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Waratahs boss: Keep Super Rugby simple

By Online Editors

New South Wales Rugby CEO Andrew Hore has asked SANZAAR countries to “keep it simple” in regards to the future of Super Rugby.

He urged SANZAAR’s partners to put their fans first and put politics aside for the good of the competition.

“Our first responsibility is to create a wonderful competition that connects our rugby people with the international game,” Hore said. “Don’t waste this opportunity, don’t let it get caught up in higher political issues. Just try to keep it simple, and try to make it the best competition we can.”

Hore met with Lions CEO Rudolf Straeuli in Johannesburg ahead of the Waratahs’ semi-final clash.

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Hore said he and Straeuli agreed that Super Rugby needed to embrace its history as a pioneering competition from the early stages of professionalism.

“Fundamentally you’ve got the best rugby competition in the world and the best quality of rugby at the [Rugby] Championship as well,” he said. “So what’s at stake is making sure we maintain our dominance as the best rugby competition there is. From that, the rest will follow.”

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Former Springbok coach Straeuli told the Sydney Morning Herald he believed returning to a round-robin had emerged as a popular option moving forward.

“I think everybody is on the same track about round robin, or everyone against everyone, that may [help] the integrity of the competition, if you can say you’ve played everybody,” he said.

“Our challenge is commercially, to look at the numbers in the stadium and at the broadcasting. We’re fortunate to have an iconic stadium but we don’t always fill it. We’ve had good crowds because the team has been winning.

“We’ve got to look at what the people want, they want a simplistic competition that they can figure out.”

Hore agreed a round robin was a potential answer, but said more options need to be considered.

“[Round robin] is one thing but I don’t think we’ve had enough discussions about what are all the options here,” he said. “Let’s make sure it’s not just tweaks, but that’s it’s a real opportunity to change things completely. I just hope we’re going to do that piece of work.”

SANZAAR is set to agree by on a competition format post-2020 by the end of the year.

In other news:

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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