How to FIX Super Rugby!

Super Rugby is no longer the premier Rugby competition in the World! But here at The Sports Booth, we wanted to first understand why, and then see if we could get it back to the top!
Have a watch of us explain how we would get the Super Rugby brand to be the biggest competition in the world.
If you enjoy what you see please don't forget to like and subscribe, also chuck as a comment and let us know what you think!
I must state that in NO way, shape or form am I intending to infringe the rights of the copyright holder. The content used is strictly for research/reviewing and analysis purposes to help educate. All under the Fair Use law.
"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use."
#rugby #superrugby

[@wlk2408]

As a South African rugby supporter, I will be surprised if South Africa will join any competition based in the SH. My reasons are as follows. Now that our teams play in the URC and Heineken Cup we can watch all the games at a time during the day that makes sense. With Super Rugby, we had to watch games while eating Kellogg's and drinking coffee or we had to slip away from work or school to watch our teams play. SA rugby now allows foreign-based players to be selected for the Springboks and most play in Europe. Now that our teams are playing in those leagues the fans and coaches get to see our foreign-based players play against our local talent. With the Rand, we are always going to struggle to keep our players in South Africa. Then there is jetlag which is much less traveling north to south than west to east. We still have to sort out direct flights for our teams to Europe but I am sure that will be sorted out over time. Then there is the money aspect. Combining with the biggest supported leagues in the world, where we are not the biggest fish in terms of viewership and TV rights must be a better deal for SA rugby. I must say this is only our second season in the URC and our first in the Heineken Cup and Champions Cup but I am already starting to enjoy the new teams and competitions a lot more as a fan as I did with Super Rugby. To see players from all the rugby-playing nations is unbelievable. That never happened in Super Rugby. Super Rugby just didn't have the same variety of players. The final issue is the style of rugby. The SA game is much more suited to the European style of play.

[@therugbybooth]

Couldn’t agree more with everything you’ve said, it was dumb for us to even entertain the fact that SA teams would leave. What I’m hoping is if we can get a Super Rugby Africa, then the only games where travelling becomes an issue is the Super rugby Championship(my equivalent to European cup) then those games are hightend as it’s out of the ordinary.

[@wlk2408]

@thesportsbooth3422 I hear what you say, the problem is that African rugby outside of South Africa is very weak and they have even less money. Namibia played in the South African Currie Cup second division a few years back and could only win one game, they finished 7th out of eight teams, and the Leopards which you have probably never even heard of destroyed Nambia. Namibia is the strongest 15-man team after the Springboks in Africa. To get an African competition that is competitive will take hundreds of millions and many decades of development. The only system that I see working is South Africa making the Currie Cup our premier competition and NZ doing the same with the NPC, I think that is what you guys call it. The top four teams from those competitions can then play each other home and away. That way both nations' teams will travel the same amount and the same distances. Super Rugby always made the traveling harder on SA teams. Our boys had to go over and do four-week tours while NZ and Australian teams normally did a two-week tour to Africa and later a two-week tour to each other. It was two different things and much harder on the SA teams.

[@hshahahah2819]

@@wlk2408it sucks to see other African nations struggling in the international stage. Zimbabwe used to be a fair team just like in cricket but haven’t made it to the WC for decades

[@Clark_Kent_ZA]

Non-Rugby South African here. I'm gonna be honest, during the days of Super Rugby, I just lost interest in Rugby, the times were insane and you could see the South African players being affected by fatigue. But the URC has actually made me enjoy watching Rugby again. I'm already a fan of European Soccer, so it wasn't much of an adjustment. Also watching Rugby at a reasonable time has helped alot. And now theres an incentive to Watch French Top14 and Premiership Rugby. Last but not least EPCR is the cherry on top. Also when I was looking at the financials of SH Rugby, South Africa provided more viewers, more stadium attendances but were getting the smaller share of the pie.

[@usarugbyleagueunionfan]

Seeing the Fijian Drua crowd made me shed a tear. That atmosphere was one of the best I’ve ever seen. That’s great for Super Rugby. Up the Tahs!

