Super Rugby format a failure
7 Aug 2012
Sports scientist Ross Tucker says there’s little to be positive about when looking back at the 2012 Super Rugby campaign.
The Super Rugby play-off rounds painted an entertaining picture. The Chiefs and Sharks surprised many with their runs into the title decider, following semi-final victories over seven-time champions the Crusaders and table-topping Stormers respectively. The New Zealand franchise then powered to their first Super Rugby crown with a 37-6 triumph in front of their cowbell-ringing fans.
However, as a spectator, one was left disappointed after the Hamilton final. We had to witness one team, who enjoyed a week’s break before the final four stage, capitalise on a side that travelled across the Indian Ocean three times in as many weeks.
One may argue that the Chiefs earned this advantage by securing a higher position on the overall standings. But shouldn’t a final be a fair contest? A match which sees the two in-form teams of the tournament battle it out on more equal grounds?
We saw the Crusaders struggle in the same scenario last season, as they traveled from Nelson to Cape Town before losing in Brisbane to the Reds, who had the advantage the Chiefs had this season.
What’s worse is that there’s nothing that can be done to change the current style of the 15-team tournament. Well … not for the next three seasons at least as Sanzar is committed to a broadcasting contract that only expires in 2015.
Tucker believes the current Super Rugby format isn’t successful.
‘Super Rugby has become a money-driven competition, with a strong bias towards to the Australian teams,’ Tucker told keo.co.za. ‘It’s a shame because Super Rugby was such a strong competition, especially when it was still the Super 12. It was strength versus strength every weekend.
‘In the current format, Australia, who have the weakest conference in Super Rugby, are promised at least one team in the play-offs. And their conference winner will be guaranteed home-ground advantage in their play-off game, despite having less log points than some of the other teams placed below them [the Crusaders, Bulls and Sharks had more log points than the Reds this year].
‘This disadvantages the strongest nation in Super Rugby, which was South Africa this season as they had three teams in the top six. We had to see the Bulls and Sharks travel for their play-off matches, which had a negative impact on their momentum. The Sharks did well, but the travel factor caught up to them.’
Tucker also questioned whether the extended tournament schedule was favoured by supporters.
‘Time to time, Sanzar have been raving about increases in ratings for certain matches and at certain stadiums, but I’m sure that the amount of rugby played has had a negative overall impact. Especially when it comes to rugby in South Africa. With the Currie Cup, we could see the Sharks play the Bulls up to five times a year, which is too much.
‘This structure also robs the spectators of major matches. The top teams don’t always face each other, so some fans would have to wait three to four years before a side like the Crusaders or the Chiefs tour to their stadium.’
Injuries were also a major concern during the season. While several players suffered long-term spells on the sidelines midway through the campaign, it was a common sight to see players limping off early during the play-offs. There were nine injury-forced changes before half-time during the knockout rounds, while there were several substitutions made shortly after the second half restart.
While the annual player exodus is already an issue in all three Sanzar nations, the hectic Super Rugby schedule is likely to encourage more players jet off to Japan and Europe. Japan will become an ideal move as players play half the amount of rugby (because of their foreign player restrictions that only allows three international players in the starting line-up) and get paid more.
Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Ryan Kankowski, Wynand Olivier, Jerome Kaino and Sonny Bill Williams have already formed part of this Asian trend, and many more top players could be lost to Super Rugby by the end of 2015. And who could blame them? Test players have to go through Super Rugby, June inbound tours midway through the competition, the Rugby Championship and the end-of-year tour.
‘The current Super Rugby format does not take the players’ welfare into consideration,’ argued Tucker. ‘I think if we had to do a study by the end of 2015, I’m sure we’d notice players’ careers ending far earlier than compared to past studies. It’s quite unfortunate actually – players would actually have to suffer long-term injuries to prolong their careers. A guy like Schalk Burger would have benefitted from the rest he received this year, even though it was because of injury.
‘There is a point that coaches will need to build bigger squads and use better management plans. They’ll need three quality players in every position to survive the campaign. But there’s still no reason for the season to stretch over so many months. The NFL in America has the shortest season of all the top sports, but it’s the richest code in the world.
‘These changes to Super Rugby have been made for the wrong reasons. The powers in charge will need to take all the negative factors into account.’
By Gareth Duncan
297 Comments
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7 Aug 2012, 10:50 am
Enough with the Ross Tucker quotes!
7 Aug 2012, 10:51 am
you see, you will need 3 good players in every position……thats why my bullies are buying everyone.
everyone except dejong.
that rumour is categorically rubbish.
