Warren Gatland cautiously optimistic about mooted competition: 'Sometimes under crisis there's an opportunity to fix things.'
Warren Gatland has provided words of wisdom for any cross-hemisphere rugby competition that tries to get off the ground, noting it must be a fan-friendly experience.
French rugby boss Bernard Laporte indicated his desire to make a world club championship tournament happen to bring something fresh to the game.
While the premise – six Super Rugby teams, four each from the English Premiership, French Top 14 and PRO14, plus the league champions from Japan and the United States involved – is an exciting one, Chiefs coach Gatland told Newstalk ZB’s Nigel Yalden the right steps need to be taken to ensure its success.
“I think whatever structures they come up with, you’ve got to have continuity and give people time to buy into it,” Gatland said.
“We’ve got to be very careful about restructuring and changing because people lose a bit of interest. We saw that in the Northern Hemisphere a few years ago when we had the Heineken Cup and it was run by the four unions and it was incredibly exciting when it came to the semifinals.
“Then the clubs got involved and they wanted to take over and said they could generate more money. The struggled to get the same level of sponsorship…and it just lost the same appeal and interest.
“I think a little bit the same has happened to Super Rugby.”
Rugby is among the many sports to be hit hard financially by the coronavirus pandemic, with all leagues around the world coming to a halt.
During the layoff, there have been a number of suggested competitions or series to help pump some money back into the game, with Gatland himself suggesting his British and Irish Lions squad play against the All Blacks in a test to decide their drawn series from 2017.
“I suppose everyone’s just trying to throw ideas into the pot and brainstorm about what potentially could there be going forward,” Gatland said. “Sometimes under crisis there’s an opportunity to fix things or to come up with a better format, or add to things. I think this is one of the potential ideas.
“There’s no doubt globally everyone is struggling not just in rugby but all the peripheries of the sport in terms of financial, and we’re trying to generate as much income as we can in as shorter space as possible to get things up and running again.”
This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and is republished with permission.
Comments on RugbyPass
Sounds like quite a bit of development has occurred regarding Mo’unga’s situation. Either NZR has stepped up their offer (big time) or RMo has had a reality check on what it will be like to be outside of the high performance environment of AB rugby. Maybe both. It reads like there are only a few remaining details to be sorted out before it is a done deal.
1 Go to commentsCurrently, a prop that has been substituted can go back on field if his original replacement gets injured. Can a red carded prop go back if his replacement gets injured, or will it be uncontested scrums?
11 Go to commentsWhat about a free kick from a scrum? Can you call another scrum? Or are they just giving straight penalties now?
28 Go to commentsLoved that comment by Andrew that the ‘water boys’ rule was changed in 2020 just to stymie the Boks!
28 Go to commentsOne of the best the Boks have ever produced. PSDT has an engine that goes non-stop for the full 80 min.
5 Go to commentsThe real deal.
5 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
20 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
11 Go to comments“While a red card will mean a temporary team disadvantage, the replacement system will focus punishment on the offending player instead of disrupting the game itself.” This might work for amateur rugby, where players just want to be on the pitch for as long as possible, but hopefully we’ve got to a point where top level professionals care about the success of their team much more than about whether they personally are on the pitch or not.
11 Go to commentsa lot of focus on the targeting of south africa, but aspects of this are positive. The croc roll; the offside law; and time limits on set pieces are all good. calling for a mark off kick offs is baffling, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out in practice
28 Go to commentsSpeeding the game up is great, but I think we will find that the increase in viewership this year mostly comes down to the competition being more competitive…the fall of the Crusaders has been a boon for viewership. This should be at the heart of super rugby changes - how to make the comp more even
23 Go to commentsThe fact that the press were largely to blame for his taking a break is nothing short of disgusting. He’s made a few mistakes but difficult to name a player of any substance who gives it a full go hasn’t also made mistakes? On behalf of a large number of Bokke fans, bring back Farrell !!!!!
1 Go to commentsPSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
5 Go to commentssurprised, disco lights haven't been banned by world rugby board
28 Go to commentsToo many changes. Too often. I’m tired of this WR administration. How do we vote these fockers out? Bill needs to go.
28 Go to commentsDu Toit, 2 time W.Cup winner yet rarely mentioned a “Great “…if one looks back on his stellar carrier perhaps someone will one day elevate him to “Richie” status…a quiet, polite yet devastating loose forward that knew action speaks louder than words..
5 Go to commentsI like the offside rule, but this won't affect my team because all their kicks gets chased and that putts everyone on side. Lekker manne!
28 Go to comments20 minute Red Card is untenable. If you don’t punish the whole team, coaches won’t be sufficently incentivised to pick players with, or coach better tackle technique.
11 Go to commentsI can only think of One time ever a team has opted for a scrum from a free kick… Why the law change I wonder
28 Go to commentsYeah, its not going to work. But we see you World Rugby.
28 Go to comments