[@MichaeldeSousaCruz]

My word, where do I start… I’m just going to get straight to the point. First, I’ve been disenchanted by Rugby at the moment, so my comments come from someone who was obsessed watching any and every game I could, to not bothering unless it’s USA or Portugal national teams (of which I’m absolutely devastated by what happened in the Repechage). So here we go… Second, the fix? Play in smaller stadiums. Simple. It looks like shit on screen with empty stadiums. Simple fix. Third, 12 is a fine number of teams. Clubs have got to reach out to locals and INVITE them to come, give out free tickets even or $1 tickets. My saying, “An empty seat costs more than a free ticket.” Fourth, do more off the field than on the field. Literally, go get the fans, the players, the coaches, the owners, go get the people, come to them, get in that community. You can only give lip service so long to calling Rugby a “community game”, and not even bother to go out into the community. If all you concentrate is on training, lifting weights, building muscle and winning, then you will lose on all categories, especially in the community. Fifth, remember the saying “a rugby game broke out at a brawl.” Yeah, that’s it, that’s what this is all about, the Rugby has always been secondary to everything else going on on and off the pitch. If you concentrate on the rugby, then you will lose. Simple. So, people used to go to rugby games in the past because they wanted “the biff”. Ok fine, brawling is “out of fashion” these days. So, make another event. “A rugby game broke out at a Food Festival”. “A rugby game broke out at a Music Festival”. Whatever! The Rugby is secondary, the main event is everything else. For us in the USA, it’s the Tailgating that gets us at the games. Have you ever just randomly walked around and shared a beer with a complete stranger outside a stadium, or have someone yell at you to come over and try their best in the world barbecue chicken, a burger or sausage and peppers? Or give your kid a Football to take and keep? This is the stuff that makes a sport a success, it has nothing to do with what’s on the field. Look your whole video is about tinkering with names and places. It’s fun, I’ve done this too, but this is not the solution. It’s everything that matters.

[@therugbybooth]

Couldn’t agree more with smaller stadiums and fill them! The atmosphere will make for such a better experience

[@rubesjames9733]

Love the amount of effort put into this, thanks so much. I feel like it’s pretty confusing though. I would prefer keeping Super Rugby Pacific as it is however having a tier 2 competition where the five Aussie teams (pretty much the existing team’s B teams) play each other and the New Zealand NPC teams. *edit: I also think super rugby is poorly promoted, like even the name doesn’t make much sense, wouldn’t it be better to call it the Pacific Rugby Championship or something? Just so your average viewer immediately understands what the go is?

[@feijoatree]

RA missed the boat on turning this into a rival comp to the NRL and AFL in the early days of SR. Samoa, Fiji, Tonga on their door step, could've absorbed the best talent into teams like the Force and Rebels, even another team like Adelaide. Yet still let them represent their Island nations. What you want is a strong fan base with a large population, so pretty much capital cities of Australian states. Moana should've just been the second Auckland team with relaxed representation rules for poly players thru out NZ teams. You negate the biggest factor in this, which is economics. You want to follow the NFL/NBA model, the best players playing in a single comp, building the franchise brand.

[@mikespearwood3914]

The AFL just signed a giant multi-billion dollar broadcast deal. Their present success was made possible by hard decisions made in the last 30-40 years, where drafts, trading etc were to be implemented to allow a market for all clubs to have access to playing talent so all clubs could compete, regardless of being a popular club or/and wealthy club (or not), or a club in a non-heartland/expansion area. As a slightly interested West Australian, I've asked when will the Force be competitive, and when will they be able to go on a recruiting drive to get top talent like guys like Beauden Barrett, Brodie Retallick etc...and I'm told that they'll NEVER be allowed to recruit the best players in the league because NZR won't ever let that happen! Talk about hamstringing your own product! How is the league supposed to grow into a dynamic exciting product if attempts aren't made to make it into the best product it can be???!

[@feijoatree]

@@mikespearwood3914 Top flight All Black's will always get tied to the franchises with sabbatical clauses that take place of the NPC. But that doesn't mean there isn't any more talent available, there's plenty up and coming in NZ as well in Oz. I just left Sydney to Brisbane and the big thing in Sydney was shutting Western Sydney clubs out of shute shield. The Force should send their scouts to these clubs and unearth a few gems.

