All Blacks trial on the cards alongside rejigged multi-nation club competition
Plans are formulating to stage a one-off All Blacks trial between a rejigged Super Rugby and the Mitre 10 Cup this year.
While the rebirth of the classic All Blacks trial of yesteryear will provide a headline act, more fundamental work is understood to be taking place in the background that will supersede any short-term solutions for 2020, and trump anything the hastily-formed Aratipu Super Rugby committee might bring to the table.
One source described Aratipu – described this week as a review to grow, regenerate and invigorate Super Rugby – as a front to buy some time and stall licence renegotiations as the real work was done on reshaping New Zealand’s domestic rugby landscape.
Part of that is, as was highlighted by Phil Gifford’s column, the idea of an eight-team professional round robin competition with two extra New Zealand professional franchises joining the five existing Super teams – and a Pasifika side possibly based in Suva.
The Herald has learned there is another option gaining traction, which would see that eight-team competition extended to 12 teams with the edition of four – preferably East Coast – Australian franchises or clubs, but that option is dependent on the health of Australian rugby in the post-Covid environment.
As one source said, it is not New Zealand Rugby’s mandate to prop up Australia, so the transtasman neighbours must bring broadcast and commercial dollars to the party.
While these are fascinating scenarios for the middle to long term, rugby’s resumption remains front of most fans’ minds.
This remains a fluid prospect due to the ever-evolving Covid-19 pandemic, but as the situation here rapidly improves, hope springs eternal that the proposed Super Rugby derby competition can start, possibly by mid-June, and be followed by an immediate All Blacks trial.
The mid-June resumption is considered a best case scenario, and would require the continued progression from alert level 3 to 2 on May 12.
New Zealand teams would then need at least three weeks of contact conditioning training before launching into the 10-week derbies which will pit each side against their four local opponents on a home and away basis, with a first-past-the-post winner crowned.
Build it and they will come – a global audience, that is. @TomVinicombe gives his take on what a new set-up could look like in New Zealand. #AllBlacks #SuperRugby #Mitre10Cuphttps://t.co/MUBkJ3A7OW
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 30, 2020
With the All Blacks home tests against Wales and Scotland in July to be postponed within the next week, it was assumed the Mitre 10 Cup season would follow the franchise derbies.
Plans are in place, however, to first stage a one-off All Blacks trial before the provincial season kicks off.
This window for an All Blacks trial would reward performances during the Super derby competition.
Staging an All Blacks trial would allow Ian Foster’s new All Blacks coaching team the chance to interact with players and put plans in place for a potentially rapid return for a Bledisloe Cup series, as border restrictions with Australia are expected to ease before any others.
A trial would also give NZ Rugby’s commercial partners, who don’t have certainty about how this season will play out, a much-needed chance for exposure.
The Mitre 10 provincial campaign is then scheduled to follow in its existing two-tiered format. All parties have agreed this competition could run as late as December.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_lp9KRAi-K/
The longer level 3 carries on, however, the more these plans will get squeezed – it is worth noting there has been doubt expressed within the rugby community as to how equipped many provincial unions are to ensure a safe reintroduction of rugby.
While there is much uncertainty around rugby’s resumption and the longer term plans, including the future of Sanzaar, there is a certainty: the shape of the season will look a lot different in 2021 than it did in 2019.
A potential four-week finals format that would involve teams qualifying from their respective domestic competitions for a European Heineken Cup style league is another touted concept.
NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson said yesterday: “Everything is on the table but it is too early to commit to anything absolutely,” Robinson said. “We’ll need to work through this quickly because we know the horizon of next year is fast approaching.
“We’re in close dialogue with South Africa, Argentina and Australia on this. There’s nothing predetermined at the moment.”
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
25 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
25 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
25 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
25 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments