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Thread: Super rugby faces big shake-up

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    Legend Contributor Flamethrower's Avatar
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    Super rugby faces big shake-up

    Super rugby faces big shake-up
    By JIM KAYES - The Dominion Post | Wednesday, 30 April 2008
    Super rugby faces big shake-up - New Zealand's source for sport, rugby, cricket & league news on Stuff.co.nz


    New Zealand's five Super rugby teams may change when a revamped competition is presented to broadcaster News Ltd as early as September.

    An overhaul of the tired Tri Nations is also on the cards as Sanzar - the South Africa, Australia and New Zealand unions - looks to reverse the dive in interest in its two key competitions.

    The New Zealand Rugby Union's general manager of professional rugby, Neil Sorensen, said yesterday the five New Zealand franchises could be redrawn in the revamp.

    "We would be loathe to give up one of the franchises because it would be very hard to get one back, but that's not to say they will look the same as they do now.

    "The New Zealand franchises could change."

    It has happened before with North Harbour shifting from the Chiefs to the Blues while Thames Valley went the other way, but a more radical and wider revision of the boundaries was now possible.

    It might mean the end of the Highlanders with another team produced in Auckland, as Sorensen admitted anything was possible.

    "There are plenty of options and we are very open-minded on this," he said.

    However, he says the NZRU has a participation agreement with its five franchises for the duration of the existing broadcasting deal, which ends after the 2010 Super 14.

    Sanzar wants a new competition in place that year, and as the NZRU employs the players and coaches, it also calls the shots.

    Sorensen said the Tri Nations was also likely to change, with more teams a possibility provided it could be worked into the IRB test schedule.

    The extra round added to the competition in 2006 has failed to excite Kiwi fans, with the tests against South Africa not always selling out.

    This year the Bledisloe Cup will also test appetites as it will be played over four tests with the final match in Hong Kong - four months after the first one.

    Sorensen conceded the extra Tri Nations games had not won favour in New Zealand.

    However, he said the competition provided nearly 60 per cent of the money from News Ltd. The Super 14 made up about 30 per cent of the deal, with the Air New Zealand Cup about 12 per cent.

    "What the broadcasters pay for is the Tri Nations," Sorensen said.

    "It's our most lucrative product. It's struggling a bit in New Zealand, but it's still a very valuable product for us.

    "(However), people are looking for a change and we have the OK from the broadcasters to approach them with a different product."

    That was not scheduled to happen until June next year, but Sorensen said Sanzar officials, who are meeting in Dublin this week while there for an IRB meeting, could have something decided by September.

    The new competitions could be in place by 2010 - a year earlier than scheduled.

    "If you had time and the buy-in by all three parties you would do it sooner but I don't think, logistically, it's do-able," Sorensen said.

    "We certainly have the buy-in from the broadcasters, who are as keen as anyone to refresh the product (and) the general mood from all commentators on the game is that it needs to change.

    "Contractually, we need to have something on the table for News Ltd by June of next year, but we would be looking to have something earlier than that.

    We will have to have a pretty good feel by September of how Super rugby will look - and there are no real boundaries on how it might look."

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    Immortal Contributor The InnFORCEr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Flamethrower View Post

    It might mean the end of the Highlanders with another team produced in Auckland, as Sorensen admitted anything was possible.
    As we learnt on tour in NZ, not even the Aucklanders like the Blues, especially up North Harbour way, maybe they do need another team up there, but I don't like seeing the Highlanders missing out, I mean they are just about to rebuild The House of Shame for RWC 2011, doesn't make any sense to me

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    Veteran BLR's Avatar
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    If they take out the Highlanders I'm rioting sooooo hard!

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    Senior Player Contributor WF2006's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Flamethrower View Post
    Super rugby faces big shake-up

    However, he said the competition provided nearly 60 per cent of the money from News Ltd. The Super 14 made up about 30 per cent of the deal, with the Air New Zealand Cup about 12 per cent.
    Seems bizarre - I wonder what the Australian figures are?
    You would have thought that S14 would make up more of the revenue in Oz as the Tri nations are on free to air (and not ALWAYS delayed - I think?)

    Maybe Tri nations are only on FoxTel in NZ??

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    Champion Contributor Seldom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WF2006 View Post
    Seems bizarre - I wonder what the Australian figures are?
    You would have thought that S14 would make up more of the revenue in Oz as the Tri nations are on free to air (and not ALWAYS delayed - I think?)

    Maybe Tri nations are only on FoxTel in NZ??
    Live every game the AB's play and delayed the other ones. Unlike here you only see the Wallbies on free to air and nothing else.

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    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
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    for return to the sport, there's very little difference between FTA buying the rights and Pay TV buying the rights, they still pay for the priviledge. It just means that in NZ the FTA providers think there's enough in the ratings to justify the spend to their advertisers!

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    C'mon the

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    Veteran BLR's Avatar
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    Pac Rim nations may be in Super plans
    May 2, 2008 - 10:52AM

    Sanzar officials will explore the possibility of involving the Pacific Islands, Argentina, Japan, the United States and Canada in Super rugby.

    They have scheduled meetings around the Super 14 playoffs and Tri-Nations and others in Wellington and Samoa over the next few weeks and hope to have concrete options for expansion of the competitions in the next six months.

    The about face from Sanzar, an rugby alliance of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, comes as the threat from northern hemisphere clubs increases.