[@michaelcampbell8112]

I wish Super Rugby was a Champions league. Each country has its own domestic league like NPC and Curry cup and Aussie Provincial Championship and maybe a combined Pacific/Asia League and maybe North and south America League, with each league would have a double round robin or if you have 2 pools in each league have double round robin in the pool with single games against the other teams. The top 4 or 5 from each league go into 4 to 8 groups of 4 or 5 and compete in a Champions league. If a double round robin is the way to go you could do a 10 to 14 team NPC 18 game season or 26 games a season + top 4 finals or if split into pools 18 or 19 or whatever the number game season + top 2 finals in each pool. Champions get some sort of advantage in a Super League. Champions league each Pool plays each other twice which would be 6 to 8 games depending on the size of the pool + Finals. There would be the sameish amount of games the Rugby players would play a season. If things are Geographic, then travel will be limited. And the Champions League format could open up to spinoff events like a preseason 7's tourney in lieu of Super Rounds. It would have more Tribalism amongst local fans, the games would have extra importance, More games of importance to sell to broadcasters like Sky and Super Sports and Foxtel, and the leagues themselves could compete with the AFL and NRL because risk can be divided between the leagues and its teams meaning if some teams fail you could still have a strong product to sell. It could be a tool for soft diplomacy internationally Governments invest in the Pacific through Sports. I do know it is an ambitious idea. But I would like to see it from a simple Chiefs and Mooloos supporter.

[@Samizouza]

If Super Rugby ever considered making a deal with the Japanese League One then it might actually happen, especially when the JRU has been trying to join the Rugby Championship and this kind of venture just might get them in if they ever had talks with SANZAAR about it.

[@henrygordon6808]

Good idea to include the Southern Africans (South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe), I don't think you'll get the Stormers, Bulls, Sharks and Lions, that ship has sailed. In a few years those teams will be making good money in Europe and hopefully with some of the SA talent returning, SA will be quite competitive in the Champions Cup. The other South African teams are fair game. There's good talent in the Cheetahs, Pumas, Griquas and Griffons. They don't compete in the URC but are still giving the bigger franchises a proper challenge in the Currie Cup. The key problem is that NZR wants most of the money, and I think the other unions are tired of it. Considering the tiny population of NZ, with a viewership of 1.3M vs a 34M viewership in South Africa, there's no way that SARU will get in bed again with NZR. NZ Rugby is top quality, but if the NZR bosses don't start sharing the wealth, you might soon be on your own, or perhaps in a league with Japanese teams.

[@AlphanumetriX]

Mate the champions league concept is absolutely the way to go, with Australia, NZ, SA, Japan etc. I've thought that for years. BUT, your thesis has one flaw in my opinion... toooo many teams and too many games!. I think the solution is less pointless games. Separate all the counties, play each other twice, establish a champion based on point, 1 team from each competition goes to the super rugby championship, and play off for supremely. Every game's high stakes, every point counts. There's not enough talent for a second division with Adelaide and whatever, the wallabies can hardly feild a squad. Punch the game up not down! Any way, I'd love to hear your rebuttal. 😊

[@chrismia2402]

I think you missed some key points. South Africa brought in 70% of the revenue to Super rugby from 1993-2018 and shared this equally with Aus and NZ 1/3 each. NZ got a huge sponsor but did not want to share the revenue with SA or Aus so NZ kicked SA out of Super rugby. The Kiwis needed to keep SR relevant so they kept Aus because they knew Aus had zero bargaining power having sapped the greatest share of revenues they did not bring in for years. Aus also has next to zero revenues to bring so NZ would be all powerful. SA would be able to say hey, for 26 years we funded SR and shared equally with you so hang on mate, 1/3 that revenue is ours - and the Saffas would be correct. NZ definitely did not want to share when it was their turn so here we are. SR is broken and bleeding cash and it ain’t going to get fixed, all because of NZR greed and lack or fair play.

