Super Rugby News
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@Bovidae said in Super Rugby News:
The decline in attendance and SuperSport subscribers in SA will be a big concern as they generate the majority of the broadcasting money for SANZAAR.
Cutting 2 SA teams, which is the right thing to do, may also hurt NZR in the pocket.
SA and their stupid corrupt political interference has seriously damaged the SH game.
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@Bovidae said in Super Rugby News:
Overlooked in Paul Cully's article is this:
Williams has been out of the game for eight months and is a father to two young children but still looks in better condition than some players 10 years his junior. Brilliant players, incidentally. A pair of siblings with enough talent to rule the world in their respective positions but apparently not yet with the right habits. TV cameras captured the players in question huffing and puffing on shuttle runs away from the rest of the group while All Blacks assistant Wayne Smith was among those watching on. Oh to have heard what words Smith passed on to them as they caught their breath.
This can only be referring to the Ioane brothers. So clearly their training routines and fitness/conditioning are still major work-ons.
Rugby: The curious case of the Ioane brothers
Rieko and Akira Ioane are arguably the most exciting project players in the country and if they can get their physical conditioning right and nail their mental approach, the Blues will have deadly weaponry with which to transform their campaign.
Rieko is the only centre in Super Rugby who has enough pace and power to beat men on the outside and in the opening game of the season, showed that he can destroy teams on his own.
Akira, at 1.96m and 113kg, is a wrecking ball of a player - the sort of ball carrier, who proved off the bench last week, that even the best defenders can't stop easily.
But neither brother has given the Blues consistency this year - neither is delivering definitive performances that establish their class.
The All Blacks would also welcome a finely-tuned Ioane package and if the national selectors could be granted one wish, it would be for the brothers to fulfil their enormous potential.
They are outrageously gifted. Exactly the sort of athletes the All Blacks are after and if cracking top flight football was simply about talent alone, these two would be All Blacks until they retire.
But the qualities that sustain international careers are hard work, discipline, sacrifice, attitude and desire and it is the battle to instil these factors where the real challenge lies with the Ioane boys.
As much as their natural talent has been their greatest strength, it has potential to be their greatest threat.
That's true more so with Akira, the older of the two, yet still only 21. His ability to frustrate coaching staff is proving to be stubbornly enduring.
The memory of his stunning try against the Force in 2015, when he was just 19 and had barely played, looks more like an aberration than the sign of things to come as it originally appeared.
Ioane senior has gone backwards in the last 12 months. His body composition has regressed, his work rate hasn't increased and there is no discernable evidence he has absorbed and accepted the clear messages he has been given about what he needs to do to consistently improve his performance. Patience hasn't been exhausted but it is being tested.
His potential is too great for him to simply be abandoned. He's too young to be told he's had all the chances he's going to get, but at the same time, both the Blues and All Blacks coaches are desperate for him to show a desire to work harder and take on a greater level of responsibility for his preparation.
It should be obvious to Ioane that his Blues teammate and All Blacks blindside incumbent Jerome Kaino is nearing the end of his career.
The All Blacks are looking for his successor, with Liam Squire and Elliot Dixon perhaps front of the queue, but in no way locked in. Ioane, if he could prove that he's genuinely motivated and prepared to be more disciplined and professional in his approach, could leapfrog them.
The situation with Rieko is less vexed. He's only just turned 20 and his challenges in adjusting to the professional demands of top level rugby have not been self-inflicted. His appetite to be coached is healthy.
His ability to take on advice is good and if he hasn't quite fired yet this season, it's more a result of the overwhelming demands that have been place upon him.
He's played for Auckland, the Blues, New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Sevens and All Blacks in the last 12 months.
He's had to adjust, adapt and react quickly to the different demands of playing for different teams and Blues coach Tana Umaga remains firmly optimistic that a consistency of messages and simply playing for one team will afford both brothers the space they need to become more self-reliant and cognisant of what they must do to play well.
"They are young and they are natural talents and probably with a little bit of effort, that has got them to where they are now," says Umaga.
"The biggest thing for them is expectation. Everyone expects them to be a certain way straight away and they are 20 and 21. They have been selected in New Zealand sides doing what they have been doing and now they are being told they should be doing this and that.
