The home and away Super Rugby derby matches could be dropped in favour of playing every team when the tournament format is restructured in 2016.
The current Super Rugby format has split teams into three conference of five teams each and the teams in the conferences play opposition teams on a home and away basis.
rugbyweek
However due to the home and away domestic format the teams cannot play all of the other teams in the other conferences and they play four out of the five teams from the other conferences.
SANZAR who manage the Super Rugby tournament have signed a broadcast agreement for the current format which runs through to the end of the 2015 season and changes are expected in 2016.
New Zealand Rugby Players association boss Rob Nichol has revealed that players would prefer to drop the home and away local derbies and rather play all of the other teams once.
“If you just look at the home-and-away local derbies in one year within New Zealand, it might be coming from the spectators’ point of view at the moment,” Nichol told NewstalkZB.
“We talk about serving up dessert twice and people losing potentially focus on the main meal.”
Nichol says that while the home derby matches are still popular with fans the integrity of playing every other team in the tournament once is important.
“The message from the players at the moment is we’d take the travel to South Africa if the reward was a competition of integrity, where everyone plays everyone and perhaps a round robin.
“So it becomes a series of trade-offs.”
Nichol said that the players want to play every other team in the Super Rugby tournament.
“The message we’re getting from the players and the feedback that we’ve given the NZRU and the administration is that they would take a full round robin and the opportunity to play everyone, and manage the travel, and take the extra travel with that.
“It’s something that players have given us a really strong message around.”
South Africa have demanded a sixth Super Rugby team which would mean that if the conferences were to be kept and balanced another two teams would have to be added making the tournament an 18 team one.
There has been much speculation over who the other teams could be but Nichol said that the time is not right to include Argentine and Japanese teams in the next tournament expansion.
Would be good if the Home and Away derbies could be cut so that all teams play all the other teams in the competition!
It’s not that I mind home derbies, it’s got more to do with the fact that I think all teams should have to play all comers.
2013 top 2 teams Bulls and Chiefs never met. And i did not like it, but who,s to blame. Well we all know. Damn
The rugby administrator must me more concerned for what the supporters want and not what the players want. If they want money from me they should come up with a much beter competition than the super 15.
Jones’ top 20 greatest teams of all time:
1. Sean Fitzpatrick’s All Blacks, 1995-96
2. Clive Woodward’s England, 2002-03
3. Richie McCaw’s All Blacks, 2011-present
4. Ian McGeechan’s British and Irish Lions, 1997
5. Gary Teichmann’s Springboks, 1997-98
6. Will Carling’s England, 1988-1995
7. Lawrence Dallaglio’s London Wasps (English club side), 2003-05
8. John Eales’s Wallabies, 1999-2001
9. Wayne “Buck” Shelford’s All Blacks, 1987-1990
10. Warren Gatland’s Wales, 2008-13
11. Robbie Deans’s Crusaders, 1998-2000
12. Jack Rowell’s Bath (English club side), 1989-1994
13. Jean-Luc Sadourny’s France, 1994
14. Francois Pienaar’s Springboks, 1995
15. Martin Johnson’s Leicester Tigers (English club side), 2001
16. Agustin Pichot’s Argentina, 2007
17. Brian O’Driscoll’s Leinster (Irish club side), 2009-2012
18. Brian Price’s Newport (Welsh club side), 1963-70
19. Farah Palmer’s Black Ferns (New Zealand women’s team), 1998
20. Des Seabrook’s Orrell (English club side), 1991-92
4 @ superBul:
Daai ou is half heeltemal mal…
Wat van spanne soos die 1974 Britse Leeus… en heel duidelik het daai ou nooit gekyk na die Bulls van 2009 en 2010 nie!
Ek steur my nie veel aan die ou se gemors nie.
@ leon:
We all want a fair competition, one that tests each team, but we also do not want the players to burn out. The old format of playing every team in the comp imo is a good one. But I would like to see an Argie team and a South Sea Islands team in the comp.
@ grootblousmile:
Ja nee , dit mag sy bestes wees maar ek stem saam daar is grotes wat hy vergeet
Article in News24
Jaque Fourie just plain fat?
Much was made about Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer’s decision to include no fewer than three Japan-based backline players in his starting XV to face Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff last weekend.
Not only did it highlight once again the much-debated ‘should foreign-based players be picked for the Boks’, it also called into question the standard of play – and fitness – of those based abroad.
Scrumhalf Fourie du Preez put in a man of the match performance, while JP Pietersen was solid at best on the wing.
However, it was the ‘size’ of centre Jaque Fourie which caught the eye…
Twitter was abuzz with chirps, none more amusing than that of Irene Nell, who wrote: Is it just my tv or is Jaque Fourie a bit wider than he used to be? He’s taking the “Big in Japan” thing too literally.
Fourie’s size reminded one of fellow centre Francois Steyn who returned to SA after a stint in France carrying a good few too many kilograms – and sporting a God-awful haircut…
@ superBul:
Someone chiped in
He didn’t look much different to me, but he is still the same old defensive liability that he always was: much arm waving and gesturing, very little tackling.
@ Lion4ever:
yes, a fair competition is what we all want. I would like to see a Shorter competition. Start in March and end in May. No break in between. No double derbies. I don’t really want to see an Argie or Island team. They won’t add any value to the competition. I would rather want see teams from France or UK included.
If I can get that, I will be much more motivated to spend more money to support my team.
@ leon:
I agree that UK or French teams would add immense value, but if we want to develop the game, it is vital that we start with some the minnow countries. USA and Canada would be good additions if the game could be properly marketed there.
@ Lion4ever:
ratherbring in 4 world conferences, North, south, east and west. 8 teams each playing of for the two/3 top spots and then play the best 8/12 in the real Super group with a semi and a final, Call the winner the world super Team
West
Includes USA , Canada, Argentina
East
Japan, Samoa, Fidji,,,
South
SA, NZ, Aus
North
all 6 nations
@ Lion4ever:
Agreed. USA and Canada has money and with the 7’s rugby becoming an Olympic sport, there will be much bigger interest from them. Maybe SANZAR should get a 2 tier competition for argies, Japan, USA and Canada with a promo/relegation with the wooden spoon winner of the 1st division.
@ superBul:
I like that idea.
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