[@jamiescott7345]

That's pretty much Polynesian vs Aussie, Fiji and Asia I like it

[@bradysylvester4371]

cheers for the video bro. Lots of effort and quality ideas.

[@therugbybooth]

Thanks brother!

[@joeschannel246]

My two cents: Super rugby should be two divisions of 7 (14 teams total) so each team plays every team in their division twice (12 games total) with promotion relegation from division 1 to division 2. Sydney could definitely have two teams with one playing at Leichhardt Oval and the other at Brookvale Oval. Maybe another team in Queensland, central coast or Adelaide??? Most importantly players with super rugby contracts should be able to play for ANY team. I'm sure most Kiwis don't watch the Aussie derby's and vice versa, but if kiwi players were playing for the Aussie teams we would all tune in more (plus I miss Pete Samu at the Crusaders and I wish he could have stayed and played for Aussie as well). Australia also has a depth problem and that gap could be filled with NZ players. NZ players who want to make the abs but are struggling for game time have more than 5 options and could go to an Aussie team instead (thinking George Bridge here). And most of all the competition would be more interesting and competitive.

[@ViliameBaleikatuba]

The Drua has grown tremendously in the last 2 years. It will continue to grow. They've beaten the defending Champions Crusaders twice in a row in Lautoka. They've lost only 1 home game this Year. With current standings, history is likely to be created this Year when the current Champion Crusaders won't even reach the Quarter finals.

[@Samizouza]

COVID pretty much opened a new era for professional rugby, especially when SR Pacific is what they were missing this whole time due to poor economics from expansion. Anyways still a good idea on how to innovate the current comp with all the hullabaloo going on at RA headquarters.

[@hjorkera]

I love the idea, It would be hard to get SA on board thought, but I have no doubt that SRA and the Asian competitions would sign up immediately.

[@erinaporter1985]

They definitely won't adopt any system that cut out quarter finals, they want 3 weeks of finals because finals are the most watched games of the season.

[@Eurynomos326]

I'd love this, you've got my vote.

[@JGDT5559]

Blues Hurricanes Highlanders Crusaders Chiefs Stormers Bulls Sharks Cats Brumbies Reds Warathas Force THATS THE ONLY SUPER RUGBY…. we miss you guys (stormers fan)

[@JGDT5559]

NZ rugby made SA rugby stronger and Aus was always a challenge. And hopefully you felt the same about us. These competitions seem hollow without the mad flow of the kiwis running everything and those canny Aussies always being mavericks. We knew we couldn’t beat you with flair… but someone was getting run over in a game even if we lost

[@comidians708]

I love this idea!

[@dylanbaron__]

Love the idea but it might be a bit of a stretch to get that many teams together. I live on the Sunshine Coast and… there’s a reason there’s only one team for all of Queensland

[@riyaadrhoda3990]

We might as well have a world series at the end of current competitions.Each country can still have their domestic competitions. After the end of the domestic, super rugby, urc, English and French competitions teams are drawn into the 32 team league based on their finishes and play eight pools of 4 teams. The top two plays in the round of 16 and at the end you will have a world global club champion.

[@The_wolf_gamer]

bro i love this so much bro amazing likes the 4 reigons then into 4 pools top 1 semi-finals then the super rugby grand final love it so much

[@Megamanhurhur]

The biggest problem Supa has. NRL distribution to clubs 17-18m each per year AFL 13m which will increase next year to probably 17m per year. Supa rugby distro to clubs 4.8m per year. Hard to compete when the money gap is so large. NRL 17 teams AFL 18 teams I like your idea's, it will be a 2 decade rebuild for Rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere.

[@JRPete]

Yep a brisbane team would complete football in Australia and pacific in AFL, NRL and Super rugby.

