No 'bore of the same' on the cards for next season despite minimal changes to Super Rugby Aotearoa
The 2020 season has been one unlike any other – and it’s likely to never be repeated.
The half-season termination of Super Rugby, the revamped local competitions, the absurdity of whatever’s going on with the Rugby Championship – it’s the kind of thing you couldn’t dream up if you tried.
With relative normality a possibility to resume next year (touch wood), New Zealand Rugby now has time on their hands to assess how to best move forward.
Of course, international travel could still be restricted in 2021, which limits options considerably.
The relationship between NZR and Rugby Australia is also at its “lowest ebb” according to RA chairman Hamish McLennan.
Having factored in the above, the New Zealand union has seemingly settled on trying to repeat history next year by rolling out a slightly revamped Super Rugby Aotearoa competition.
The home and away, 10-week regular season is still on the cards, but a grand final will be added to spice up the final weeks of the round-robin, should the Crusaders run away with the competition again.
In Australia’s Super Rugby AU competition, the top three teams all progressed to sudden death footy. It certainly prolonged interest in the final rounds, given the Brumbies had already drawn well clear and finished up three points ahead of the chasing Reds, despite the Queenslanders’ win in the final match of the regular season.
Of course, having three out of five sides still around to play in the knockouts is a tad absurd, which is why Super Rugby Aotearoa will introduce just a solitary finals match between first and second on the ladder in 2021.
The Crusaders will still enter the competition as comfortable favourites but, as the Chiefs and Hurricanes both showed this year, the Cantabrians aren’t unbeatable, and a one-off final could fall any team’s way.
Speaking of the Chiefs, if they’re able to bounce back and find their mojo after a relative annus horribilis in 2020, there will already be plenty more interest in next season’s repeat of this year’s competition.
If the relationship between RA and NZR can be repaired, then a cross-over series between the New Zealand and Australian teams beckons – though some Kiwis will be wondering why the most interesting part of the season, the NZ derbies, will be taking place in the first half of the season with the trans-Tasman matches possibly serving up an anticlimactic end to the club season.
Finals and crossover matches are all on the cards for 2021 but it's the following year when things will really get interesting. #SuperRugbyAotearoahttps://t.co/MYhzFAF3rK
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 1, 2020
It’s in 2022 when NZR really plan on taking things to the next level, with three expansion teams set to be decided upon in late November. That would give the new teams plenty of time to court talent for a competition that won’t kick off for almost 15 months – which makes a lot more sense than just the three months preparation that a team would have if they were included for 2021.
While it would be exciting to have a Pacifika team join Super Rugby Aotearoa next year (and, no doubt, long-due), an extra year of preparation won’t stymie the interest in bringing more Pacific Island players into Super Rugby.
Whether the likes of the South China Lions or Western Force can assemble a squad similar in strength to the Hurricanes or Blues still needs to be assessed, because nothing would kill the competition faster than adding some lightweight cannon-fodder. With over a year of planning and recruiting time, however, their chances of success will only improve.
Still, will adding a grand final and some Australian cross-over matches keep Kiwi fans enticed next year?
When Super Rugby Aotearoa kicked off, it was the only major rugby competition being played across the world and it naturally attracted viewers from all corner of the globe. That won’t be the case next year, assuming we don’t have another worldwide shutdown, and an international audience will be harder to attract.
Closer to home, New Zealand stadiums were overflowing thanks to the rejuvenated interest in rugby of any sort, let alone high-quality local derbies. That was partially thanks to the product on offer, but it was also in part due to the fact that we’d had a dearth of matches for months.
With the Rugby Championship not set to conclude until December the 12th (or the 5th, if NZR get their way), there’s likely not going to be quite as much thirst for rugby when Super Rugby Aotearoa kicks off in February as there was this season.
But if the Blues lining up the Crusaders at Eden Park on a Sunday afternoon can’t bring in a full stadium, then non-international level rugby really is dead in New Zealand, and that would require a full-scale investigation in of itself.
Hopefully – for the sakes of all of rugby’s stakeholders in NZ – Kiwis will once again embrace Super Rugby Aotearoa. Expansion can come in 2022, if it’s deemed necessary, but next year is a good time to take a little bit of a breather from change and let the on-field action be the main talking point.
The competition was an unmitigated success this year and providing crowds are allowed and the weather holds up, there’s every reason to believe that the golden period will continue for one more year before fans start hungering for increased diversity.
Comments on RugbyPass
Great story. Rugby needs new investment in teams like Brussels another pro league in Europe would be great.
1 Go to commentsAlso, looking at the data from last year, it seemed like by far the two biggest predictors of success were (1) kicking more than your opponents, and (2) having a higher rate of line-out wins than your opponents. I haven’t gone through the stats this year with a fine tooth comb, but the increase in kicks per game and the increase in tries from lineouts would suggest that these two metrics are only getting more important. England’s move away from a kick-heavy game to win against Ireland was seen by some as evidence that running rugby is on the rise. Alternatively it could be taken as evidence that if one team kicks more, and the other team wins more lineouts (as England did) a match is bound to be close to a draw.
2 Go to commentsI have been finding it odd that points per 22 entry has become such a talked about stat, given that your points per entry can be driven down by having more entries. These data would seem to confirm that it isn’t a useful metric, or at any rate is less useful than total entries.
2 Go to commentsI think the last two games England have played is some of their best rugby they have played under Borthwick. There has been a lot more attacking instinct and as a reward have created some well worked tries. Ollie Lawrence is a good foil at 12 as he offers the hard direct lines whilst the rest of the backs can play open. As much as it pains me to say but I do hope England keep playing this way. On a side note my favourite try of the weekend was Lorenzo Pani’s for the nice loop play that put him away and his finish was excellent. Thanks as always Nick.
39 Go to commentsMost exciting player on the planet right now, worth the price of a ticket.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith and Ireland live rent free in Safa’s heads. Their comments only triggers because its true. If the Boks had dismantled a 14 man AB’s, then there would be more respect. But they didnt, in fact quite the opposite, the 14 man NZ were clearly better. And the Bok have always been ordinary between RWC’s, thats why their supporters are now ‘only RWC’s matter’. They know thats BS. Its BS to both AB’s and Bok’s due to their history. But now its all the Safas have. Now we’ll hear excuses when they lose “oh we didnt have all our players available, the ABs/France/Eng/Irel were at full strength”, forgetting for a minute that its because of their own dumb policy. Oh well, makes a change from blaming ‘cheating refs’.
23 Go to commentsNo Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
39 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
6 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
39 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
4 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to comments