Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

The arranged marriage of South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina is over

By Hamish Bidwell
GettyImages-1176111407

To all intents and purposes, the arranged marriage of South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina is over. South Africa was said to be taking longing looks towards the Six Nations long before COVID-19 and now we have a chance to dissolve things well before the expiration of the current broadcast deal in 2025.

This year’s Super Rugby competition is over and, even without the Sunwolves from 2021, a Four-Nations’ franchise tournament appears pretty optimistic.

In an ideal world, New Zealand might go it alone for a while. Kiwi fans had become fed up with anything other than derby games and circumstances mean that’s all New Zealand Rugby (NZR) will be capable of staging in the short-term.

Australia, which includes New Zealand basketball, football, and rugby league teams in their domestic competitions, seems like a logical, if underwhelming, rugby partner. Both nations have (so far) survived the pandemic without huge incident and are suitably close to each other – and isolated from everyone else – to stage a Super 10-type competition.

That would mean New Zealand’s five franchises joining Australia’s four plus, presumably, the Western Force in a trans-Tasman tournament. It’s a competition that would include plenty of mismatches, but it’s the logical choice franchise-wise.

Sadly, whether there would be sufficient demand, both here and from overseas networks, for an all-singing, all-dancing Mitre 10 Cup might never be determined. We fans might want to see our best and brightest playing each other in the provincial arena, but the great unknown is how it would pay for itself.

What is known is that SANZAAR have Super Rugby and Rugby Championship agreements in place until 2025, no matter how unlikely it is that those obligations can be met.

So assuming the four parties have been making their own plans for 2026 and beyond, what are the chances of them simply flagging it away now?

It’s all incumbent on what else the member unions can cobble together and how attractive that then looks to the television paymasters.

Talk out of Australia is of a dissatisfaction with South Africa as a Super Rugby partner, while NZR have announced a fairly broad review of their involvement in the competition too. Throw in the travel bans that now exist and a trans-Tasman tournament sounds more feasible than some of the things SANZAAR chief executive Andy Marinos was suggesting a week or so ago.

All four test teams aren’t likely to become based in Sydney and how and where would the concurrent Super competition he talked about be staged as well?

SANZAAR has been a worthwhile outfit. Argentina, after top-four finishes at the 2007 and 2017 Rugby World Cups, thoroughly deserved Super Rugby and Rugby Championship recognition, but you now wonder what the future holds for them.

The early days of Super Rugby featured some very fine Sharks sides, while the Bulls will forever be celebrated for their three title-winning seasons. But in recent times it seemed the likes of New Zealand and Australia were happy to have South Africa’s money, just not the teams that came with it.

There’s no disgrace in that. Tastes and circumstances change and, boy, can’t we say that about the latter.

This isn’t the world we knew when this season’s Super Rugby competition started and it’s okay if the impact of COVID-19 is reflected in our re-drawn schedules. Teams and whole tournaments might have to go by the wayside, but only if the content-starved broadcasters are happy.

You imagine the SANZAAR members would’ve stuck it out until 2025. That the need to meet their ever-increasing running costs would have meant they honoured the current deal, no matter how disenchanted they or their fans might’ve become with it.

But the goalposts have now shifted in a big way. The SANZAAR relationship doesn’t seem viable anymore and the time’s come for NZR and company to try and sell a sexy new alternative to television executives.

They’ll never strike a more receptive audience.

 

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

34 Go to comments
A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

34 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE Storm clouds gather over Biarritz with owner poised to bail out Storm clouds gather over Biarritz with owner poised to bail out
Search