Where to for Super Rugby?

[Gnostic]

But look how close the Tahs got. If we just hold onto the ball more, create more opportunities when we're in the opposition half, and don't give away silly penalties, we could win. And then the dam would break. We would have the blueprint to win all the time. And as we know, we just need a few more victories and the crowds would fall in love with Super Rugby again. We're so close now, I can smell it. Time to expand Super Rugby. Get into America. Everyone's excited again. Remember, Super Rugby is the best provincial rugby competition in the world!

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Sorry but if Tahs won tonight it would have created a temporary respite and paper over the bigger problems that is Australian Rugby. Super Rugby is dead and we need to have a plan to how we lessen its importance for professional rugby in OZ.

Twiggy ball provides a conduit to consider how it could possibly be expanded, redefined as part of post 2020 deal.

Irony is I think we need to jettison the whole Trans Tasman thing as just won't work given NZ's small commercial market and our inability to provide teams that can match them as whether they are 3 or 5 I don't think it matters..


Play Fiji and they will also lift us as they improve themselves in professional full time environment and retain the great players slipping through.

 

[half]

When I joined this forum, and up until this year, I was proudly one of the most optimistic posters going about.

This season, the Rebels loss tonight, and the fact that WSR appears to be potentially viable has absolutely convinced me that Super Rugby has nothing to offer Australia apart from the funds to prolong the inevitable.

Cutting another team wouldn't even help. Our best players simply aren't as good as New Zealand's squad fillers. People are overly idealistic - we can't return to the 90s. We're not good enough and the interest isn't there. Realism is needed here, and that involves taking several steps backwards to give the game a future in this country.

I'm currently living in Berlin and having recently moved here, I can't help but ask why the fuck I dedicated 2+ hours to watch a game of Super Rugby this morning, when I could be out exploring an exceptionally vibrant and interesting city.

To be honest, if I was still in Sydney, I'd probably be asking myself the same thing. I don't have the energy to watch my beloved Tahs get thumped by a shit Blues tomorrow and then sodomised by an incredible Crusaders next week.

I'm signing off from Super Rugby for the rest of the season. Burn it all down and start again. Bring on the NRC, 2019s WSR and whatever comes post 2020.

From rusted on hard core fans to long time coaches the hits just keep coming.

Will anything change.

From the ABC.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-...-australian-super-rugby/9730956?section=sport

Rugby Australia, Super Rugby not doing game any favours, axed sevens coach Andy Friend says

Less than a month after losing his job as Australia's rugby sevens coach, Andy Friend is disillusioned with what is going on in the game.
Friend said he wanted to continue in the role before Rugby Australia opted not to renew his contract after last month's Commonwealth Games and does not like the direction the game is going in.
After 23 years in the coaching system, he has seen the highs and lows from inside the belly of the beast.
He said players would come to him without even the most basic skills because Australian rugby has plans for world domination, but was yet to exhibit the patience to create the foundations.
"We've tried to build the pyramid from the top down. It doesn't work," he said.

"It's not about the people that sit up the top and play Super Rugby and coach Super Rugby. It's about the grassroots and about building the pyramid from the base."
He said Australian rugby has been on the slide "for a couple of decades".
At this point, the former Brumbies coach does not even follow the top-flight XV competition.

"I actually find it stale to be honest," he said.​

​

"I can't understand the conference system. I can't understand how you can have a competition where you don't play everyone once and you can be the best of the worst, which is what we have in this country, yet you can still make a quarter-final. Doesn't make sense to me.​

"I still love the game of rugby. I'll go and watch a club game because I still love the energy around that, but Super for me, it's tainted."
For Friend, despite his abrupt departure from the game, sevens is the way forward.
He described the abbreviated version of rugby as "the new frontier" and said if and when he is allowed back into the game, that would be his path.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Ffs.
Credibility is an issue if you only talk like this once you’re sacked.

 

[kiap]

Ffs.
Credibility is an issue if you only talk like this once you’re sacked.

It might be if he was the lone spruiker.

But he's one in a multitude of choirs.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

If Gregor Paul is right....

Funniest thing I've read so far today......

 

[Rugrat]

Ffs.
Credibility is an issue if you only talk like this once you’re sacked.

Maybe he just didn’t do it publicly and thats part of the reason why he was sacked.

 

[hoggy]

At this point, the former Brumbies coach does not even follow the top-flight XV competition.

"I actually find it stale to be honest," he said.​

​

​

So great chance to attract the casual supporter then, when you can't even get an ex coach to watch.​

​

 

[dru]

Funniest thing I've read so far today..

Not funny at all. I wouldn't know the bloke from a brick so no idea of the background that has you reacting like this. Respect your rugby perspective EASILY enough to accept that the bloke should not be trusted. Still, the guy IS right. On this occasion. It's not a fun concept and there are plenty of broader issues around it. But what he wrote was not wrong.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

It might be if he was the lone spruiker.

But he's one in a multitude of choirs.