7 Aug 2012, 10:52 am
wonder if the tackler will rubbish this tucker oke?
or is that only Noakes?
tackler is atwat.
7 Aug 2012, 10:53 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-2: Dankie tog!!!
7 Aug 2012, 10:54 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-2: I don’t see 3 reserves in each position working in rugby. Everyone wants to be on the field all the time. Being benched is equivalant to being dropped. That’s the mentality in rugby.
7 Aug 2012, 10:58 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-3:
By the time Old Tickles is finished with Ross,
…………………………………. he will be Dog tucker.
7 Aug 2012, 10:59 am
The playoffs should not be a fair contest. Why have nearly FIVE months of round robin if it does not give you an substantial advantage in the end?
I sure was not “left disappointed as a spectator” after the 2009 final when the Bulls gave the Chiefs a spanking.
7 Aug 2012, 11:01 am
this comp is a failure more for the lack of officiating/judicial competency wrt dealing with nz cheating than it is wrt travel fatigue even though jetlag is worse for sa teams going that way than it is for oz/nz teams coming this way.
7 Aug 2012, 11:01 am
@Beertjie-7: The Chiefs didn’t have to travel across the Indian Ocean three times in three weeks.
7 Aug 2012, 11:02 am
SARU had no cojones to stand up to that pig from Australia(Can’t of his name) and protect their players from player burnout etc.
Now all 3 countires are losing players to big injuries some even career ending ijuries.
The playing stucture is insane and if it continues i can only see more injuries.
SANZAR have to address this soon, increase S15 to S16, team from Argentina, and have 2 groups of 8 teams. Top 4 go through to playoffs and then the bottom 4 get joined to the top 4 of the other group for
the following year and so on.
Current format is dangerous to players!!
7 Aug 2012, 11:08 am
@Gareth-9: 2009 Chiefs had a smilar travel schedule to the Sharks, flying to and fro over the ocean in two weeks. Bulls thrashed them in the final and everything was fine and dandy. Now the shoe is on other foot and we (SA) are not happy. The new format is flawed, but even under the old format is had its issues. Seems like it evened out – for the Chiefs at least.
7 Aug 2012, 11:09 am
Is it Sanzar’s fault that the sharkievarkies ended sixth on the log?
7 Aug 2012, 11:10 am
@Gareth-9: because they won enough games to end no 2 on the log.
7 Aug 2012, 11:12 am
@wait for it, wait for it…-8:
but for a three or so seminal tmo decisions the crusaders would not have been in the playoffs this season.
7 Aug 2012, 11:12 am
Agree with Tucker. Something has to change and have said it here a few times, this format will frighten the players away from our shores to Europe. Where the travel will be less.
Format has to change. Far too much rugby and it is all greed. Not fair on the players bodies that is taking its toll.
7 Aug 2012, 11:13 am
and the bulls would not have had to travel to nz.
7 Aug 2012, 11:14 am
There is nothing wrong with the format. Why should the Sharks or any team that finishes 5 or 6 on the log be given any favour? By definition you shouldnt actually be there, so be grateful for being allowed another chance to make the semi’s and play rugby. This season has been great, lots of upsets and lots determination and fight by teams to make it into the top six.
7 Aug 2012, 11:15 am
@gecko-11:
Chiefs 2009 schedule:
Bulls 61 Chiefs 17 Loftus
Chiefs 14 Hurricanes 10 Hamilton
Chiefs 10 Brumbies 7 Hamilton
Chiefs 16 Hurricanes 8 Hamilton
Stormers 14 Chiefs 28 Newlands
Bulls 33 Chiefs 27 Loftus
Cheetahs 10 Chiefs 28 Kimberley
Chiefs 36 Lions 29 Hamilton
Reds 26 Chiefs 50 Brisbane
Chiefs 63 Blues 34 Hamilton
Highlanders 10 Chiefs 14
Chiefs 31 Western Force 13 Hamilton
Chiefs 15 Sharks 22 Hamilton
Waratahs 11 Chiefs 7 Sydney
Crusaders 19 Chiefs 13 Christchurch
How can you compare?
7 Aug 2012, 11:18 am
@gecko-11:
no the chiefs did not have a similar schedule in 2009.
no top 2 side had the extra week rest.
there was no conference so there was no ozzie side meddling to bugger up the final standings where the sharks had to travel to brisbane even though they had accumulated more points?
nontheless, there should be a neutral venue but Keo has not considered how that would be selected?
if a kiwi side plays a sa side…..an oz venue is still heavily lopsided in favor of the kiwi one. The only almost neutral venue would be perth.
And if an ozzie vs kiwi side……what, all trek to ellis park? nuts?
