The best way to ruin two highly competitive competitions? Combine them together
New Zealand and Australia’s localised Super Rugby competitions have been widely-regarded as great successes but everything that the governing bodies have learned from the last seven weeks could be thrown out the window next year if the two competitions are merged together to create one trans-Tasman winner-takes-all.
It’s probably fair to say that never in New Zealand’s history has there been a high-level rugby club competition worth tuning into every match for. The century-old provincial competition will always have its fans but even in its heydays, there were still only a small handful of high-quality, evenly matched games per round. Super Rugby, meanwhile, was considerably more competitive back in 1996 than in 2019, but few Kiwis would be raising themselves out of bed to watch some of the games in South Africa – especially if there were no New Zealand teams involved.
That’s changed this year, thanks to Super Rugby Aotearoa. Despite the fact that the Crusaders will likely seal the championship a week early with a win over the Highlanders on Sunday, that hasn’t detracted from the intensity of matches. The Crusaders may have won all but one of their games, but their most recent win over the Chiefs was the first time they’d had a game sewn up before the final 10 minutes.
Although it took a little while for the teams to suss out the new breakdown interpretations and other law changes (a number of which seemed to have been forgotten about by players and referees alike in the last weeks), every game has also been of a high quality, with exciting head-to-heads on offer every round – both in terms of teams and in terms of players.
Whether you’re interested in the dual between two All Blacks first fives or two Canterbury flankers, there’s been something for everyone.
Unsurprisingly, viewership has been through the roof. The opening weeks of the competition saw a greater than 90% increase in viewership compared to the regular season while near the middle of the tournament, that figure still sat at over 70%.
It’s been a similar story in Australia.
While the Western Force have understandably struggled to maintain 80-minute performances to date, they’ve only really been blown out of the water once, against the Brumbies. That same week, the Waratahs were humbled by the Rebels – but every other round has brought tense affairs with matches often decided in the final minutes of the game.
One Australian scribe even went so far as to suggest that the Australian competition has been more evenly matched than what’s been going on in New Zealand. That’s technically true – the median margin in a Super Rugby AU match is 6.5, compared to 7 in an Aotearoa game.
Whichever way you look at it, however, the matches being played right now are considerably more tightly fought than what we saw in the earlier part of the year.
The biggest win in the collective 26 matches played of Aotearoa and AU so far was the Brumbies’ 24-0 whitewashing of the Force. In the seven rounds of Super Rugby that were able to be played before the global pandemic put a stop to proceedings, 11 matches resulted in bigger blowouts. The median margin was 14 points – twice as large as what we’re now seeing in the local competitions.
Next year, of course, we still don’t know what form Super Rugby is going to take. South Africa and Argentina are almost certainly out of the equation and New Zealand Rugby and Australia Rugby both seem to have different takes on what would be best for the game going forward.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDe9c9NgIAd/
NZR, having seen the benefits of a closely fought 5-team tournament, appear uninterested in combining Super Rugby Aotearoa with Super Rugby AU to form one 10-team competition where we would likely see the blowouts return.
Instead, they’re rumoured to be looking at three options – two of which include four Australian teams and one Pacific Islands side, and one which would limit Australia to a paltry two teams.
RA, on the other hand, don’t want to consign any of their teams to the scrapheap, having only reinstated the Western Force for Super Rugby AU.
Both unions are stuck between a rock and hard place. Despite what former Wallaby and current FOX commentator Rod Kafer might think, the Australian teams are not “playing well enough to give any [team] in NZ a run for their money” and a competition made up of the five current teams from both nations would once again end up lopsided.
"Our teams are playing well enough to give any in NZ a run for their money"
Former Wallaby Rod Kafer would back Aus Super Rugby sides to perform against the kiwi teams @wallabies @AllBlacks @RugbyAU
Get more rugby here or on ch500 & 602 @FOXRUGBYhttps://t.co/hiVthqmf7H pic.twitter.com/wwmSUVZdg5
— FOX SPORTS News (@FOXSportsNews) August 3, 2020
The best Australian side, on a good night, might be able to put pressure on the New Zealand teams, which means a one-off trans-Tasman final could be a worthwhile option to ensure there’s still (admittedly limited) interaction between the neighbouring countries. To add a bit of extra fire to that game, the NZ teams, seeded from first to last, could all battle it out with the correspondingly ranked Australian sides – but the rarity of the occasion would be what really attracts the viewers, not necessarily any deep-seated interest in seeing trans-Tasman matches on the regular.
That, however, doesn’t appear to be one of the options on the table from NZR’s point of view. While RA have indicated they would potentially rather go it on their own instead of bending to New Zealand’s will of culling sides, there’s certainly evidence to suggest that a game involving two nations is likely to attract better viewer numbers than a game involving just one nation – providing that the quality is still up to standard.
While Super Rugby Aotearoa matches are fairing fine in Australian markets compared to the standard Super Rugby game, the AU competition is still attracting greater viewership, which suggests that objectively higher standard of play (if you are to assume that five teams from a World Cup semi-finalist who beat the eventual champions would have higher standards than five teams from a country that struggled to make it out of the pool stages) doesn’t necessarily equate to better engagement.
It’s a tough conundrum with no obviously correct answer – but merging two successful competitions is obviously the incorrect decision. When the games are tightly fought and the rivalries are primal, sport is simply better entertainment. The global pandemic has forced a re-think and while the game has taken a massive financial hit, there’s also now an opportunity to restructure rugby in New Zealand and Australia to create a better future.
Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby AU have been roaring successes for their respective nations but when the borders reopen, the plan cannot simply be to combine the two even competitions.
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood 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.
30 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.
9 Go to comments