I get that.
I’m not saying he’s wrong.
I’m just reflecting on the absence of even constructive criticism while he was inside the tent.
Not much point blowing the whistle after full time.

 

[Gnostic]

I get that.

I’m not saying he’s wrong.

I’m just reflecting on the absence of even constructive criticism while he was inside the tent.

Not much point blowing the whistle after full time.

The best way to control criticism sometimes (most of the time) is by having the critic inside the tent and through "cognitive capture" remove/change their perception of the problem.

Maybe inside the tent and contracted he had no real option but to stay silent.

I don't know, just thinking out loud. I don't think anybody associated with Rugby Australia has a lot of (perceived) integrity left, perhaps Tim Walsh being the only exception due to the tangible results achieved under his tutelage.

 

[kiap]

Australian rugby needs to back itself (and that doesn't mean going cap in hand to Steve Tew).

Seriously folks, how much longer has this shambles of a Supe got left?

​

Three more South African sides set to join PRO14 with Natal Sharks lined up for 2019-20​

​

… Celtic rugby’s main tournament grew from 12 teams to 14 for the start of this campaign, with South African-based outfits Toyota Cheetahs and Southern Kings heading to the northern hemisphere.​

​

It is understood two more South African sides will enter the PRO14 for the 2019-20 season with another jumping on board for the campaign after.​

​

Natal Sharks are understood to be the first team likely to commit to joining the Cheetahs and Kings in taking on sides from Wales, Ireland and Scotland on a regular basis in domestic competition.​

​

The Lions and Stormers are the most likely to follow suit, though which of those two would join first is unclear.​

​

South Africa’s franchises have grown increasingly disillusioned with competing in Super Rugby alongside opposition from New Zealand, Australia and Argentina.​

​

The South African Rugby Union believe their sides are handicapped due to the different time zones in the competition and the unfair composition of the conferences.​

​

… PRO14 bosses have been heartened by the on-field impact of the Cheetahs and Kings and believe the prospective introduction of the Sharks and further South African sides will significantly increase the quality of the competition and make it more attractive to broadcasters and investors.​

​

PRO14 chief executive Martin Anayi has been tasked with increasing the competition’s revenue streams which he has done successfully.​

​

Under Anayi, the PRO14’s TV income has risen from £12million to somewhere in the region of between £20m and £30m with a new broadcasting deal seeing paid-for provider Premier Sports taking over the rights for next season.​

​

The imminent introduction of further South African sides has been factored into that three-year contract.​

​

The introduction this season of the Cheetahs and the Kings is also believed to have brought in an extra £500,000 per team.​

​

It is believed Super Rugby bosses have drawn up plans for expansion of their own as a contingency plan should the South African franchises head to Europe.​

​

Last week a document published by SANZAAR – the body which operates Super Rugby – was leaked to the Sydney Morning Herald touting the addition of an American conference (LULZ) to the competition.​

​

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/three-more-south-african-sides-14622260​

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Seriously folks, how much longer has this shambles of a Supe got left?

​

Three more South African sides set to join PRO14 with Natal Sharks lined up for 2019-20​

​

… Celtic rugby’s main tournament grew from 12 teams to 14 for the start of this campaign, with South African-based outfits Toyota Cheetahs and Southern Kings heading to the northern hemisphere.​

​

It is understood two more South African sides will enter the PRO14 for the 2019-20 season with another jumping on board for the campaign after.​

​

Natal Sharks are understood to be the first team likely to commit to joining the Cheetahs and Kings in taking on sides from Wales, Ireland and Scotland on a regular basis in domestic competition.​

​

The Lions and Stormers are the most likely to follow suit, though which of those two would join first is unclear.​

​

South Africa’s franchises have grown increasingly disillusioned with competing in Super Rugby alongside opposition from New Zealand, Australia and Argentina.​

​

The South African Rugby Union believe their sides are handicapped due to the different time zones in the competition and the unfair composition of the conferences.​

​

… PRO14 bosses have been heartened by the on-field impact of the Cheetahs and Kings and believe the prospective introduction of the Sharks and further South African sides will significantly increase the quality of the competition and make it more attractive to broadcasters and investors.​

​

PRO14 chief executive Martin Anayi has been tasked with increasing the competition’s revenue streams which he has done successfully.​

​

Under Anayi, the PRO14’s TV income has risen from £12million to somewhere in the region of between £20m and £30m with a new broadcasting deal seeing paid-for provider Premier Sports taking over the rights for next season.​

​

The imminent introduction of further South African sides has been factored into that three-year contract.​

​

The introduction this season of the Cheetahs and the Kings is also believed to have brought in an extra £500,000 per team.​

​

It is believed Super Rugby bosses have drawn up plans for expansion of their own as a contingency plan should the South African franchises head to Europe.​

​

Last week a document published by SANZAAR – the body which operates Super Rugby – was leaked to the Sydney Morning Herald touting the addition of an American conference (LULZ) to the competition.​

​

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/three-more-south-african-sides-14622260​

BOOM!!!

