Rugby Championship set for significant revamp next year
The Rugby Championship is set for its first overhaul since Argentina was admitted into the competition eight years ago.
The New Zealand Herald has revealed that the competition will be re-formatted so that the All Blacks and Wallabies will play the Springboks and Argentina at home on a biennial basis, and vice versa.
The shift in scheduling brings an end to teams having to travel halfway across the globe to play two matches against opposing sides each year.
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Instead, the All Blacks, for example, will only play one of either South Africa or the Pumas at home once each season, while they will face the other side once abroad in the same year.
The Wallabies will do the same in a mirror image, with fixtures reversing the following year to ensure both the All Blacks and Australia host the side they play away from home next year in 2022.
The reasoning behind the alteration steams from a desire to bring a greater sense of occasion to fixtures for fans, as the Springboks and Pumas will only play in New Zealand or Australia every second year, and likewise for the All Blacks and Wallabies playing in South Africa and Argentina.
Bledisloe Cup fixtures between New Zealand and Australia will remain unchanged, as the trans-Tasman rivals will continue to face off twice annually on home-and-away basis, as will the Springboks and Pumas.
The move has also been engineered to give the Rugby Championship a ‘retro’ theme, whereby international sides can feel that they are on an old-fashioned tour.
Although it is unlikely, there remains a possibility that the All Blacks and Wallabies can travel with extended squads to play mid-week fixtures in South Africa and Argentina.
The same concept could also be utilised by the Springboks and Pumas when they travel to Australasia, and SANZAAR is hopeful that the changes will bring a more compelling edge to the Rugby Championship, something of which the competition has severely lacked in comparison to its Six Nations counterparts in Europe since expanding to a four-team tournament in 2012.
The added bonus of making the Rugby Championship a more difficult competition to win by reverting the number of annual matches to just four per side is also a prominent factor in the scheduling overhaul.
Since Argentina’s admission into the Southern Hemisphere’s premier international tournament, the All Blacks have claimed six of the eight titles.
The two times they didn’t win – in 2015 and 2019 – came in years that the competition was shortened due to the World Cup.
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In every other year where the tournament was held in its current format, whereby every teams plays each other both home and away, the All Blacks have dominated proceedings, often clinching the title with one or even two matches to spare.
A favourable scheduling system – which has remained consistent since 2012 – has seen them play the Wallabies, Springboks and Pumas in successive fixtures every year, possibly a significant factor behind their unprecedented success in the Rugby Championship.
Prior to their run of three straight home matches, the All Blacks have continually opened their campaigns in Australia before finishing the competition with back-to-back clashes in Argentina and South Africa.
Conversely, the Pumas have always had to play three consecutive matches on the road against the Springboks, All Blacks and Wallabies in that order.
Those run of fixtures have been sandwiched by a campaign-opening home clash against South Africa and two further home matches against Australia and New Zealand.
An alteration in scheduling will offset travel burdens faced by all four sides in the Rugby Championship, a facet of the competition that players have struggled with given they then have to tour Europe a matter of weeks after the tournament’s conclusion.
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Comments on RugbyPass
It couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
80 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to comments