THE new format for the Super Rugby competition from next year has been announced, with those in SANZAAR, the controlling body for the big four countries in the Southern Hemisphere, hoping to turn the situation around in terms of attendances, television audiences and the excitement generated by the competition itself.
Instead of the four conferences involving 18 teams, the next competition will have three conferences, each with five teams.
To try and make it more competitive and the results less predictable, each team will play 16 conference matches, home and away. Eight matches will be against each other in the conference and another eight against each of the teams from another conference.
Japan’s sole franchise, the Sunwolves, will be in the Australian conference and the Jaguares in the South African conference but judging from results in their first two seasons, it is highly doubtful that these two teams will rattle the others in a big way and thus difficult to imagine how the results from next year will be less predictable.
The four Australian franchises could be stronger, with depth added by players from the culled Western Force but there is no certainty here at the moment because of the plan by billionaire Andrew Forrest to start a six-team Indo-Pacific rebel competition.
After seeing how Super Rugby has been going south since a few years ago, much is needed if it is to continue attracting the crowds and TV audiences, which dropped badly in Australia from 2015. In New South Wales, for example, support for the Waratahs which totaled 202,169 spectators in 2015 declined by half to 101,499 this year.
Unless teams from Australia and two of the four remaining in South Africa improve drastically, it may end up the same way as has been the case since a few seasons ago – with the New Zealand franchises again dominant.
But before the step-up to Super Rugby level, there is the question of standards one step below and in New Zealand it’s the ongoing Mitre 10 provincial competition.
It’s amazing how the production line in this country with a population so small compared to the other four countries with Super Rugby representation keeps going and going.
One only has to watch the Mitre 10 to see the many young talents displaying their skills – the pop passes, no-look or behind the back offloads, most things you don’t see regularly in similar domestic competitions, including in the Northern Hemisphere.
Also in New Zealand’s favour is that many of these talents are just touching 20 years or a year or two older, many having represented the national schools team and the Under-20s.
This week is also when the All Blacks and Wallabies fly to Argentina and South Africa respectively for the final two rounds of the Rugby Championship.
The All Blacks have named a relatively young squad for the game in Buenos Aires while also recalling a few old hands but the selectors see this game as an opportunity to give the less experienced players more game time while resting six first-choice players who will travel to South Africa later.
The decision to name two squads also considered how the Pumas had been playing so far this season, which was poor.
For the Wallabies the more serious threat should be expected in Bloemfontein from a Springboks side still hurting from the record 57-0 humiliation by the All Blacks in Albany last Saturday.
That the Boks managed to fight back for a 23-23 draw in Perth two Saturdays ago is a good enough reason to view them as not a bad team at all.
The Wallabies too showed that they can play good rugby in the way they battled against the All Blacks in the opening two rounds but although they finished strongly in beating the Pumas 45-20 in Canberra last weekend, they need to show more consistency and grunt in their game.