'Super Rugby' 2021
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@Derpus It's not your best team that I'm worried about, it's the worst ones when you've got five - and the impact that dilution of your best teams has had, especially in recent times.
Which year was it where we got about through about two-thirds of the season before an Oz team beat an NZ one?
That's not good for anyone.
I think five teams in Oz has been pretty comprehensively tested and has been a clear failure.
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@Chris-B It was post the 2015 WC which saw our biggest player exodus. To premise the future of an entire competition on a bad patch of about 2 years seems ridiculous, though our results and performance were terrible in that period.
Our next crop of players look far more promising, outperforming their NZ counterparts so far. Raelene put a lot of work into securing our talent before it got poached by loig and results had looked to be improving this season.
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@Derpus said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
@Snowy oh are we only allowed to select players for a single year group? you are intentionally missing my point.
No, I'm not. What is your point?
Do you believe that (as has been mentioned the previous 5 years failures) will build the depth for 5 super teams? -
@Snowy My point is that the dip in form post RWC15 was due to the player drain and that prior to that results had been reasonable. Following that, RC did work to secure talent pathways which is already reaping dividends and results had been improving. Hell, even the much derided Rebels beat the Highlanders away this year. The Brumbies also knocking off the in-form Chiefs.
To predicate the structure of the entire competition on the lack of performance post RWC15 would be silly, IMO. Particularly when the other 4 NZ teams have themselves not demonstrated that they can compete with the Crusaders on a regular basis anyway.
Im basically pointing out that the prevailing assumption that 'Aussie teams are all garbage' and 'NZ teams are amazing and constantly competitive' is pretty flawed.
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@Derpus said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
Im basically pointing out that the prevailing assumption that 'Aussie teams are all garbage' and 'NZ teams are amazing and constantly competitive' is pretty flawed.
Well we can agree on that.
I don't believe that Aus can make 5 competitive teams though. Three worked.
As for other NZ teams v Crusaders? Well they have sent the benchmark and it doesn't matter which countries franchises are measured against them. The Kiwi teams have done just fine against everybody else.
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@Snowy this also brings me back to another point. Why does Australia have to have 5 competitive teams at any one point? NZ have very rarely put forward 5 teams that are all competitive at the same time.
Very few competitions ever have an even spread.
I can see the concern if one team consistently under performs, but as someone else pointed out much earlier in the thread. It takes a very long time for a team to develop the culture required to win consistently against high quality opposition. It won't happen overnight.
I've yet to see a very compelling argument for forcing Australia to cut off one of it's limbs.
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@Snowy yeah - but the same could be said of the two weakest NZ teams at any given time. Or the Saffa teams for that matter.
You demand something you don't even provide yourself. It's a nonsense. Which makes the desire for a Pasifika team all the more perplexing. You demand greater competition but you want to add a team with next to no chance of being competitive. Righto.
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@Derpus We have the player base in NZ to support 5 good professional teams that could compete in most competitions and do O.K. Australia does not. Yes you can build it, yes you can change it it but history suggests (and right now), you don't have the depth.
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@sparky said in 'Super Rugby' 2021:
The Blues finished 14th in 2018 and 13th in 2019. Should they have been labelled 'uncompetitive' and blocked from the competition?
They had a massive disadvantage of being in the NZ Conference. They hardly ever lost to an Aussie side during that period though.