And an ozzie vs Sa side….all trek to Auckland?
how exactly would one select a neutral venue in superrugby I ask?
7 Aug 2012, 11:22 am
You end sixth you take the pain of crossing the Indian ocean three times.Sorry,but the two best teams don’t end fifth and sixth on the log.Great format that rewards the top two teams.
7 Aug 2012, 11:24 am
I agree! The schedule for the 2011 was also wrong. The only Schedule that works is the one where an SA team wins! In the world cup France was meant to beat the Abs in pool play and Australia was meant to beat Ireland! So unfair!!
In super rugby 2012 the Bulls were meant to beat the Crusaders and the Sharks should of played the Chiefs in the Semi Final. Then have a Stormers and Sharks final! Whats wrong with these people!
In all seriousness Australia have a major advantage. I read a really good article on tv numbers and attendance. Australia lag very far behind. SA should have more teams based on viewers, player pools and attendance. NZ has the talent but not the financial backing to have more teams – crusaders could not even sell out a 16000 stadium for a semi final! The conference system is stupid as it means the comp cant be expanded easily. Needs to be simpler.
7 Aug 2012, 11:27 am
@Sharks were raped by the Chiefs-20: Agree
7 Aug 2012, 11:27 am
@Sasuke-17:
The Whole Tournament is an unnatural aberation.
It can only be fixed by a complete overhaul and shake-down.
To travel 10,000 odd kms, and then play a single game of rugby within days of arriving………………………………….is crazy.
Then to go home, and do the same, is even crazier.
But Wait There Is More…………………………………..Sharkies had to do it all over again.
Can it get any worse……………………………………………Well yes.
I’m told the Sharks have a CC Game this weekend.
A complete farce.
7 Aug 2012, 11:31 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl-19:
Neutral Venue……………………………………………………………Not even worth talking about.
7 Aug 2012, 11:37 am
cane – I guess bigger squads and forced player rest is the only solution, for now!
7 Aug 2012, 11:39 am
@race of tan-10: Players will face burn out or they will all leave. With this format we will start to lose many players to Europe where they don’t need to do this travel.
Format just has to change. Far too much travel and most I don’t think want to play home and way derby games against each other either. Once only in the S15 is enough. Shoud be a top 10 play in 1st division and the bottom 6 or more that it will become play in the 2nd division. That way less travel and also it will be strength against strength.
7 Aug 2012, 11:41 am
i for one am all for putting an end to this farce
but not for reasons of travel alone
7 Aug 2012, 11:42 am
Maybe they should look at a four year cycle:
Y1: Super Rugby the whole year, double round, everything
Y2: Super Rugby: Domestic > 4Nations > Super Rugby: International
Y3 Super Rugby: Domestic > Lions Tour + other Tours > 4Nations
Y4 Shortend Super Rugby > World Cup
7 Aug 2012, 11:42 am
Well one of those trips for the Sharks could have been avoided had the Reds not been promoted to hosting a home semi from 6th place. The other option was for the Sharks to win their home games at the start of the season and not be put in the position where they had to travel back and forth. They dropped their home game to the Chiefs mid season, had they won that the roles may have been reversed. The final option is quit whinging, next year another team will suffer and so on every year until a different format is used.. the only option to avoid this is to win every game or hope for luck of the draw.
7 Aug 2012, 11:45 am
We need to consider other nations also in the revamping of super rugby e.g. Argentina and the Islands
7 Aug 2012, 11:49 am
@wait for it, wait for it…-27:
Go on Bakkies …………………………………………………..make my day.
Go North, young man.
Go North.
7 Aug 2012, 11:51 am
Hold all the playoffs in a different country every year.
Dimples.
7 Aug 2012, 11:53 am
@Sharks were raped by the Chiefs-20:
Your team were rewarded with a brutal fisting at the hands of the sharks.
Woof woof Capo.
7 Aug 2012, 11:55 am
@Sasuke-30:
Now you are talking Sasuke.
Why aren’t you on the SANZAR Board?
An Atlantic Conference of SA and Arg.
A Pacific Conference of NZ, Aus and maybe a team based in Fiji.
Neither Conference meets until Semi’s Finals.
End Off………………………………………..Period.
Now how hard was that Sas.
Get elected.
7 Aug 2012, 11:57 am
There is way, way too much rugby…of all forms, not just Super 15. That along with other factors is really starting to devalue the sport. For a kick off:
- 11 months of rugby doesn’t afford players any time for proper conditioning. You don’t always notice this because *all* players are being impacted by having no proper off-season.