"What kind of message are we sending them? There is a bit of what is happening to them now that is a product of what they have been allowed to do. We are asking our boys to grow up pretty quick in this environment and we are asking kids who have just left school to act like this be like this and have this kind of awareness. We have to make sure we have that patience and don't say, 'he's not doing what we need, lets chuck him out and forget about him."
- NZ Herald
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Only a warning for Kepu's no-arms late hit on Jordie Barrett, but ...
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@KiwiMurph the one I read said we will know how many teams will go, but the respective UNions will have longer to decide which teams to cull
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@taniwharugby I read that ARU will decide tomorrow whether to support the proposal or not.
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@Stargazer which may be the case, but I expect that will allow them more time to decide which team to kick, cos honestly, their bargaining power right now is shite....3/39 matches I think it is v NZ opponents.
I should go look up thier v SA teams stat but I cant be arsed
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Will take the Sunday announcement with a grain of salt. The NZRU spent significant resources and time on a proposal to rationalize and improve the then ITM Cup - announced the contraction of two teams from the top tier and they lacked the spine to implement. Unfortunately that contraction never happened and the tournament still flounders.
The formula for these clubs is a little different in each country, but I won't believe a team is gone until kick off next year, especially in these cases none of these clubs is in financial peril to the extent Ta$man and Northland (and subsequently Southland and Otago) were and they were allowed to very easily ensure the decision was reversed.
Let's hope the SAANZAR has more of a spine this time around because the tournament needs a cull.
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I disagree with the point that they got it wrong with the NPC. I think they actually got it right in that there was no way NZ could sustain involvement in two pro comps. What we have now is a much better comp in developing players for Super Rugby and creating depth in the Super squads.
Without truckloads of money the NPC was never going to survive an attempt to keep it highly relevant. Super Rugby killed the NPC not the format or number of teams. -
@rotated there were numerous flaws with thier criteria and a convenient way of rating some of it for dropping the 2 teams, and as such the plan got rightly shafted.
IIRC Southland should have been dead certs to drop based on the criteria, that should have had them dead last, but somehow they were safe ranked about 9th, think after that it was Northland, Ta$man, Counties and maybe one other on the cusp who had varying 'criteria' that was for/against them.
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@rotated I agree somewhat that it will surprise me if they manage to get rid of any teams - there's certainly no-one I've seen with their hand up saying pick me.
In terms of Tew's proposed contraction - that got rejected by the NZR board - as far as the Mako$ are concerned the proof is in the pudding. Over the past three seasons we've been probably the second best provincial team - at worst third behind Taranaki. 15-20 players have Super rugby contracts and numerous All Blacks have strong links to Nelson-Marlborough.
Compare that to the contribution Nelson Bays made to national rugby in the 30 years prior to the Mako$ - you could pretty much count on one hand the number of Nelson Bays players - or even people had spurious links to Nelson - who made any impression whatsoever at national level. Trevor Morris, Terry Mitchell, Will Dempster, Allan Prince, Todd Blackadder .... Almost zero contribution in 30 years - somewhere there's a database where you can search born or went to school - there's still virtually zero contribution in 30 years. Whereas now there's heaps of AB linkages - the Franks bros, Squire, Crockett, Romano, Crotty, Hames...
Plus the Mako$ seem to have recovered from the early financial hiccup. I believe the NZR loan has been repaid and we've been model citizens in living within our means, attracting good crowds, hosting RWC games, providing a base for the Crusaders when the earthquake struck, etc, etc.
Edit: And providing Tony Johnson to do fantastic and righteous commentary!
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@Chris-B.
Yay, postman Willie made the fern, nice one Chris 😊Good points you made. We lived up the road from one time AB Gary (?) Sims which in the 80s in Richmond was the equivalent of living next to SBW. "ooh an ex All Black lives there" 😊
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I'm hoping to hear them announce that Aus will lose 1 team and SA to lose 2.
I'm expecting to hear that no teams will be dropped and it will go to a 3 conference model with Jaguars joining our conference and the Sunwolves joining Aus. Which will be fucking horrendous.
