Code-hopper Hunt: 'Trans-Tasman comp would be just like the Warriors in league'

Wallabies and NSW Waratahs veteran Karmichael Hunt says a trans-Tasman Super Rugby competition makes the most sense and he’d love to be a part of it next year. Senior rugby in Australia is set to resume in early July with a largely domestic competition replacing the five-nation Super Rugby tournament which was suspended in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

SANZAAR’s administrators have decided to return to the original round-robin format for the five-nation tournament in 2021, but it’s believed that could still change.

“It makes more sense for me that we have got a trans-Tasman competition,” said Hunt, who has been at the Waratahs since 2018. “It’s just like the Warriors in rugby league, they get the benefit of playing the top Aussie teams every weekend as well and that’s done the game in New Zealand wonders.

The PRO14 deal that has put pressure on Super Rugby

The PRO14 deal that has put pressure on Super Rugby

“You always want to play the best teams to make sure that you are always around the mark and know where you are in relation to your competition. 

“That makes the most sense from my perspective in terms of furthering the game and growing the game here from a competitive level, but whether or not that’s financially viable is beyond me. But it sounds like it would make a lot more sense than playing South African teams and Argentine teams.”

Code-hopper Hunt, who is 33 and in his 17th year of professional sport, isn’t contemplating retiring after this season. “I’ve always been dictated to by how I’m feeling mentally, how I’m feeling physically, but most importantly what my footy form is telling me,” Hunt said. “I’m getting no indications that I want to stop playing, for me, I want to keep pushing on.”

While uncertainty surrounds rugby’s financial state for 2021, former Brisbane, Queensland and Kangaroos star Hunt isn’t contemplating a return to the 13-man code. “Personally it’s never been about just money. It’s about meaning first and foremost and about the challenge,” he said.

“We don’t know what it’s going to look like here in Australia, but if I have a crystal ball it will be that we have a (Super Rugby) competition here next year and that I was able to stay and continue to lead these guys (the Waratahs).”