- That we are even debating the Lions participation in S15 shows how far things have slid. Just look at the absolute shambles one of our premier unions is in.
- Refs / officials have an impossible job and are making mistakes. They didn’t impact the outcome on Saturday, but if this is supposed to be the pinnacle of the game, we shouldn’t have blatant mistakes that lead to tries. Why can’t coaches challenge x decisions / half? Or the captain? It’s a farce. Either the touch judges need more power, or we need video review.
- Last 5 minutes of a game has degenerated into an unwatchable mess of pick-and-goes to preserve possession for the team in the lead. Who wants to watch this?
7 Aug 2012, 11:57 am
@Beertjie-28:
Y1: cc (premier div, 1st div), vodacom cup, varsity cup, sevens: everything
Y2: cc (premier div, 1st div) > 4Nations > Internationals
Y3 cc > Lions Tour > internationals
Y4: cc, vc, sevens, varsity cup > World Cup
7 Aug 2012, 11:58 am
@wait for it, wait for it…-27:
Its cos you hate losing, end off.
Crusaders were the team you hated and now its the Chiefs…… dont you think thats a bit strange?
Look out if you head north, there are teams like leicester and munster….you know Bok eaters.
Those teams cheat as well if they win.
7 Aug 2012, 12:05 pm
@cane-23: It is a total farce Cane. Too much rugby right now and really it is over kill of a sport we all love.
7 Aug 2012, 12:06 pm
I would rather have a two tier competition – a super 12 plus a not so super 9. Each conference (SA + Arg, Aus + Fiji, NZ + Samoa) has 4 teams in the super competition, and the rest play in the lower tier. For a start have the top 4 teams of the current conferences qualify for the super league, and then have a promotion-relegation system to allow the lower conference winners to have a chance to move up.
7 Aug 2012, 12:07 pm
@cane-31:
we wont go north, caner.
will just establish the worlds preeminent rugby competition here in sa.
and will fund it with the money supersort gives to newskorp, plus sponsorships.
see your pie survive once newskorp ‘revalues’ the worth of paying for broadcasting rugby to a 23 million market in which rugby is not even remotely the most popular sport (except in that one small ozzie province).
and then there’s the bonus of your ‘gratuitous’ gate takings from overflowing stadiums…. ja… will be fun to watch indeed…
7 Aug 2012, 12:09 pm
@Puma-38:
Makes you wonder how NHL plays 82 games a season not including playoff etc.
7 Aug 2012, 12:10 pm
Why did this not come up last year when the homeless saders had to travel the world? Is it because they were not moered black and blue in the final.
As usual Keo and his thick minions are way too late with the story.
7 Aug 2012, 12:11 pm
@Hurricane-37: Huh? Whoever said they hated the Crusaders and/or the Chiefs?
7 Aug 2012, 12:11 pm
@wait for it, wait for it…-36:
Money is the problem Bakkies. Money.
The Sanzar member Nations are basically funded by the S15 and the now Rugby Championship.
EOY Tours, I think, generate nothing or very little.
7 Aug 2012, 12:13 pm
@Sasuke-17: I really don’t think it is just about the play offs and where you finish. The whole format should change. Why must we play against each other twice in our conference? Why not once. Also we should be playing every team in the S15 once not missing one from Oz and Nz conference. Players bodies just can’t keep going on and on. They will look somewhere else to play their rugby if this is the amount they have to play every year.
There should be a 1st division and 2nd division in S15 that will probably grow to S16. Far too much rugby is being played and it has become over kill. Players will tire of this super long schedule they have to play and then to top it off some have to play CC or head straight into Test rugby. Then there was Winter Test Tour. Still eoyt too. Far to much rugby. Some where it has to be made shorter.
7 Aug 2012, 12:15 pm
@RL-42: Agreed. But I do feel they should just have the normal top 4 and not a ‘top 6′ system. Conferences should also just determine the top team from the country, and not influence the standing in the combined log.
7 Aug 2012, 12:15 pm
@Bouts-43:
The person i was replying to.
7 Aug 2012, 12:15 pm
@Bokhoring-39: Base the Argy team in SA (as the current Vodacom one is), the Fijian teams in Aus and the Samoan ones in NZ. Work out a decent deal so that these unions benefit financially
7 Aug 2012, 12:16 pm
@Hurricane-37:
they both cheat, its pretty obvious.
i dont hate them
but i do despise their ways… and perhaps them, a little.
7 Aug 2012, 12:18 pm
@wait for it, wait for it…-40:
Yeah Right.
Like the CC is worth US$250,000,000 in broadcasting rights.
What makes the S15 so marketable, is it’s International flavour.
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