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This story was originally published in RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
OPINION: If you didn’t laugh, you would cry.
We all remember New Zealand Rugby’s (NZR) last “refresh” attempt.
No, it had nothing to do with afternoon tea, only the appointment of longtime assistant Ian Foster to succeed Steve Hansen as head coach of the All Blacks.
No matter how tired and ineffective Foster’s tactics have become, NZR became convinced that he and John Plumtree, Scott McLeod, Brad Mooar, and Greg Feek were the “diverse group of thinkers” that the All Blacks needed to chart their path to the next Rugby World Cup. .
Now NZR is about to tackle Super Rugby through a review dubbed Araptipu, which promises to bring “regeneration and invigoration” to competition in crisis.
Well, if Foster’s ascension was something to go through, don’t hold your breath.
Let’s be absolutely frank about it, Sanzaar, the body made up of South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina and which manages Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship, was starting to split long before Covid-19.
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The interest of fans and broadcasters was dwindling and reports from South Africa suggested that their goal was to join the six nations of Europe and various club competitions.
The current Sanzaar transmission agreement does not expire until 2025, but this global pandemic has changed the posts significantly.
What could have waited until 2026 now cannot and is now given every indication that New Zealand franchises will find themselves playing in a trans-Tasman tournament every season.
The South African sides will find a home elsewhere, as the Super teams selected by the Cheetahs and Southern Kings in Europe have already done, but it remains to be seen what happens to Argentina and Japan.
Super Rugby started, of course, in the 1980s as the South Pacific Championship (SPC) with Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, New South Wales, Queensland, and Fiji.
You imagine that Brumbies, Rebels and Western Force will appear this time, along with our own Highlanders and Chiefs, but Fiji or Samoa or Tonga will have problems.
Chances are it’s just a 10-team thing, with five sides each from New Zealand and Australia, that’s neither a regeneration nor a revitalization. Hopefully they don’t call it Super 10, as the old SPC from 1993-1995 was known.
Fake images
Blues top five Stephen Perofeta fend off crusaders loose striker Tom Christie in a Super Rugby derby in February.
We all recognize that rugby’s footprint will have to be smaller and that Australia could be as broad as New Zealand’s horizons for a time.
That’s fine, in theory, and it certainly was in the ’80s and’ 90s.
But Australian rugby is in dire form right now, and while eliminating the Bulls and Sharks and Sunwolves et al will limit travel burdens and possible exposure to Covid-19, it will not address the issue of competitiveness.
New Zealand fans increasingly want to see local derbies and the pre-pandemic restructuring of Super Rugby, for example, was going to see our teams face off only once a season starting in 2021.
The problem, as always for NZR, is money.
If they want to keep paying their top players $ 1 million, then a competition consisting of 10 trans-Tasman teams of different abilities will not generate massive demand.
In that case, you really have to wonder why NZR doesn’t completely eliminate the Super Sides and simply free the best players back to their provinces and make the Miter 10 Cup meaningful again.
Rugby competitions, particularly those that are really competitive, will be rare around the world.
And if the only place to see Beauden Barrett and Ardie Savea and Richie Mo’unga and Damian McKenzie is at the Miter 10 Cup, then that’s what rugby fans will do, whether it’s Balclutha, Bloemfontein or Bath.
If NZR really wants to regenerate and invigorate a competition, then let it be our provincial province.
Don’t just deploy the same old Australian fighters or build teams of expats and misfits, as was the case with the Sunwolves.
Sadly, it seems like some sort of remodeled Super 10 is what we’ll get instead.
This story was originally published in RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