[@donjorvead2431]

I think NPC should be the main super rugby comp as it allows rugby unions from across the country to band together and create more local feel to the game. cheap tickets with superstars playing for the respective provincials. This also allows players from across the country to play top level footy as lets be honest there is a abundance of talent that can play top level. This will also allow a southern hemisphere champions league where top teams from nz australia japan and potentially the pacific islands play for the crown jewels of southern hemisphere champs. thats just my two cents but NZR really need to think about making Rugby the main go to sport. The competition can aattract alot of fans and also create tribalisim within communities, something that has been missing for quiet some time

[@icefarrow7959]

Never going to happen, and you seem to have missed the fundamental point of the NPC. Third-tier competitions exist to give opportunities to unknowns to break into the more mainstream competition. Bringing superstars into the NPC stunts player growth and development. Secondly and more importantly, provincial teams cannot afford to hire those kinds of players for a season, and would do nothing to resolve the fundamental issues facing NZ rugby atm: European and Japanese teams with bloated budgets snapping up a lot of our talent.

[@titob81]

Townsville v Asia 4 in front of 200 people on a Wednesday night will surely turn the game around 🤣🤣🤣

[@chesterdonnelly1212]

I think you're onto something. But Wallabies are terrible. They were better when their players were all concentrated in 3 teams. I think there should be just one Super Rugby top division with 3 Australian teams in it, the rest from New Zealand. I also think a Tonga team and a Samoa team would be pretty terrible. However, I do think an Australian division and a Kiwi division below the top division, with promotion and relegation, is a good idea. Finally, with Hong Kong likely being in World Cups from 2027, I would like them involved if possible.

[@caintindal1671]

The world competition is hard due to the fact the travel for the teams and cost of that alone. One of biggest reasons next to time zones why Africa pulled out. It is 6-8 hour flight to play Europe teams not 16 hours. What killed Super rugby was the 18 teams 15 was enough. I hated the idea as Australian that we lost Western Force who were very settled in the competition and back then Western Australia had a bigger Rugby following that Melbourne did. And when you though of the global super Rugby you left out Europe and that would be including Georgia. I think at the moment the 12 teams in top division has to stay. But I would like to See NSW Shute teams and the Qld Premier. A team from Adelaide, Perth, ACT and Melbourne maybe even Tasmania side playing against the Mitre 10 teams plus a group from asia and pacific in a knock competition like the FA cup something like that. But doing something like this where is the money going to come from?

[@therugbybooth]

Love that idea of Shute shield and other prem comps against NPC teams

[@ola500]

You had me until you brought the South Africans back in. They are quite happy over there in the URC. Maybe you went a little too big. I love the Aus and Nz conference. More local teams bring about a bit of tribalism i.e. I would support the Gold Coast over the Reds. Then you sell the package, TV deal is worth more with more games. Split the money 60/40 between the conferences. People start coming to games again because their local team is down the road. Kids / high school and Uni students get more opportunities to play at a higher level. Grab the kids that miss out on a NRL contract, till one day the dollars are high enough to compete. How good would that be!

[@nzlife3659]

i think that Australia needs a complete re-build of their national rugby system, whats happening now isn't working. they need to bring back the cohesiveness they once had. personally i think at least 1 of the Australian teams potentially the Rebels should be dropped and replaced by a Tonga-Samoa side where home games can be shared. I also believe that the current round robin system should stay in place but instead of the top 8 progressing it should be reduced to 6 with the top 2 teams getting seeded in the semi finals and 3v6 4v5 to play 1 and 2. expanding anywhere else in the world isn't really viable for timezone reasons. thats just my opinion though

[@jasonh7085]

That’s something I agree with - in part. I don’t think we need to drop an Australian side, but going down to a Top 6 or Top 5 finals series would make the playoffs actually mean something. And since Tonga and Samoa are already covered by Moana Pasifika, perhaps a PNG side could work if we really wanted to expand? My other big suggestion is to make eligibility for the national sides open if you stay in Super Rugby - I mean that you could play for any team in the competition, and still be eligible for the Wallabies, All Blacks etc. allowing free movement of players within Super Rugby while maintaining eligibility for your respective national sides will even out the playing field immensely, in my opinion

[@bartbracegirdle5925]

I do like your idea of the conferences around Super Rugby, as everyone has been screaming for a World Club Cup. But regarding Rugby Pacific and the level of competition at the moment, I would love to see NZ Rugby agree to a draft system (similar to the NBA and other American sports) where players are able to be drafted to any team within the Rugby Pacific competition. This would help develop the competitiveness of all the teams within the competition, and hopefully stem the player loss to the more lucrative European comps. A lot of quality players are relegated to 2nd string players because of the eligibility laws from NZ especially. If those players are able to find their footings with other teams and get some more quality minutes on the field, then that would definitely help the competition as a whole. Also trading players amongst the clubs would go along way in this professional era of the game.

