Super Rugby's regional rivalry has been sacrificed for the greater good and the Highlanders have been the main benefactors
Super Rugby has copped its fair share of criticism over the last few years.
Whether it’s complaints about a lack of competitiveness or issues with the needlessly complex draw, the Southern Hemisphere’s flagship competition attracts comments from all corners of the globe.
One problem which has existed since the inaugural competition in 1996, however, is the lack of identity that exists in the New Zealand franchises.
When the competition first launched, the five Kiwi sides were formed from the nation’s existing provinces.
Despite the fact that New Zealand’s northernmost team incorporated Northland, Auckland and Counties Manukau, however, it was only the Auckland moniker that was attached to the franchise’s name – and thus the Auckland Blues were born.
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It was the same country-wide, with Waikato, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago preceding the Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders, respectively.
Whatever thought went into the franchise names (and let’s face it, it obviously wasn’t the brightest people who dreamed up with the Crusaders), the decision to align the five sides with the five biggest rugby unions in the country was ultimately an evermore absurd plan that alienated many fans outside of the major provinces.
It wasn’t long before the geographical identifiers were dropped from the franchise names, but the damage was already done.
Still, at least the franchises themselves were primarily populated from within the region, with only a few extra players drafted in who hadn’t been picked up by their home franchise.
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That all changed in 2011, when the previous contracting model was thrown out the window and franchises were able to contract players from across the country, regardless of which province they were contracted to.
Some teams were quicker to adjust than others, but it’s had a lasting impact on the make-up of New Zealand’s squads.
In 2010, just 11 players were drafted into franchises that weren’t tied to their home province.
In 2019, the Highlanders squad alone contains 27 players that have been plucked from outside of either Otago or Southland. In fact, the Highlanders have selected at least one player from all 14 of New Zealand’s top-flight provinces.
Though not quite as extreme, it’s a similar story for the other four franchises.
The race to replace Steve Hansen as New Zealand coach is anyone's game, according to a 79-test All Black.https://t.co/vJ8dvKgBU2
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 6, 2019
There are two very obvious benefits to the newer system.
First of all, it ensures that the best 195 players are playing Super Rugby, regardless of what province they’re tied to.
Prior to 2010, players who represented provinces with considerable depth (such as Canterbury) could find themselves without a contract, even though they may have been a better player than someone selected for the Highlanders, for example.
The second benefit is that the Super Rugby teams are all of the highest quality.
When Super 12 first kicked off in 1996, there was a relative parity between the five franchises. Yes, the All Blacks were dominated by Auckland players, but there was still plenty of depth around the country as a whole.
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That’s simply no longer the case, with the two Highlanders provinces, Otago and Southland, now having spent the last eight years in the championship division of the Mitre 10 Cup.
Would Jaime Joseph have been able to win the Super Rugby title in 2015 without the likes of Waisake Naholo, Aaron Smith and Elliot Dixon? Without a shred of doubt, the answer is no.
The issue, of course, is that teams have shed their identities even further. If over half the Chiefs players come from outside the Chiefs’ catchment area, then what motivation is there for a fan to get behind their local team?
Earlier this year, the Sydney Morning Herald revealed that Super Rugby stakeholders were keen on the idea of once again attaching regional names to the various teams to rebuild their lost identities, but this seems like a band-aid solution to the problem.
What does it take to become an All Black 10? New Zealand looks for a specific type, and it seems to produce a lot of them. @bensmithrugby https://t.co/NsNX6cSdrT
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 5, 2019
What should be more concerning, particularly for New Zealand fans (especially those with strong ties to the Highlanders), is the uneven distribution of young talent around the country.
The Highlanders franchise makes sense from a logistical point of view – it gives fans in the lower South Island a team to support. From a numbers point of view, however, the team’s existence makes little sense.
Over the last nine years, the New Zealand Under 20 side has used almost 260 players at world championships. Just 21 of those players have come from the deep south.
That’s less than half the number of players that have come out of the Crusaders catchment area, which is the second least represented at the U20 level.
Professionalism means that you don’t have to be producing players through your own junior systems – even the most naturally gifted athletes need to be nurtured once they hit the big leagues, and that’s something the Highlanders have done exceptionally well.
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Still, the fact that the Highlanders have to pull players from across the country to form a solid team should be cause for concern to supporters in Otago and Southland.
For Southlanders, in particular, it must be hard to get behind the Highlanders.
Just two players in the 2020 squad represented the Stags during this year’s Mitre 10 Cup, Manaaki Selby-Rickit and Ethan de Groot. There’s still a very realistic chance that Selby-Rickit’s contract will be terminated due to an assault charge, which leaves prop de Groot as the province’s sole representative.
Factor in that the Highlanders got rid of their maroon alternate strip a few years back (which was arguably one of the best jerseys in the competition) and that Invercargill won’t host any Super Rugby fixtures in 2020, and you start to wonder how committed the Highlanders actually are to New Zealand’s southernmost province.
This is simply the nature of professional sport, however.
It has been quite a fall from grace recently for Joe Schmidt… first, his newly published book gets panned for being very ordinary and now the IRFU have pointedly pointed the finger of blame in his direction for Ireland's failure at RWC 2019https://t.co/j7jG7aSXc8
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 5, 2019
The New Zealand franchises have strayed so far from their original provincial roots that reintroducing regional identifiers to the team names would be worse than a token gesture.
Stakeholders and fans simply have to face the fact that Super Rugby is no longer a tournament divided by regional lines.
No doubt, every player on that Highlanders roster will bleed blue and gold throughout the season, regardless of which province they represent.
The Mitre 10 Cup can scratch the provincial itch during the latter stages of the season when the All Blacks are off hunting international scalps. For the first half of the year, however, the best players get to show what they’re capable of – regardless of where they hail from.
WATCH: Former All Black flyhalf Andrew Mehrtens wants Super Rugby re-designed from the ground up.
Comments on RugbyPass
Good to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
16 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
16 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt 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.
26 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 🤐
16 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….
26 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….
16 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….
84 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!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
16 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
14 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.
16 Go to comments