mid noughties.