Where to for Super Rugby?

[Joe King]

Completely agree on all points.

Another reason I'm hoping for this potential 12 team full trans-tasman competition is having 6 games being played in the weekend rather than having just 2, which is the unsustainable reality of the isolated Aotearoa and AU comps.

If you're only able to play 2 games per weekend (rather than 6) that means 3x as much time is taken up rugby calendar due to a longer and less efficient competition. Who wants to see another slow AU + NZ comp chewing-up valuable time in the rugby calendar at the expense of less room in the calendar for actual test matches & no room for any potential cross-hemisphere/world-club championship type matches that are only beneficial to the game in the long-term?

The Aussies on here don't seem to get it.. the individual franchises need a minimum of 6 home matches just to make end's meet. To put it into perspective, Super Rugby went from 18 matches per team before Covid to just 8 - that's only 4 home matches a year!

The Super Rugby teams have never had 18 regular season games each. And this year's structure still provided each team 6 home games (apart from covid interruption).

 

[Rebels3]

Completely agree on all points.

Another reason I'm hoping for this potential 12 team full trans-tasman competition is having 6 games being played in the weekend rather than having just 2, which is the unsustainable reality of the isolated Aotearoa and AU comps.

If you're only able to play 2 games per weekend (rather than 6) that means 3x as much time is taken up rugby calendar due to a longer and less efficient competition. Who wants to see another slow AU + NZ comp chewing-up valuable time in the rugby calendar at the expense of less room in the calendar for actual test matches & no room for any potential cross-hemisphere/world-club championship type matches that are only beneficial to the game in the long-term?

The Aussies on here don't seem to get it.. the individual franchises need a minimum of 6 home matches just to make end's meet. To put it into perspective, Super Rugby went from 18 matches per team before Covid to just 8 - that's only 4 home matches a year!

Read my TT post in the other thread. A full 22 week comp is actually impossible. The comp for teams to have 22 rounds (play everyone twice), 2 x byes and 2 weeks of finals would have to start before Xmas to finish a couple of weeks out from test season. I’m sad enough to watch an Xmas day clash but I’m not sure the players would be impressed.

 

[Dan54]

Read my TT post in the other thread. A full 22 week comp is actually impossible. The comp for teams to have 22 rounds (play everyone twice), 2 x byes and 2 weeks of finals would have to start before Xmas to finish a couple of weeks out from test season. I’m sad enough to watch an Xmas day clash but I’m not sure the players would be impressed.

I think the other thing is, there will not be 6 games a weekend, it doesn't matter what format that is played I will bet my bollocks that there is a bye built into comp! 4- or 5 is what there will probably be in games each weekend.

 

[Adam84]

I think the other thing is, there will not be 6 games a weekend, it doesn't matter what format that is played I will bet my bollocks that there is a bye built into comp! 4- or 5 is what there will probably be in games each weekend.

So you think that 2 possibly 4 teams will be having a bye every weekend for the entire tournament, that’s a ridiculous waste of resources.

 

[Dan54]

So you think that 2 possibly 4 teams will be having a bye every weekend for the entire tournament, that’s a ridiculous waste of resources.

What normally happens mate. 2 teams having a bye leaves 2 games Friday, 2 Saturday and one Sunday? And there is no way way they will ask and teams to play 10-15 games without a break. Players won't wear it!

 

[Adam84]

If you're only able to play 2 games per weekend (rather than 6) that means 3x as much time is taken up rugby calendar due to a longer and less efficient competition. Who wants to see another slow AU + NZ comp chewing-up valuable time in the rugby calendar at the expense of less room in the calendar for actual test matches & no room for any potential cross-hemisphere/world-club championship type matches that are only beneficial to the game in the long-term?

The Aussies on here don't seem to get it.. the individual franchises need a minimum of 6 home matches just to make end's meet. To put it into perspective, Super Rugby went from 18 matches per team before Covid to just 8 - that's only 4 home matches a year!

Who wants to watch their 5 teams got flogged every week in a deflating experience?

The kiwis on here don’t seem to get it.. Australian fans take no enjoyment out of their teams getting frogged, crowds and ratings plummeted as TT went on. Aussie teams won’t be able to make ends meet if they can’t draw a crowd in TT

 

[Adam84]

What normally happens mate. 2 teams having a bye leaves 2 games Friday, 2 Saturday and one Sunday? And there is no way way they will ask and teams to play 10-15 games without a break. Players won't wear it!

No it doesn’t normally happen, look at the AFL, NRL and ITM cup draws. 80% of the season they have all teams playing with only a handful of rounds having less games through Byes.

It is a waste of resources to have 2-4 teams not playing every weekend, if players won’t wear it then get a different job, they’re paid to play. Not only that it unnecessarily prolongs the season and reduces their pre-season and gap between test rugby.

 

[Dan54]

No it doesn’t normally happen, look at the AFL, NRL and ITM cup draws. 80% of the season they have all teams playing with only a handful of rounds having less games through Byes.

It is a waste of resources to have 2-4 teams not playing every weekend, if players won’t wear it then get a different job, they’re paid to play. Not only that it unnecessarily prolongs the season and reduces their pre-season and gap between test rugby.