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“SANZAAR has announced that the Super Rugby tournament has been restructured and will kick-off in 2018 with a three conference, 15-team format: five teams from New Zealand, four from Australia, four from South Africa, one from Japan; and one from Argentina.
This restructuring by SANZAAR represents a crucial step in its strategic planning process that has included a comprehensive assessment of the economic and sporting environment under which its tournaments (Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship) are currently operating.
This assessment highlighted a need to adjust and strengthen Super Rugby in the short-term to ensure a robust and sustainable tournament meets the requirements of all stakeholders in terms of high performance pathways, game development, commercial revenue and fan engagement.
The change sees an overall reduction of three teams from the current 18-team format, two from South Africa and one from Australia. The Sunwolves will move into the Australian Conference. The teams from Australia and South Africa that will compete in Super Rugby will be confirmed in due course by the respective National Unions.
New Zealand Conference
Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders, HurricanesAustralian Conference
Four Australian teams (TBC), SunwolvesSouth Africa Conference
Four South Africa teams (TBC), JaguaresSANZAAR Chairman, Brent Impey stated, “The decision to revert to a 15-team format reflects a consensus view of the mandated SANZAAR Executive Committee that met in London recently. It was not the determination of any one Union or stakeholder and follows a thorough assessment and review of the tournament over the last nine months.”
“SANZAAR is delighted that its major broadcast partners have after due consideration agreed to the restructured format within the existing broadcast agreements. Our broadcast partners are an important stakeholder and their vision for Super Rugby moving forward is the same as ours.”
“This decision has not been an easy one and we recognise the difficulty associated with reducing the number of teams in Australia and South Africa. Naturally we understand that there will be some very disappointed franchises but the tournament’s long-term future and the economic reality of the business at present is something that had to be addressed.”
“The decision to retain the Sunwolves is linked directly to SANZAAR’s strategic plan for the future. The potential for growth of the sport in Asia off the back of the establishment of the Sunwolves and the impending RWC in 2019 is significant. It remains an obvious focus for the organisation and a Japanese Super Rugby franchise is key to that strategy.”
SANZAAR CEO Andy Marinos stated, “This has been a long and complex piece of work and we make no apology for that. Super Rugby is unique in world rugby in that it is played in six countries across 15 time zones and has numerous stakeholders.”
“SANZAAR cannot continue to ignore the extensive feedback that it has received from fans, stakeholders and commercial partners around the integrity of the competition format and performances of the teams. We want to see an engaging, vibrant and competitive competition that delivers a strong high performance pathway in all markets that will have a positive flow into the international game.”
“It became clear during our strategic assessment that there are two facets to the future of our tournaments. The first is a requirement to react to existing market forces within the sporting business environment and to implement short-term change to Super Rugby. This is what we have done.”
“The second is the longer term vision, through a strategic plan, to build the brand that in the future can maximize further development of the game, commercial revenues and the ongoing sustainability of the tournaments. This work is presently ongoing and details will be released in the coming months.”
Tournament Details
120 match regular season plus seven match finals series
15 teams
Three conferences (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa)
18 rounds [16 matches per team, two bye weeks]
Each team will play eight matches within its conference (four home and four away)
Each team will play eight cross-conference matches – against four of the five teams from each of the other two conferences (four at home and four away)
Each team will play 12 of the other teams within the season (85% of opposition teams which is up from 70% in 2016).
Eight team Finals Series: Three Conference winners and; five wild card places – the next best performing teams based on competition points after the Conference winners regardless of Conference. Conference winners and fourth-placed team on competition points will host quarter-finals.“
The ARU have decided to cut a team and now the the process drags on as an evaluation phase begins to determine who will be cut. Super Rugby foundation teams – the Reds, Brumbies and Waratahs – are apparently safe with the decision to come down to the two newest teams, the Force or the Rebels. -
It's now even harder for a NZ team to win it. The number of high intensity local derbies stays the same, but we won't get as many easy games against the foreign teams as we do now. I don't see how this has benefited NZ one bit. Should have gone back to the s12 format of each team playing each other once.
Kepu faces suspension after third offence
