What we have learned from the Super Rugby regular season
The Super Rugby regular season is over and the playoffs are upon us. Here are a few things we have figured out after nineteen weeks of competition.
THE CURRENT FORMAT ISN’T WORKING
Players, pundits and fans alike have all called for the end of Super Rugby’s broken conference system.
This year saw the competition contract for the first time, back to 15 teams, with a revamped conference system in place. The current format sees each team play 16 times, including eight matches against their four conference rivals – both home and away – and eight cross-conference clashes.
While this made for plenty of exciting local derbies, this model looks like it will be unsustainable moving forward for several reasons.
Put simply, the end of season table is a complete mess. Super Rugby has to be one of the only professional sporting competitions in the world where you can finish with less competition points than an opponent, but end the season above them in the standings.
It’s understandable that the competition might struggle to grow if only one country hosted playoff games – which could have easily happened this year if the seeding was based solely on points – but seeing a final table where a team with 44 competition points finishes above teams with 51 and 49 points just doesn’t sit right. You can’t reward comparatively mediocre performance with home advantage.
All Blacks captain Kieran Read is one of many players who have called for a return to a traditional round robin format – or just something else, seriously, anything else – which would likely be the most beneficial solution for all involved parties.
As covered by RugbyPass earlier in the year, at present the current system really only serves to benefit the New Zealand teams in terms of development. If the Australian teams play each other eight times a year, their development may be stunted as they are potentially denied the opportunity to test themselves against the best competition.
As Read said, “a round robin or something along those lines would be fairer for everyone and result in a better product for the fans who turn up every week.”
TANA UMAGA IS SUPER RUGBY’S LUCKIEST MAN
The long-suffering Blues fan base was seemingly given another uppercut when it was announced that head coach Tana Umaga had been extended until the end of the 2019 season.
Umaga’s extension was announced just over halfway through the 2018 season when the side was sitting with a record of three wins and eight losses.
After Umaga’s extension, the side would win just once more – their solitary home win of the season – as the Blues beat the Reds 39-16 at Eden Park in week 17.
Blues CEO Michael Redman defended the club’s decision to retain the former All Black, stating that “In the end, we haven’t been able to deliver and changing coaches every cycle hasn’t worked for the Blues previously.” Once 2019 rolls around, Umaga will join Peter Sloane and Pat Lam as the longest-tenured coach the club has had – after four years.
Umaga’s three seasons in charge of the Blues so far compare unfavorably to the man who preceded him, John Kirwan, who had consecutive finishes of 10th, 10th and 14th before he resigned in 2015.
Under Umaga, the Blues have finished 11th, 9th and now 14th after finishing 2018 at the bottom of the New Zealand conference, with their second-lowest competition points total (22) – above only the Sunwolves – and their second lowest points differential (-131) in club history. The two lower figures are both from Kirwan’s final year at the helm. These numbers don’t exactly scream extension.
Sure, the format hasn’t helped the Blues as they are forced to play their superior New Zealand counterparts on close to a weekly basis, but if the results aren’t there, there’s usually only one person fans and management point to.
THE JAGUARES AND REBELS ARE HERE TO STAY
When it was announced Super Rugby would be culling three teams before the start of the 2018 season, fans were quick to send the dreadful Melbourne Rebels to the end of the gangplank.
Instead, it was the Western Force who were shunned after 12 years of lacklustre performance where they failed to garner a single playoff berth and posted an all-time win percentage of 31%.
The Rebels, who failed to do much better than the Force since their inception in 2011, have turned things around in 2018 and justified their place under new head coach David Wessels.
It can’t be understated how much work Wessels had in front of him when he inherited the struggling one-win team who were coming off a season where they finished with a staggering points differential of -333.
After a personnel revamp saw the Rebels incorporate some of the best talent the Force had to offer and add Will Genia, the side barely missed out on their first-ever playoff spot and looked head-and-shoulders above the majority of their conference-mates in terms of structure and execution on the park. An impressive feat given their performance just one season earlier.
The Jaguares are another team that had their place in the competition questioned following the Super Rugby cull. In 2018, Mario Ledesma’s men more than justified their position in the competition.
