So what about this Dru for a proposal. Would you accept this as being in the best interests of Aussie rugby?
12 teams, 2 pools of 6. Pool A = 5 Aussie Super teams, Sunwolves. Bool B = 5 Kiwi teams, Fiji Drua.
You play your own pool twice, and the other pool once. 15 games each with a six team finals.
It's not perfect, but I think it might be the best case scenario.
.
Hey B, I've slept on it.
The team selections - good. Conference system - good. I'd like a draw - but presuming it wasn't going to do funky things (eg Fiji can't play home and away in blocks thereby creating balance problems in the draw) it should permit generally a home game each second week - you'd have to be a problem child to create a poor draw. So good.
So what you have proposed is good, possibly very good.
What it needs, what any future system needs, is consideration of the administration and governance, and connection to the grass roots. Let's leave the grass roots thing to the side.
Is this competition going to be roughly a level playing field? IE with genuine competitiveness across the franchises?
No.
Not based on 2017 Super rugby.
Skill will be skewed to the Kiwis. In my mind competitiveness is more important to commercial success than skillset. This could be adjusted by changing the NZ rep selection rules - to be from the competition rather than NZ resident teams only. If the Kiwis aren't interested (they would be entitled to dictate this), the comp is not superior in my mind than a domestic only competition.
Governance also is an issue. The competition faces a saturated NZ market and highly competitive, but potentially rewarding, Australian conference. The competition as a whole is responsible for marketing in Aus. Are the Kiwis, Japanese and Fijians going to stand for that?
Team names need to reconsider identification for the Aus market - not just a minor issue if we are serious about building the pie. Will NZ concur?
You'd need a plan for covering Fiji costs, as they are not going to generate funds in Fiji. Sunwolves I would expect to ultimately be commercial. Very. They will end up sharing those broadcast $ with the rest of us. They need to be happy with that. of course their gate will be all theirs. OTOH you'd need to be prepared to assist the japanese. As I suggest that Kiwis need to share talent, the comp would need to intentionally take on Japanese players to help build their depth. And we need to provide pAus (and Kiwi) players to them.
It was something that was worth chasing in planning in stead of the shrink strategy, and look to change for 2020 - IE a 5 Aus franchises should have been mandated to ease this change. But what will happen with Tew governing SANZAAR and sycophant Clyne governing ARU, is wwe will have our teams continue to be whittled down in number in order to create competitiveness. And that will simply hasten the demise of Australia as an international force.
Now we have more work to do. All in all I don't see the Kiwis complying which makes the comp a pipe dream. And we end up returning to
what suits Australian Rugby? In the absence of the Kiwis really engaging in such a plan, we need to go solo.
I'd be happy with a separate arrangement where State of Origin style rep teams (probably three of them) meet the Kiwis after the domestic season is done. That would be competitive and build to the internationals. 8 team knock out. Kiwis keep all the stuff they demand, but have to come up with a domestic comp to keep their franchises going. And we invest in ourselves.
We need to end the situation where we are dictated by what is good for the All Blacks.