Letter: Changes needed in Super Rugby format
I BELIEVE there are many Super 18 Rugby followers who would agree with me that the new conference format is not working as either a spectacle or as a crowd puller.
For example, the Lions in the Africa 2 group play the Sharks, Jaguares and Kings twice (all in Africa 2 group). Then the Lions play all the New Zealand teams once, some in New Zealand and the others in South Africa.
The Lions will also play the Stormers, Cheetahs and Bulls, but at no stage will the Lions play an Australian team, except in the quarterfinals, semifinals or the final. This is ludicrous in terms of what the Super Rugby series is meant to be about.
When Super Rugby started in 1993 with the Super 10 format (people forget that the Golden Lions captained by Springbok captain Francois Pienaar was the first South African franchise to win a Super Rugby series title), each team played each other once with the top four teams contesting a semifinal and then the final.
If the Lions played the Auckland Blues in Johannesburg in 1993, then the Lions would play in Auckland the next year, and so on with all the other teams in the Super Rugby competition.
This was fair and made Super Rugby an exciting spectacle. Now we see local derbies á la Currie Cup, which has been severely watered down as a result, and now Super Rugby is becoming boring. For example, the Lions will play the Kings at least four times this season, twice in Super Rugby and twice in the Currie Cup. Boring. We are seeing 50 point-plus losses by the Kings, Jaguares, Reds and Sunwolves. Boring! So, what to do? My suggestion is a two-tier competition with a first and second division. The bottom two franchises of the first division are relegated to the second division at the end of the season, with the two finalists of the second division being promoted to the first division. This would mean that, assuming the 1993 format applies, each team would play nine games, possibly 11 with a semifinal and final.
This will bring back the excitement of watching both tiers of Super Rugby, would manage player burnout much better and fill the stadiums.
It would also bring back the excitement of the Currie Cup, as unlike now, Super Rugby players would be available for the Currie Cup.
How? Super Rugby is played and completed before the June internationals (unlike now) and the Currie Cup starts after the June internationals.