[@caintindal1671]

The other draw back is we are going to have a even Super Rugby competition Money going to have to be shared. Australia Rugby Union works on a budget of 50 Million why NZ have 120 Million and the south pacific sides have less if you want better competition spread that wealth. The Hardest thing for Australia we are competing against AFL 18 teams even Tasmania is hard time getting a team into the AFL. Rugby League, Rugby Union and dare I say it Soccer. NZ only have One soccer and one Rugby league side playing in the Aussie competition. Give it time see a NZ AFL side.

[@mrcarguy6719]

Problem is if we played in smaller stadiums then our big stadiums are never gonna be used like in New Zealand rugbys our main sport but in Aussie they got nrl afl and union. So my point is that our big stadiums will never be used

[@therugbybooth]

I think both could be used at the right times... An example is in Dunedin a Highlanders vs Crusaders game 100% goes in Forsyth as it just about sells out, whereas A Highlanders vs Brumbies game could go into a 10,000 person one and fill that out?

[@micakingsea9031]

Super rugby became boring monotonous and unimaginative as compared to top14 were rugby was allowed to flow...entertainment is the key to a successful rugby tournament.

[@Trajan2401]

SR and RC 💪

[@redneckReno]

interesting

[@sumboi2321]

Personally, I'd love to see an African tournament that's separate from Super rugby and also Europe. It would be a lot more cost-effective and eco friendly if the SA teams are playing Namibians and Zimbabweans, but I can't see it happening now that the Saffer teams are getting Euro prize money

[@galinor7]

I guess that the NRL is the premier Rugby Comp now.

[@chesterdonnelly1212]

The French league is the top rugby comp. And they have made professional rugby unsustainable for everyone else.

[@i6Shot]

The ideas are nice but you have failed to remember Aus don't have enough talent for 5 teams let alone adding in more. The only way it would work is if you allowed NZ players to play in Aus and still be available for AB's selection. But in doing that you weaken the other proposed NZ teams and start to massivly dilute the NZ player pool. Also, Tongan and Samoan players can earn more playing up in the northern hem. That is why you currently have a combined team in Moana Pacific with only 1 player from the Islands. The rest of their players are all NZ based already. Also, this would greatly increase the amount of games they play thoughtout the year. We all know just how much they don't like playing currently although they are paid to do so. So that would mean squad sizes would have to increase which would increase the salary cap of a team which would make Super Rugby demand more from TV rights. TV rights that Aus can't afford. The problem with Super Rugby isn't the amount of the teams competing or the structure of pool play/finals. The problem is more systemic. The problem is more a problem about rugby as a whole. The product is boring AF. Rugby in general is boring. The governing body has removed the toughness by sending players to the bin for a tickle across the face. The rules are stupid, how can you get sent to the bin because you go for an intercept and knock it on? How can you be looking at the ball, chasing a kick and because the other play jumps and you colide you get sent? How can you get sent for acidental head clash? A serious overhaul of the rules needs to take place and the players have to understand that it is a (was tough) contact sport and from time to time acidents happen and you get hurt. Other issues with the game are the ref's are sub par. Some absolute howlers are made in just about every game. The level of ref'ing is appauling and they are barely held accountable. The TMO has too much influence on the game. If the ref misses it in general play it should be play on. Pick it up after the game and suspend if need be. Too many games are decided by the ref trying to install his authority. Issues with Super Rugby: the games are played for TV viewership and not for game growth. You would get more people attending games during 2:30pm kick offs. Make it free for children to attend with a paying adult of which the cost of ticket is between $10 - $50 depending on where you sit. Rugby has become too expensive to attend and given the current climate, people have to decide on where every last dollar is spent. That has a knock on effect where kids don't get to see their heroes all that often or to experience the atmosphere of a pumping game. Stop resting players. If people are paying good money to attend or to watch on TV at the very least they should be able to see the players they know playing. I couldn't name more than 10 Aus players. I don't know any of the Fijian players by name. Same for the Moana Pacific aside from the first five whom I can't currently remember. Finally, a player draft needs to happen. This will spreed the talent around instead of the Crusaders/Blues/Brumbies etc... having all the talent.