Ledesma’s side stumbled out of the gates and looked destined to flop once again, but instead of laying down they recovered and went on an unfathomable seven-game winning streak in the middle of the season. They steamrolled through their tour of Australia and New Zealand, knocking off the Rebels, Brumbies, Blues and Chiefs in succession.
This stellar run became one of the stories of the season and helped the side earn their first playoff berth in their third year of existence.
THE CRUSADERS CHAMPIONSHIP WINDOW WILL BE OPEN FOR A WHILE
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but the Crusaders are really, really good.
After a period of relative stagnation and a nine-year gap between titles, the Crusaders are now arguably better than they have ever been and few would be surprised to see this team run it back as champions for a second consecutive year.
AMI Stadium is an impenetrable fortress – the Crusaders haven’t been beaten there in two years – and Scott Robertson’s men are primed to put on a show for their home fans during the playoffs after firing plenty of warning shots across the regular season, putting at least 40 points on the board on six occasions.
Not only is the best team in Super Rugby set up to win right now, but they are pretty well set up to dominate the competition for an extended period of time.
The Crusaders rarely let talent slip through the cracks and have showcased an uncanny ability to plug different – often overlooked – players in and get high-quality production out of them (See: Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, Billy Harmon, Andrew Makalio et al.), the rugby equivalent of turning water into wine.
Positionally, there are very few areas of concern in both the short and long term. At present, the side has 19 current or former All Blacks on the roster and – when healthy – could field an all international forward pack in a pinch with a couple of All Blacks coming off the bench. The depth and skill level of this side is simply unparalleled, as evidenced by the 30 different players they used as substitutes and their final points differential of +247.
It looks increasingly likely that Super Rugby’s most successful team are set to improve on their competition-best eight titles, and potentially surpass their mark of three consecutive titles set from 1998-2000.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Good on Clarke for taking on the criticism and addressing his deficiencies, principally his laziness.
2 Go to comments“It is the people’s favourite against the actual favourite. It is the people’s champions against the actual champions. I’m joking, but it’s going to be a fantastic series.” Why did Darcy make that joke knowing it would be used as click bait? Why did RP headline it as a serious comment? Anyway, the tired comment isn’t very astute. SA players may have played more games etc. Darcy over estimated as a pundit.
19 Go to commentsNot sure Frisch will ever make the French team with Depoortère and Costes waiting in the wings to take over from Danty and Fickou.
1 Go to commentsThe Irish are tired and the Boks are old. The test series won't confirm who is best in the world, it will confirm which team needs to pursue the task of rebuilding with the most urgency.
19 Go to commentsGrant, the first time I have seen an article written by you. Maybe I have missed your previous stuff. These days all professional players effectively play a common season so all top players are equally tired, or rested. That is the job of the coaching ticket to build squad depth and juggle resources so players are ‘ fresh’ when the big games come. Possibly Ireland are less inclined to juggle squad compared to Rassie, who is prepared to take the risk to rest players as well as build depth throughout the year so come WC he has a full squad, experienced and rested enough to win 7 games. After all, to win WC you need to get through the tournament and then win the final big 3 games. Ireland should try and build a bit so come final 3 they are ready. So far only played final 1(QF). I am so looking forward to the Irish tour. Hopefully Rassie has enough time to align his guys, as he draws them from across the globe, and not from 2 sides locally( eg Leinster, Munster). No excuses, going to be exciting.
19 Go to commentsIn football, teams get fined and sometimes docked points for deliberately fielding weakened teams yet Leinster can pretty much do as they please with no comebacks. Could it be because Ireland run the URC? Could it be that Ireland run the ERC? Whichever it is, it stinks!!
5 Go to commentsIreland are only the People’s Champions in Irish eyes. The rest of the world do not care for them very much because of attitudes of people like Gordon, Ferris, Best, Jackman…I could go on!!
19 Go to commentsNot sure how Karl Dickson can ever ref a Quins game, he played for the club for 8 years as understudy to Care and is still close friends with half the team
3 Go to commentsAre bookies taking bets on how many times Vunipola's eventual statement will use the term “elders"? My money is on at least 4 times.