Saw this coming as soon as the Cheetahs and Kings announced their move north. Seriously. It's time to open the dialog with Forrest about getting serious about the IPRC. Let NZ sort out their own structure.

 

[chibimatty]

I wonder if this could be a precursor into bringing Super Rugby and the Pro 14 together into a situation similar like Major League Baseball? Two separate leagues which only interact come finals time.* Keep the majority of the season's regular matches in the same timezone, then cross over for the play-offs and a Grand Final.

*I know there is now inter-league play in the MLB, but I'm talking in the general historical sense.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

I wonder if this could be a precursor into bringing Super Rugby and the Pro 14 together into a situation similar like Major League Baseball? Two separate leagues which only interact come finals time.* Keep the majority of the season's regular matches in the same timezone, then cross over for the play-offs and a Grand Final.

*I know there is now inter-league play in the MLB, but I'm talking in the general historical sense.

Won't happen. Or so I've been told by many people in the past as I've suggested that outcome.

 

[kiap]

I think something like that could be viable …

Gravy on top. But you've gotta have the meat and potatoes of the main regular season nailed down first.

There's no other way, IMO.

And it ain't going to be easy or painless, but for Australia that means a watchable comp in our own timezone. It doesn't have to be purely domestic - in fact I'd like to see Fiji, perhaps HK and more - adding interest to the competition.

New Zealand? Well obviously their on-field teams are the gold standard right now. Clearly they will be somewhere in the mix and of course we want to keep seeing these players in our neck of the woods as opposed to Europe.

But I'm going suggest something here that may not be too popular on this forum … New Zealand Rugby is going to buffeted by some real life headwinds. And soon.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

I think something like that could be viable …

Gravy on top. But you've gotta have the meat and potatoes of the main regular season nailed down first.

There's no other way, IMO.

And it ain't going to be easy or painless, but for Australia that means a watchable comp in our own timezone. It doesn't have to be purely domestic - in fact I'd like to see Fiji, perhaps HK and more - adding interest to the competition.

New Zealand? Well obviously their on-field teams are the gold standard right now. Clearly they will be somewhere in the mix and of course we want to keep seeing these players in our neck of the woods as opposed to Europe.

But I'm going suggest something here that may not be too popular on this forum … New Zealand Rugby is going to buffeted by some real life headwinds. And soon.

It could be done reasonably simply. Atlantic and Asia-Pacific. Argentina folds into the NZ conference we take Fiji and the Force and we transform the IPRC into a third conference. We all play our own conference opponents twice home and away and then 3 or 4 teams from the other two conferences for 16 games. All time zone friendly.

Similar for the Pro 14. Three conferences of six. same set up. Each we'll refer to them as divisions maintain a single united table with the top 8 progressing to the divisional finals. Once the divisional champions are determined. We have both respective winners play off in the overall Championship game. Rotated annually between the two. Simples.

That or we go the IPRC and NZ can figure their own shit out.

 

[Micheal]

South Africa moving North will be the kiss of death for rugby in NZ / Aus as we know it, and I welcome the change.

It'd mean our golden goose would head to the Northern Hemisphere to lay eggs for the dark side that will then be used to entice more and more of our players to follow. We'd be left with a seriously downgraded TV rights deal (due to no South African viewers and the fact that viewership in NZ / Aus has plummeted), and we wouldn't even be able to continue to worship our current Super Rugby contracts.

To use an old rugby idiom, it'd be like an intercept try: "a 14 point turnaround".

Pair that with the fact that 2019 is a RWC year, and therefore will have significantly lower revenues for RA, it means that the game would, by necessity, likely go back to a semi-professional model in Australia as we pursue an Indo-Pacific competition or, at best, a Trans-Tasman competition with the inclusion of major PI and Asian partners (Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Japan, Hong Kong, both Sri Lanka and China at pinch).

How exciting. Fuck Super Rugby. At least the Safa's are smart enough to know it's a sinking ship. Let's hope RA can figure out the same.

Hopefully more Australian teams at a slightly-higher-than-club-standard. Local games. Communities engaged. A slow rebuild. Something we can all get behind.

 

[Tomikin]

We could take our 5 teams, throw in a second West Sydney team, the kiwis can fuck off and we add some of the PI/ Asian teams.. Open up wallabies selection across the whole thing.

What do the Kiwis do when SA go North and we go east.. Play the IMT cup by themselves..

Sent from my HTC 2PS6200 using Tapatalk

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

We could take our 5 teams, throw in a second West Sydney team, the kiwis can fuck off and we add some of the PI/ Asian teams.. Open up wallabies selection across the whole thing.

What do the Kiwis do when SA go North and we go east.. Play the IMT cup by themselves..

Sent from my HTC 2PS6200 using Tapatalk

We all know RA will partner up with the NZRU. They're too weak not to. So. Seeing as that the likely outcome we could end up with a Pacific Super 12. Our five. There five plus Fiji and a combined PI squad funded by
The group who tried to buy the Warriors based out of Hawaii. Which is somethinv they actually expressed interest in. q