Ok mate, so be it. It's what has generally happened in rugby.
Anyway time I went to rugby , so have fun boys!!

 

[Rebels3]

I think the other thing is, there will not be 6 games a weekend, it doesn't matter what format that is played I will bet my bollocks that there is a bye built into comp! 4- or 5 is what there will probably be in games each weekend.

It’ll be 6 games almost every week. To fit 16 rounds of 6 games and 1 bye week it would take 17 weeks. To fit 4 games a round it would take 24 weeks to complete the regular season meaning for the final to be played this week the season would of had to start early December last year.

 

[dru]

It’ll be 6 games almost every week. To fit 16 rounds of 6 games and 1 bye week it would take 17 weeks. To fit 4 games a round it would take 24 weeks to complete the regular season meaning for the final to be played this week the season would of had to start early December last year.

yes for TT.

Also exactly the same with NZ domestic simultaneous with Aus domestic + TT champions league.

In neither version will Aussies flock to view the Kiwi games. Aussies will also not flock to watch the Aussie games in the former but they will in the later.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Interesting comment from a kiwi on the roar about super rugby about the lack of respect for what the customer wants from super rugby with past organisations sacrificing what the customer wants from this competition to meet their own agendas and top down approaches. Marinos talked about need to address this with a bottom up approach but talk is cheap and we need to see actions. Whilst from nzru heard nothing. What dawned on me is rugby in our region still operates under old school amateur national body bureaucratic organisations pushing their own top down self interests at expense of what fans (their customers) want from a pro competition.

About time their customers (rugby fans) took a stand and force them to be more customer centric and meet the needs of what customers want from a pro competition (Super rugby or whatever name goes under). To me this is part of the push for reform in oz for independent afl style commission to replace RA...I reckon Nzru from where I sit needs the same. Time for the revolution and power back to the customer I say as we live in the age of the customer but sadly rugby union within this region is an outlier on this.

 

[hoggy]

We saw an awesome AU final, and have just watched a great TT final (there is nothing wrong with rugby).

But literally the first words from Andrew Merhtens after the game was the format will change next year.

FFS I just don't get it, is rugby so determined to just fuck itself in the Southern Hemisphere.

 

[Adam84]

A great TT final doesn’t make up for the rest of it which sucked the oxygen out of Australian rugby

 

[dru]

and have just watched a great TT final

An Aussie actually watched it? Wow. To quote Mr Pillock, "2 fucks not given".

 

[Rugbynutter39]

We saw an awesome AU final, and have just watched a great TT final (there is nothing wrong with rugby).

But literally the first words from Andrew Merhtens after the game was the format will change next year.

FFS I just don't get it, is rugby so determined to just fuck itself in the Southern Hemisphere.

Because it has pro competitions like super rugby largely designed and run by bureaucratic national bodies who can’t design a competition to meet the needs of the products customers because they try to use that product to serve the interests of another product (national team control etc). It is just a fucked up mess that needs an afl style independent commission to run these sort of super rugby competitions without interference of burecratic incompetent national bodies designing super rugby product not for its customers but national team agendas they set down.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

If they NZRU and RA serve up this same shit TT product next year and don’t look at what customers of this product want vs their own outside pathetic agendas (top down approach - national team agendas) I am going to start change org petitions for a packer style led revolution for rugby in this region.

I hold nzru and RA jointly accountable for this shit sandwich of a TT product served up this year. As year 1 they get marginal leeway (marginal as they should have learnt the lessons of the last super rugby clusterfux) but If don’t get their shit together and start looking at what customers want pure and simply from just the super rugby product it will be time for twiggy / packer style revolutions in our game and rebel leagues imho.

 

[dru]

If they NZRU and RA serve up this same shit TT product next year and don’t look at what customers of this product want vs their own outside pathetic agendas (top down approach - national team agendas) I am going to start change org petitions for a packer style led revolution for rugby in this region.

I hold nzru and RA jointly accountable for this shit sandwich of a TT product served up this year. As year 1 they get marginal leeway (marginal as they should have learnt the lessons of the last super rugby clusterfux) but If don’t get their shit together and start looking at what customers want pure and simply from just the super rugby product it will be time for twiggy / packer style revolutions in our game and rebel leagues imho.

I won't be watching it to any depth next year. Possible look deeper into hospital cup, but I'm not supporting this shit show.

I'll get behind domestic if it happens. Not as a sub-set of the TT shit show.

 

[hoggy]

An Aussie actually watched it? Wow. To quote Mr Pillock, "2 fucks not given".

Being an expat Kiwi helps, shit the missus couldn't wait to switch over to Carlton. And don't start me on streaming/pay TV issues.

But look I am 1000% behind domestic first approach, but a champions league/TT style comp is also a must, I get the $ issues.

In fact i'll go as far to say that without a domestic first approach the game here will ultimately die.

But there seems to be an agenda to ensure that never happens.

 

[jason08]

How much damage has the TT competition done to the reputation of the Super AU competition? Knowing how far it's behind the NZ competition has done it no favours

 

[Joe King]

Centralise contracting.
NSW, Qld, ACT can only have Australian players.
Force and Rebels can have players from anywhere.
NZR to allow ABs to be picked from Force and Rebels.

Shoot me down gently. Something's got to give for any type of TT to work.