It was a busy weekend of rugby. Monday’s rugby news has RUPA calling for a new competition, Force and Rebels standing together, a swinging axe in South Africa and yet more complaints about a certain French referee.
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A King and a Cheetah feel the axe
The big news in regards to Super Rugby this weekend was the official announcement that SA Rugby will officially remove the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings from Super Rugby for next year. Many may be unsurprised by the decision, and also disappointed that the fact these teams are being cut.
However, the Kings and Cheetahs are not to be disbanded, with SA Rugby keen to have the teams in other international competitions, which is the biggest hint yet that they will be set to join the PRO 12 next year, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Many (including myself) are still scratching their heads at the fact that the Sunwolves aren’t going to be cut, despite the fact that their 94-7 loss to the Lions this weekend gone was the biggest losing margin in Super Rugby for a decade.
The PRO 12 is one of the most premier rugby competitions in Europe, with teams from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Italy. The deal that SA Rugby has apparently secured for both clubs however has the presidents of both clubs keen to be open to the idea.
“It will be an exciting challenge for our players, supporters and commercial partners and will be the start of a new chapter for rugby both in our region and in South Africa,” Cheetahs chief executive Harold Verster said.
The comments were similar over in Port Elizabeth.
“We have enjoyed Super Rugby but the chance to test ourselves against different opposition in different conditions is a mouth-watering one,” said Andre Rademan, president of the Eastern Province Rugby Union, who runs the Kings.
“We are therefore not opposed to joining new competitions.”
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Trans-Tasman, says RUPA
With the announcement of the removal of the Kings and the Cheetahs and the possible movement of them to the PRO 12 competition, the Rugby Union Players Association announced that for this reason, Australia should not cut a team and instead focus on trying to have a Trans-Tasman competition with New Zealand.
The fact that South Africa is totally open to the idea to shift teams to the Northern Hemisphere seems to suggest that they may be on the outer with the other Southern Hemisphere nations. If the other four franchises followed suit, then it could leave Super Rugby in tatters. However, there is an option of creating a Trans-Tasman competition that could be on the table as a result.
Keep in mind that a lot of this is purely speculative, but the RUPA chief executive Ross Xenos made a pretty logical argument for it when he chatted to Fairfax Media.
“The prospective decision to move two teams into the Pro12 has significant and direct consequences for Australia and Super Rugby,” said Xenos.
“It is now very apparent that SARU are testing the waters on the long-term option of their teams playing in European competitions full-time from 2021.
“Why is Australia shrinking our rugby footprint at a time when South Africa is increasing theirs with a foot in both camps, and in Australia other codes are increasing their local content?
“Moving to four Australian teams makes any future Australasian or trans-Tasman competition all that more difficult to achieve.”
Xenos also seemed to made it clear that the ARU’s management of the situation has led to them “being enemies with almost everyone,” especially as they prepare to wield the axe over the future of the Western Force and the Melbourne Rebels.
“In Australia, the ARU has made enemies of almost everyone as it determines which team it has the legal capacity to remove and which state of fans, volunteers, players and governments it will disenfranchise,” Xenos said.
“The ARU has not made any commitments on what kind of savings there will be from any reduction [of teams] and how any reinvestment would benefit the whole of Australian rugby.
“Simply threatening financial risk or talking about possible savings is not a strategy for the future of the game.”
He ain’t wrong there. Keep in mind that it has been 91 days since Cameron Clyne announced that a team would be cut in “48-72 hours.”
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The Force is with the Rebels
It was a great match at the Force Field on Friday night, and while the Force grabbed the win, both them and the Rebels came together at a time where both their futures hang in the balance.
The sight of the teams standing arm-in-arm with one another is a moment that many won’t forget any time soon, and the speech told by Force club legend Matt Hodgson showed that both teams will, no matter what, go down fighting. Check out the footage here on Fox Sports.
“It was great to see (the huddle), obviously hard times for both of those teams at the moment with the ongoing uncertainty,” Rugby Union Players’ Association president Dean Mumm said.
“Everyone is working hard to try and make sure that there’s a resolution, one way or the other.
“But it was great to see the guys united in their cause to keep Australian rugby’s five teams.
“To be honest, I think everyone involved from the ARU, from RUPA, particularly the players with a vested interest in the future of the respective clubs, it’s important that for Australian rugby in general that this gets resolved in one way or another and we can move and start to plan our futures.”
The ARU held talks with the Rebels last week, and will also meet the Force in an arbitration meeting on July 31st over the alliance agreement that they signed last year.
Both teams have a final home game this season, with the Rebels hosting the Jaguares in Melbourne, and the Force hosting the Waratahs. It could be the final match for either side. While the Rebels are guaranteed the bottom of the Aussie conference, the Force currently sit in second place and could finish there with a win over the Tahs. Both will be keen to finish off what has been a tough season with something positive.
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Kiwis rip into Poite
After Poite’s backflip call on weekend, many in the rugby community are calling for World Rugby to step in and take action, with the New Zealand media especially (unsurprisingly) taking aim at Poite for his actions on the weekend.
I myself have not been a total fan of Poite in the past. However, as clarified in an insightful article by our own Hugh Cavill, the French referee was indeed correct to have backflipped on his initial decision (agree with it or not). It’s a tough gig, refereeing is.
But regardless, the media have demanded that World Rugby hold Poite accountable for the decision, especially in New Zealand, where people are claiming he robbed the All Blacks of winning the series.
The New Zealand Herald’s Patrick McKendry wrote: “When the dust settled the Test was drawn and so was the series, but it won’t finish there in the court of public opinion. [Poite is] set to feature prominently in the post mortems from here to eternity”.
Similarly, Stuff.co.nz writer Phil Gifford wrote that Poite “was out of his depth and at a level beyond his abilities.”
“No doubt there will be some world‑class whining from the north about the scrum penalty that put the All Blacks in the lead with 13 minutes to go.”
Probably most telling of all though was the fact that the All Black post match coverage didn’t even include Poite’s name.
However, while the moment is seen to have overshadowed the final game, the series as a whole was viewed in an almost unanimously positive light, with even the Kiwis admitting they were happy to see Lions coach Warren Gatland rise above the media, turning up to the post match press conference wearing a red nose.
To me though, probably the best reaction was that of Sonny Bill Williams, who tweeted after the game: “What about a decider?”
Pity we’ve got to wait another twelve years before we see that decider between the two teams. Bugger.
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