[@ubum1796]

W

[@Vongs100]

This is exactly what killed Australian Rugby, spreading the little talent that you have into too many teams leaves you open and finding no working combinations for tests.

[@chesterdonnelly1212]

Australia needs to have 3 Super Rugby teams with a domestic league below that.

[@pungajediknight]

u could be on to something here...

[@AndreLeRoux81]

I think you guys came up with the solution to world peace. 🕊️ We just need Super Rugby Arabia? Centralia? So the middle east can settle the score on the rugby field.

[@peterschuetz8802]

Interesting ideas for sure. Please spell Divison correctly!

[@therugbybooth]

😂😂

[@eduardvictor711]

URC is pick up in popularity

[@benmeech4972]

Australian rugby Might be better just to have a university teams as they are the only ones who care about the game it’s a game for rich kids in aus. Plus the game has gotten boring red card yellow card like the ref is playing Pokémon only way to score a try is a mall when to good sides meet.

[@chesterdonnelly1212]

Not a bad idea. Like NCAA college football.

[@Vongs100]

Non of this nonsense will work. Too many teams, games and a spread of talent all over the place. I want to see great teams will great talent fighting to the last breath. NZ and Aus should really have kept the relationship with SA.

[@titob81]

Mate you are delusional. You don’t understand how much the game is on the nose in Australia... I mean Townsville 🤣🤣🤣 It would struggle to draw 5k to games. RU has painted itself into a corner. Its in a shrinking Private school pond and just doesn’t resonate with the general public. The fact North QLDers love Rugby League in no way translates to Rugby Union

[@eamonosullivan2702]

Not financially viable I'm afraid.

[@jldp24]

There is no future...and most top players overseas..done finished.

[@NS-nk9hf]

Nah...let Aussie, NZ and who ever play amongst themselves. SA teams much better off up North. SA team always had the 4 week tours while other had 2 weeks. Don't care about SR or whatever its called now. NZ and Aussie rugby will deteriorate even more over the next years. Good luck. Now SA must just get out of Tri Nations.

[@dirkloots548]

Well, I have 2 points to make. 1. I doubt anybody really cares about something like the Hurricanes thrashing whatever rando team you chose... because it's boring bro. The Hurricanes facing a forward dominant bruiser Stormers pack, now Im interested. 2. If you looking for talent to beef up your small player pools... I can promise you this. South Africa as dominant as they are now are the biggest sleeping giant by far! Figure out how to tap that pool and watch your talent explode. Lastly...I will say this... I grew up loving and watch cricket. The passion, the drama! But it all died, haven'twatched a gamein years. The same is about to happen to rugby. Just another random game. Yawn, I,ll watch youtube, Amazon, Netflix...

[@eugenegerber5805]

Nah... super rugby is dead unfortunately

[@IronCross666]

You Kiwis are nothing without South Africa. So good luck.

[@danielsummerton2259]

I am South African. But honestly this is just sour grapes. I miss the super 12 and super 14 days. URC is cool and all, but our brothers are still in the South. Super 12 should be the way. One game day (no home/away), no confrence, straigh to Semis. Or have super 12 and top 8 qualify. pos 3 to 6 fight for playoffs for semis. This thing of derby overload and teams not playing others is a joke. As for cheetahs and lions, bring back the vkken cats! Those unions cant compete alone for more than a season or two

[@JGDT5559]

Blues Hurricanes Highlanders Crusaders Chiefs Stormers Bulls Sharks Cats Brumbies Reds Warathas Force THATS THE ONLY SUPER RUGBY…. we miss you guys (stormers fan)