A pointless qualifier? The glaring issue with Super Rugby's new playoffs format

I won’t bore you by trying to explain the Super Rugby Pacific playoff system.

I’ll just say that scheduling the Brumbies’ clash with the Hurricanes on Saturday night is about as peak Super Rugby as you can get.

By the time those two teams meet in Canberra, the results of the preceding playoff matches might very well mean the Brumbies and Hurricanes have qualified for the semifinals regardless.

I mean, there are occasions when you feel like watching Super Rugby is pointless. In this instance, it literally will be.

As I alluded to, any finals system that isn’t self-explanatory is ridiculous. If nothing else, it unnecessarily confuses fans, particularly those of the casual variety.

Many people don’t follow competitions from go to whoa. They like finals and pinnacle events, such as World Cups.

Their wish is to see the best of the best compete with everything on the line. Only, if the Crusaders beat the Reds and the Chiefs can see off the Blues, the Brumbies and Hurricanes will be playing for absolutely nothing.

I guess that’s what happens when six teams qualify for playoff footy in an 11-team competition.

This is commerce compromising high-performance. This is staging playoff games not to reveal the competition’s best team, but to supply television advertisers with eyeballs.

Not convinced?

Well, try this from Super Rugby’s governing body on for size. The Brumbies asked for this match to be played in the afternoon. You know, so that the match might have some jeopardy about it.

Instead, “it was ultimately decided to be in the best interests of the competition for the game to be scheduled in the peak television time slot in Australia,’’ Super Rugby Pacific said in a statement.

“This aligns with our competition’s regular broadcast schedule, which our fans are accustomed to, and ensures the fixture is accessible to the largest possible audience across the Pacific.”

We endure enough round-robin games in which the stakes are next to none. That’s why we look forward to finals.

We know the Chiefs are this competition’s best team, which they’ve proved on a week-to-week basis. Our only interest now is in seeing if they can deliver when it really matters.

That’s because, in playoff football, you go home empty-handed if you lose. Except, potentially, in Canberra on Saturday night.

Provided results go the way we expect, either of the Brumbies and Hurricanes can lose and still advance to next week’s semifinals.

The schedule could have been different. This match could have been played at a time that meant there was definitely something riding on it.

Only it’s not, because, you know, television.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

3

Draws

0

Wins

2

Average Points scored

31

29

First try wins

20%

Home team wins

80%

I’ll be intrigued to know what the eventual viewing figures are like, should the Crusaders and Chiefs do what we all expect them to. Will this clash in Canberra attract a bumper audience, or will fans seek a different sport on a different channel, where the participants care if they win or lose?

Imagine being a Brumby or a Hurricane, for instance, and getting injured in this game and then missing a match that actually matters?

I see Hurricanes hooker Asafo Aumua is under an injury cloud this week. Well, they might be able to save him for a semifinal.

I don’t want to be a grump about this stuff. I’ve waited patiently, as I’m sure others have, for us to get to the sharp end of this competition.

This is the point in the season when you judge teams and players. This is where careers are made and legacies built.
These are the games that go down in history.

So I find it a terrible shame to see the first week of Super Rugby Pacific’s showpiece playoff series potentially compromised by television scheduling.

If you ever wondered if elite sport is simply something to fill the space between ad breaks, you’ve got your answer.