The future of NZ Rugby
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@Stargazer said in The future of NZ Rugby:
South Auckland base for planned Pasifika super rugby side
A group of former All Blacks, including two-time World Cup winner Jerome Kaino, are behind the establishment of the first professional rugby union team in Hawaii.
Kanaloa Hawaii has had its bid to join America's Major League Rugby confirmed and is now in talks with New Zealand Rugby about joining a revamped Super Rugby competition.
It would be a separate team to the one that will play in the US, and would be based in South Auckland.
Kaino and fellow former All Blacks Joe Rokocoko, John Afoa, Benson Stanley, Anthony Tuitavake and Ben Atiga are in the Kanaloa Hawaii ownership group.
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The chief executive of Kanaloa Hawaii, Tracy Atiga, told RNZ Pacific, said they have already had discussions with New Zealand Rugby about the possibility of joining a new-look Super Rugby tournament.
New Zealand Rugby is currently examining the future make up of Super Rugby and the international Rugby Championship, with its Aratipu report due to go to the board next week.
"We would essentially set up our satellite programme which is here in south Auckland to accommodate a second team," said Atiga.
"So we are not talking about one team that plays in the MLR and then they come and play in Super Rugby - we are talking about two pro teams that would have equally competitive athletes at that level and we would own and operate them in co-ordination with each other," she said.
Former All Blacks and Wallabies skills coach Mick Byrne would be head coach with former All Black Tamati Ellison assistant coach.
South Auckland base for planned Pasifika super rugby side
A Pacific Islands Super Rugby team based in South Auckland is gaining traction.
I am vehemently opposed to an ethnic Franchise based in Auckland.
I am for splitting Auckland in two geographically.
But creating an Auckland franchise based on ethnicity, get the fuck out of my life.
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I don't get why they wouldn't just base their 'pacific island' team in Hawaii.
It's a long flight, but it's direct, and it would open up the States as a market.
They could run the Super team and MLR team from the same base and contract players for tier 1 (Super) and tier 2 (MLR).
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@Stargazer said in The future of NZ Rugby:
@Rapido If they have ethnicity based criteria for signing players, I assume they'll be breaching the Human Rights Act and other legislation.
It wont really matter who they sign.
From day 1, Aucklanders of certain ethnicities will be channeled to support different teams.
But on signings, its illegal for NZRU to restrict current SR Franchises to only sign 3 non-NZ players when those non-NZ players are born and bred NZers qualified to play for parents country. But they do.
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@Rapido Why would it be illegal for NZR to restrict the signing of foreign-qualified players? The restriction is not ethinicity, cultural heritage or citizenship based, so not suspect in terms of the Human Rights Act. Unless you think that every limitation of "contract freedom" is illegal, of course. I'd be keen to know which law forbids that, though.
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I'll pu this here, because it raises a good point. At the moment it seems rugby is stuck in the era of watch the rugby, that's all you need. But big name players are wanting to pull in the big bucks, and the way to do that is to use their power to draw more people in. And they need media training to keep them safe, but not what it seems we get at the moment - toe the party line. The players talk like I was trained to in the military, fkn boring, which is the right thing when you are in the military. But they are in the entertainment business, like it or not, so they need to get out there an entertain - not just on the field. Who remembers the Canes and the Landers doing those great videos, stuff like that. I like the banter we see on Sky's panles, let's get that from players. Talks with coaches about what they see in games - WTF happened to 1016 rugby? SRA is it ATM, Oz SR is pretty lame, we should be bigging NZ rugby up around the world. In a time where everyone else is talking return to play, CV19 and wage drops, get our guys out there talking rugby and rugby life.
What the NZR needs to learn from Eddie Jones' England side to turn Super Rugby Aotearoa into something much bigger
That is the same thinking required with Super Rugby and, by extension, Super Rugby Aotearoa. It needs to be the be-all and end-all.
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@Machpants we could learn a lot form the AFL, they managed to fill any quiet with hype, the draft, transfers, tv shows (more than one)
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Hats off to the 6 Nations Boards for getting Fiji and Japan to join their party. The Uk, French and Italian boards in the face of financial armageddon have played a blinder putting a tournament together so quickly. Lots of money will come from TV, sponsorship and crowds as large as 40,000.
By contrast, NZR look very flat-footed indeed. They are isolated and friendless. Not one All Black Test scheduled for 2020. Terrible consequences in terms of player exodus to follow if they can't get their act together and fast.
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RFU chairman, Bill Sweeney, has said they are planning on 40,000 being allowed, pending Government approval. Trials to get crowds back to sporting fixtures in the Uk have already begun.
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Rugby Southland has been told by New Zealand Rugby that the Southland Stags’ future in the Mitre 10 Cup is not in doubt. Representatives of all the provincial unions met with New Zealand Rugby representatives last week to talk through various issues within the game. There had been speculation New Zealand Rugby was keen to cut the number of teams in the Mitre 10 Cup, with the Stags’ spot potentially in jeopardy. However, Rugby Southland general manager Steve Mitchell said there was a commitment from New Zealand Rugby to a 14-team format long-term, which included the Stags.New Zealand Rugby has cut its provincial union funding this year by 15 percent on the back of Covid-19.New Zealand Rugby was undertaking a review of its provincial union funding and Mitchell expected that 15 percent cut to remain in place long-term. -
Future looks bleak with SR Aussie doing it better...
"While the general standard of play in New Zealand has been superior, Super Rugby AU matches have been closer and more unpredictable, with 80 per cent of games decided by less than 10 points compared to just 56 per cent in New Zealand".
Linden criticises New Zealand's table model that rids the competition of a finals system, contrasting to Australia's version which will have second and third on the table play in a qualifying final, with the winner then facing the top seed in the decider.
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@taniwharugby That's a funny take on it all.
I've really enjoyed the games in our slice of Super Rugby. Games have been competitive, even though the Chiefs have not had the wins they have been a refs call or a slice of luck away from having some success.
Pretty much every team can beat the other team, Aussies certainly can't say that.
