Thursday’s rugby news has Daryl Gibson feeling sorry for the Sunwolves, Sefa Naivalu set to be named in the Wallabies squad, Super Rugby to expand again and Steve Hansen calls for an ultimate Southern v Northern hemisphere match.
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Gibson Sorry for Sunwolves
Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson has expressed sympathy for the Sunwolves after it was revealed that they will travel over 100 000km throughout the Super Rugby season and play just four matches in Tokyo.
“You looked at the Sunwolves schedule this year and thought: “Those poor blokes”. They’ll either be on a plane or all over the place. It must be very difficult,” Gibson said.
“It makes it really difficult for Argentina and Japan to overcome their travel schedules and be able to compete. Hopefully the next iteration of the tournament will be based logically along timezone configurations.
Gibson was more upbeat about the Waratahs Super Rugby draw, particularly about their early season trip to South Africa.
“There is a real benefit to that. Part of the luxury of being in Sydney is our travel schedule is not as onerous as others; we don’t tend to have much time on the road. But early on in the season we find it is good to get away, you can get a lot done on tour.
“It’s good for us to get away and spend 24 hours a day in each other’s company.”
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Naivalu to join Wallabies
Melbourne Rebels winger Sefa Naivalu is expected to be included in the Wallabies touring squad to South Africa and London.
Coach Michael Cheika has already included Naivalu in several Wallabies training camps this year.
Naivalu has always expressed a desire to play for the Wallabies rather than Fiji.
“My dream was not to play for Fiji, it was to wear the gold jersey,” Naivalu said.
David Pocock will not be included in the squad after breaking his hand against Argentina whilst Matt Toomua is also set to miss the tour as he continues to follow concussion protocols following his head knock against the All Blacks in August.
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SR to Expand Again
Super Rugby is set to continue expanding over the next decade after SANZAAR boss Andy Marinos delivered the long-term vision for Super Rugby on Monday.
No final decisions have been made about the size and structure of the competition but it has been revealed that:
* Super Rugby’s conference system will be retained regardless, to preserve player welfare
* Each conference will likely continue to get guaranteed home finals, contrary to a New Zealand push for a straight finals system
* The priority of SANZAAR nations is fixing the competitiveness of all teams, above the fairness of a lopsided draw.
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Hansen’s Idea
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has advocated for the winner of the Six Nations to play the winner of the Rugby Championship as a part of a significant shake up to the global rugby calendar.
“It’s a no-brainer,” Hansen said.
“You’ve got to say, ‘what’s best for our product so we can keep attracting people to come and watch it?’
“First, our players need a decent pre-season. You’d play club competitions simultaneously. We could have the European Cup winners play the Super Rugby winners and the Six Nations winners play the Rugby Championship winners. We need some goodwill to sort it out.”
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