    New Zealand have recently lost some leading players to European clubs who are now attracting younger players and All Blacks with offers that cannot be matched by the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU).

    Sanzar, particularly New Zealand, had been ignoring calls from such countries such as Samoa, Fiji and Argentina to be included in the Super 14.

    "We are sort of recognising publicly if you like that Sanzar's got some work to do to ensure that its competitions are the best in the world," NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said.

    Tew is attending an International Rugby Board meeting in Dublin where Sanzar officials also met.

    "We're identifying the fact that the rugby economy here (northern hemisphere) is posing a real serious threat to what's happening to our countries.

    "We've made a very strong commitment to work together on a very tight timeline to come up with some options in future and in that regard we'll be talking face-to-face with the Japanese, the Canadians, the US, the Argentinians and the Pacific Islanders to try to progress throughout the next four to six months.

    All Blacks such as Anton Oliver, Carl Hayman, Doug Howlett and Luke McAlister moved north after last year's World Cup and now players such as Daniel Carter and Nick Evans are being lured with offers they almost cannot refuse.

    Article can be found at: Pac Rim nations may be in Super plans - Rugby Heaven - Breaking News

    Sounds like an interesting plan. 5 teams from SA, 5 from NZ, another team in Melbourne to make it 5 in Australia and maybe 5 'others' would be a good way to do it. And then, of course, several teams from the Pacific Rim...sounds exciting!

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    (a.k.a. Mr Pinkbits) Stone Cold's Avatar
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    Sounds like a lot of teams...

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    coz Stone Cold says so

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    Veteran laura's Avatar
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    I personally am not fond of the idea of including another 6 teams into Super14. It may well make the season longer, but all the travel??
    I like the old-school Super14...what will they call it Super20 I love that Super 14 is between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and I think it should stay that way. If they want more teams, give Melbourne or Tasmania a team.
    I'm all for developing Rugby in other countries like Japan and Canada, especially when it comes to their World Cup teams, but I dont think this is the way to go. Maybe they could have a Northern Hemisphere version just between Pacific Islands, Argentina, Japan, the United States and Canada. The winner of Super14 could then play the winner of that competiton as an exhibition match.
    But please dont change Super14 SANZAR, I love its current format and think that it doesn't need improving....dont try and fix something that is not broken.

    This is only my opinion though so take it as you will.

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    Last edited by laura; 02-05-08 at 17:20. Reason: more stuff

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    Veteran BLR's Avatar
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    Laura, the Super14 is a relatively new concept, you are using the same rhetoric that people have used since the Super brand started. (6 or 8's?) The simple fact is that rugby is better then ever and the thing the extra teams will add will be diversity and I think that is what is sorely lacking at the moment and that's why Super rugby and Tri nations is stagnating....we need these teams I believe to freshen up the Super brand, and it will freshen it up like you wouldn't believe, it will be amazing to go on a Force Argentina tour. And if it was integrated into a relegation system with a second tiered Super tournament then we'd not only have the best level of play in the world we would have the best tournament in the world, putting the Heineken cup to shame....

    Change is needed, and this is a brilliant way to do it...and as for the 'don't fix what isn't broken' sounds like what the NH people say about the ELV's

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    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BLR View Post
    Laura, the Super14 is a relatively new concept, you are using the same rhetoric that people have used since the Super brand started. (6 or 8's?) The simple fact is that rugby is better then ever and the thing the extra teams will add will be diversity and I think that is what is sorely lacking at the moment and that's why Super rugby and Tri nations is stagnating....we need these teams I believe to freshen up the Super brand, and it will freshen it up like you wouldn't believe, it will be amazing to go on a Force Argentina tour. And if it was integrated into a relegation system with a second tiered Super tournament then we'd not only have the best level of play in the world we would have the best tournament in the world, putting the Heineken cup to shame....

    Change is needed, and this is a brilliant way to do it...and as for the 'don't fix what isn't broken' sounds like what the NH people say about the ELV's
    and more importantly, the calls to revamp the tournament is a cash grab....You won't increase the value of the product to sponsors and broadcasters without opening it up to new, or more affluent (possibly both) markets.

    I know some people worry abou tthe PI team's ability to fill a stadium in any of the likely locations...and that might be true, but imagine the TV audience!....Fijiian villages will buy televisions and generators JUST to watch the sevens play!

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    C'mon the

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    Apprentice Haymaker's Avatar
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    Change must happen and fast as Newscorp will pull their Dollars and that has been keeping the Tri Nations on a lifeline as the game has not grown organically.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BLR View Post
    it will be amazing to go on a Force Argentina tour.
    Yeah, I can just picture the equivalent of our schedule this year - we would play three games in SA, one game here, two games in NZ (you'd hope back to back) and then just nip over to South America for a Saturday game against Argentina before flying back to Perth to back up the following Friday. No problem. And the Argies themselves would have three tours, or it would have to be a two week tour in SA and a 5 week tour of NZ/Aus?

    I read somewhere that AFL stats indicate routine travelling to the East Coast knocks an average three years off the careers of Eagles/Dockers players. What would all that travelling do for the S14 boys, and do you really think they wouldn't just piss off to the NH for a bit of peace and quiet as much as the money ("I am playing overseas the next three weekends, darling.", "That's OK, you'll still be home for dinner though, won't you?")

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    Travelling is the least of the probems.

    4 Pools of 5 teams can all be played in one host country and 4 cities to cut the travel at the outset and then the travelling starts

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