Omar Comin'
Chilla Wilson (44)
If it's going to go the way of an NRC with Asian teams then I really think it'd be better to have our super rugby teams playing in it as the base of the competition (obviously minus Wallabies players). The super rugby provinces are established brands with established fan bases, while the NRC teams have yet to cut through - and I don't think the confusion of having multiple brands for effectively the same club (as is the case with the Spirit, Rising and Vikings) is necessary. That said it'd be useful to have a 2nd Sydney team, and perhaps it could have a strong link to Tonga and Samoa.
So the comp might be, for example:
Waratahs
Reds
Brumbies
Rebels
Force
Western Sydney
Fiji Drua
Hong Kong
Asia-Pacific Dragons (Singapore)
Shanghai
I think that'd be a more popular and engaging comp than the current NRC plus 2 or 3 Asian sides.
As others have noted the problem for the Force is that they'd not have a full season of rugby. But maybe they could play other fixtures while Super Rugby is on in order to keep the core of a full time professional team. For example, they could invite teams from around the world to Perth for a 3 match series, or go on their own tours, or play one off matches against Super Rugby sides when they have byes. Not a perfect solution, but I think the Force just need to do what they can to remain a full time team over the next 3 seasons.
So the comp might be, for example:
Waratahs
Reds
Brumbies
Rebels
Force
Western Sydney
Fiji Drua
Hong Kong
Asia-Pacific Dragons (Singapore)
Shanghai
I think that'd be a more popular and engaging comp than the current NRC plus 2 or 3 Asian sides.
As others have noted the problem for the Force is that they'd not have a full season of rugby. But maybe they could play other fixtures while Super Rugby is on in order to keep the core of a full time professional team. For example, they could invite teams from around the world to Perth for a 3 match series, or go on their own tours, or play one off matches against Super Rugby sides when they have byes. Not a perfect solution, but I think the Force just need to do what they can to remain a full time team over the next 3 seasons.