'I'm glad the fans love it but I'm going to be surprised to see who's still standing after this comp'
Super Rugby Aotearoa is already taking its toll on the competitors according to All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith.
The new competition, which sees New Zealand’s five Super Rugby sides duke it out over 10 weeks, was highly anticipated by the rugby public but it’s fair to say there was a little bit of trepidation from the players.
While any rugby is better than no rugby, there’s no question that the derby matches are more intense than any other head-to-heads in Super Rugby’s standard fixtures list. NZ teams are just as physical as their South African counterparts but the matches are higher-paced which means bodies are always sore after facing off with a local rival.
Super Rugby Aotearoa, of course, only features local derbies – which means players aren’t getting many opportunities to recover from the bash and crash of match-day.
“These games of Super Rugby Aotearoa, they’re different,” said Highlanders captain Smith.
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“They are physical. The boys are still banged up until about Wednesday.
“I’m glad the fans love it but I’m going to be surprised to see who’s still standing after this comp because everyone is going hammer and tong.”
Smith is absolutely on the money that fans are loving the new competition. There are no boring matches, no easy wins, no game not worth tuning into.
New Zealand Rugby chairman Brent Impey has warned that the current five-team tournament is not sustainable beyond this year, however, which could mean the introduction of more teams next season.
That would potentially come as a relief for the NZ players as it could introduce a number of less physically taxing battles – though that’s by no means guaranteed. An expansion of Kiwi sides or bringing in Pacific Island teams would quite possibly result in an even more challenging schedule while the Reds and Waratahs showed plenty of physicality and stamina in the opening match of Super Rugby AU.
Smith’s not complaining, however; there’s an unprecedented buzz around the country at present that’s normally reserved for the international rugby season.
“You’re getting a lot of texts from people you haven’t heard from in a while,” Smith said.
“For me it’s from people you usually only hear from where there’s a big test match … that kind of hype.”
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The nuggety halfback and his Highlanders teammates are willing to put up with the intense matches if it means fans keep tuning in to catch the weekend matches.
“As rugby players we’ve been able to come back to work as normal but it’s not the same for everyone. But people are still coming to our games and supporting us.
“I know as a leader in this group I’m make sure we’re very thankful to the public… that we clap the crowd, sign as much stuff as we can at homes games, and when we are at promos we’re present, we’re excited to be there and give it everything.
“If we can bring a bit of joy for two hours a week for our fans … I’ll be pretty happy to do that. The way we’ve built our team around this comp is that we’re going to give it 80 minutes of pure guts and effort.”
The Highlanders take on the Crusaders in Dunedin on Saturday evening.
Comments on RugbyPass
What a dagg in more ways than one
5 Go to commentsRegroup come back next year but sack some of the coaching team and don't be like the ABs last minute sacking. If Crusaders don't do well ABs don't do well.
5 Go to commentsProctor Definitely inform again this year had a hell of a season last year and this year is looking even better. Still mixed feelings about Ioane tho.
4 Go to commentsDagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
5 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
5 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
4 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
38 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to comments