4 Go to commentsSo Ireland will be tired, despite having the most rested test squad in the world. They only play tests, champions cup and urc play off games ffs! Case in point; Leinster sent a B squad to SA for their last two games while their first xv rested up and trained at their leisure for the sf vs Saints at the so called ‘neutral venue’ of Croke Park. So tired? Do me a favour… And as for “people’s champions”? Seriously??? Outside of Ireland they are respected for their ability to win 6N. And of course plenty of inconsequential test friendlies without any real pressure. WC ko games when the pressure is white hot? Not so much…
19 Go to commentsSurprising how standing down or benching a player can do wonders for their motivation. Several players this week in that category.
2 Go to commentsHaha lads lads lads, that’s how you have a holiday In Majorca
4 Go to commentshit on Lynagh was defo late and card-worthy. The other 2 are bang on OK. Hurts you at Test level if youre timing is off and the nostrils are flared. Jerry C knew when to lean in on one, Finau just needs to keep his discipline and head straight.
5 Go to commentsSlade was exceptional against Gloucester. Not only was he doing the classic Slade stuff of running amazing lines and timing passes to perfection to put his wingers into space, he was kicking goals, flying off the line smashing people and crashing into rucks like a flanker… his hair even looked on point. 😍
1 Go to commentsThat’s really sad, hope everyone involved is ok. At least he had pants on.
4 Go to commentsTo be fair it was nowhere bear the Leinster first team (for which, btw, Leinster copped nothing like the outrage that Jake White did for sending a rotated team to the UK). But it’s fun to watch the Stormers doing their thing. They are attracting big, diverse crowds of young fans, and deservedly so. Great to see.
1 Go to commentsIt might be legal but he’s sailing pretty close to the wind. Not a lot needs to go wrong for Finau to end up in the bin. Was it late? Not quite, but borderline. High? A couple of CM within the laws, no room for error with that one. Did he wrap the arms? There was a token effort to wrap one arm, the intent was clearly to hit with the shoulder. So yeah, it’s legal, just. But as we all know, a very slight change in the dynamics could easily have him seeing red. Hopefully not when it really matters.
5 Go to commentsCan we also show some love for Tane Edmed’s fantastic draw and pass? Put his body on the line and committed the defender before letting go of that pass. Flawless skill.
5 Go to commentsYou forget this is Rassie Erasmus who is still holding the Springbok keys. Even with Felix Jones orchestrating a really tight RWC SF last year. It still wasn't enough to get England past their particular Springbok Monkey in world cups. The reason is FJ was going off of what they did in 2019 not necessarily adapting to current Springboks. So yes, Australia can get passed England because let's be honest, England have a one track strategy, Springboks do not. Even with rush defense I wouldn't be surprised if Rassie continually tweaks it. Also bear in mind Rassie is happy to sacrifice a few mid year and inter World Cup matches to pin point how opposition plays and how to again tweak strategies to get his Springboks in peak performance for the next World Cup. As much as most teams like to win games in front of them and try to win everything, Rassie always makes sure to learn and train for the greatest showdown International Rugby has to offer. Tbh, most people remember World Cup wins and ignore intermediate losses as a result but will remember also WC losses, Ireland, even if they won games in the interim. So even if games are won against the Springboks, it's likely Rassie is just getting a feel for how opposition is moving and adapt accordingly…in time. For Rassie, a loss is never a loss because he uses it as a chance to learn and improve. Sometimes during a game, again like the England match in last year's Semi Final.
7 Go to commentsDanny don't care. He pretends to care but he don't. He says all this stuff to justify his reasoning but no one can claim that legitimately. He knew exactly what he was doing and wondered if his old team mate would overlook it, which he did. Ref has got to be sidelined or properly trained. It's one thing for refs to move up the ranks but if it was me I would require refs to either have played in different clubs or not at all having the temptation to bias in high stakes games like this. This has got to be stamped out. But then again World Rugby is so destroying the game of rugby in an attempt to be more “safe” and “concussion free”. What they are doing is making it more infuriating for the fans and more difficult for the refs to officiate evenly and consistently. It's fast become Australian Rules football. If guys don't want concussions, they should have played chess. Stop complaining you oldies of the game. When they played the game was vastly heavier hitting than it is now but of course they can't see that.
3 Go to comments