How New Zealand's reported replacement for the endangered Super Rugby competition might function
The latest reports out of the New Zealand Herald give a strong indication of how the future of New Zealand rugby may look, post the current global epidemic.
Super Rugby is already set for a change next year but we could be on the precipice of a massive reconfiguration of the game. The international flavour may be leaving the competition, but the trade-off would be a potentially more competitive playing field – as well as the potential introduction of some Pacific flair.
What should fans expect from the new competition?
“We don’t want the Brazil model where all your top players are in clubs offshore,” an NZR official revealed to the Herald earlier this week. “We’re determined to keep as many of our All Blacks here as we can.”
This makes two things abundantly clear.
The first is that NZR won’t be significantly altering their current policy that requires a player to be contracted with a New Zealand club in order to be selected for the All Blacks. The second is that the new competition is expected to bring in at least similar income to Super Rugby.
Top All Blacks like Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock have been allowed to spend a season or two outside New Zealand and earn some quick cash but 95% of All Blacks will still be expected to play their club rugby in New Zealand.
Of course, the lure of the black jersey is only so powerful; NZR won’t be able to retain their top players if the money on offer overseas is that much better than what’s available in New Zealand.
NZR have been doing a good job of stemming the tide and it’s hard to say whether the global coronavirus pandemic will increase or decrease departures. Foreign clubs have possibly been hit even harder than New Zealand Rugby by the global suspension of matches but even if the contracts they’re able to offer decrease in the future, Kiwi players who have lost income this year (i.e. all of them) may look for a short term top up by heading elsewhere.
There’s also the potential emergence of a new Japanese club competition on the horizon which would create another competitor for New Zealand’s players.
If NZR are to have any hope of keeping talent locally based then a Super Rugby replacement must at least maintain current levels of income, if not increase them significantly. That should be entirely possible, if the rugby on offer is the best on the world and the competition’s owners are able to market it globally.
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
The comments out of NZR also show that despite New Zealand clearly treating Test rugby and what’s best for the All Blacks as the most important thing on the calendar, that won’t be at the expense of the lower-tier competitions.
Coaches and administrators in NZ have often suggested that having every player locally based improves the national side’s performances but by winning last year’s World Cup, South Africa showed that following the ‘Brazil model’ wouldn’t severely undermine the strength of the All Blacks.
Despite all that, it’s unlikely we’ll see NZR take a similar approach to the All Blacks’ selection criteria – which is fantastic for the local game.
With that out of the way, how could a new competition fit into the calendar?
According to the Herald, New Zealand will field between five and eight sides with one more team potentially based in the Pacific Islands.
There’s also the potential for four East Cost Australian sides to join.
Phil Gifford suggested that five of New Zealand’s sides will be the existing Super Rugby franchises but if more teams are to be based in the country then these franchises will need to be diluted heavily.
RugbyPass had already started compiling teams based on geographically sensible provincial combinations but that was based on a hypothetical ten-team competition.
Assuming a lower number of teams, the logic still remains the same: franchise locations should be based primarily on population and location (two provinces on opposite sides of the country obviously shouldn’t be clustered together in the same team).
Currently, the Blues and Chiefs have significantly larger talent pools to pick from compared to the other three franchises:
It wouldn’t be unfair expecting these franchises to produce strong teams even if they lose some of their current provinces. Auckland boasts arguably the most competitive localised schoolboys’ tournament in the country while the Chiefs current region includes five of the Super 8 competition’s participating schools.
Admittedly the Blues have struggled over the last decade but the raw resources are all there with plenty of the regions’ talent heading elsewhere and thriving.
The most logical move would therefore see the Chiefs and Hurricanes splitting into four relatively even sides with the Blues also restructuring.
Assuming seven New Zealand teams and one Pacific side, the new franchises would likely resemble the below:
Waikato and Bay of Plenty have had a strong relationship throughout history which could be preserved with a little bit of manipulation but if parity and geographical location are viewed as the most important factors (which, may well be the case to maintain the competition’s longevity) then the above set-up makes the most sense
With just six New Zealand teams, however, the Bay of Plenty would likely remain with their current Chiefs partners:
In every scenario, the Southern side is always going to struggle to compete with their rivals but there’s simply no way around it.
Restructuring the current Super Rugby sides is certainly possible but the new competition’s structure is arguably a more challenging conundrum.
If New Zealand creates extra franchises then the lines between the Super Rugby replacement and provincial rugby become harder to see.
Year after year, it’s becoming more and more clear that the provincial competition, which was once New Zealand’s flagship tournament, is waning in significance. There are few All Blacks involved and even some Super Rugby players have, in the past, opted to play in the Top League over staying in NZ for the provincial season (that won’t be the case this year as the Top League kicked off in January and has now been cancelled).
Scrapping the current Mitre 10 Cup altogether and extending the Super Rugby substitute could potentially solve both problems, especially if a Champion’s Cup-style finals series is introduced.
From February to mid-May, the NZ and Pacific sides could play a home-and-away round robin series before joining up with other countries’ clubs in late-May to play off in some winner-takes-all international club matches.
Add in a North Island v South Island clash or a Probables v Possibles All Blacks trial and the first half of the year is sorted, with the first round of Test matches involving the Southern Hemisphere sides kicking off in July.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9z_CjsgIu8/
The Rugby Championship kicks off shortly after the July Tests which leaves no window for full-strength New Zealand sides to battle it out in the latter half of the year but that creates an opportunity for the NZ provinces to effectively host their own trials for the next year’s Super replacement.
Instead of splitting the 14 provinces into two pseudo-divisions, the teams would be divided up geographically – potentially with sides playing the teams in their own region more than once in a season.
There’d still be ample opportunity for the likes of Auckland and Canterbury and Waikato and Otago to do battle in the latter stages of the competition but it’s the local rivalries that often get the blood pumping.
Super Rugby is fighting a losing battle with this year’s disruptions potentially signalling the death knell – but that creates an excellent opportunity for New Zealand Rugby to re-think things. Of course, the global rugby calendar needs changing but closer to home, it’s time for the local scene to get a significant refresh and the rumoured competition could be exactly what fans are looking for.
Comments on RugbyPass
We had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
57 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
57 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
57 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
57 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
57 Go to comments