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Thread: South Africa threatens to quit Super 14

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    South Africa threatens to quit Super 14

    South Africa threatens to quit Super 14






    Wayne Smith, Rugby union editor | February 17, 2009


    Article from: The Australian

    AUSTRALIA would be well advised to make contingency plans for a trans-Tasman competition also involving Japan to cover the shock withdrawal of South African teams from the Super 14.

    The upper echelons of Australia and New Zealand rugby are buzzing with the rumour that South Africa is negotiating to take its five teams - the Bulls, Stormers, Sharks, Cheetahs and Lions - out of the southern hemisphere competition once the SANZAR broadcast agreement expires next year and put them into the Magners League.

    Former South African Rugby managing director Rian Oberholzer, the man rumoured to be negotiating with the Magners League - the old Celtic League involving 10 major provincial teams from Ireland, Wales and Scotland - told The Australian yesterday he had no involvement in such a scheme.

    But even if that is true, there would be little comfort in his denial for Australia and New Zealand. It was Oberholzer who helped negotiate South Africa's entry into an expanded Celtic League contest called the Rainbow Cup back in 2005, the year the SANZAR broadcast deal was signed.

    Australia and New Zealand were kept in the dark about those negotiations, eventually forcing former South African Rugby president Brian van Rooyen to confirm the rumours over the board table at a SANZAR summit.

    The Rainbow Cup fell over without a ball ever being kicked as a result of financial difficulties at the European end, but ever since the two trans-Tasman neighbours have been bracing themselves for another attempt by South Africa to gatecrash the Magners League, the only provincial-based series among the major European competitions.

    Certainly they have been on full alert in recent months with the clock ticking down to the June 30 deadline when SANZAR must present its proposal for an ongoing southern hemisphere competition to its major broadcast partner, News Corporation, publisher of The Australian.

    Every time a broadcast deal draws near, South Africa turns up the volume on its ongoing complaint about how its teams are disadvantaged by all the extra travelling they are forced to do in the Super 14.

    There still would be some long flights involved in getting to Britain but at least they would still be in the same time zone. And of course that's the bottom line. Same time zone means larger television audiences back in South Africa and that converts to more money. The rugby wouldn't be as good but the bottom line would be a whole lot healthier.

    Interestingly, there is no talk whatever of South Africa withdrawing from the Tri-Nations, recognising that SANZAR members have won every World Cup except in 2003. So it would seem that whoever is running South African rugby at the moment - and no one in this part of the world is entirely sure who that is because there seem to be two factions vying for supremacy - isn't entirely driven by money.
    At the moment it is understood all of Australia's energies are being channelled into an expanded 15-team competition to be played out on the "Cadbury" model of a round-and-a-half of full-cream rugby.

    Should the grim economic climate make that unworkable - and SANZAR must be kicking itself that this broadcast deal wasn't scheduled for renegotiation last year - then the plan is to stick with the status quo of a Super 14.

    But it would be madness for Australia and New Zealand not to at least prepare a worst-case scenario plan that takes into account South Africa's withdrawal from Super 14. The most likely replacement would be a trans-Tasman competition also involving Japan.

    From a pure rugby perspective it would make sense to also bring in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa and even Argentina but in hard economic times, that's not likely to happen.
    It goes without saying that any proposal not involving South Africa is going to take a massive dollar hit from the broadcasters. But, ironically, Australia might actually do better out of such a deal than it does from an "all systems go" Super 15. South Africa gobbles up around $8 million of SANZAR's annual $11 million transport and accommodation budget.

    What's more, although the three SANZAR partners share an equal one-third of costs, Australia is allocated only a quarter of the income. South Africa, which also diverts 95 per cent of SuperSport's television money flow to the sport directly into its own coffers, takes the lion's share of the SANZAR spoils. And rumour has it that it wants more, a 45 per cent cut of the pie.

    So there might very well be an element of "good riddance" if South Africa does decide to redirect its Lions, Cheetahs, Bulls, Sharks and Stormers elsewhere.
    One thing is certain. There will be some fairly blunt exchanges at the next SANZAR board meeting in Dubai on March 4.


    http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html

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    Senior Player waratahjesus's Avatar
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    i cant believe south africa get 8 million out of the 11 allocated and the force get only part of that! its a disgrace!

    this is dribble, they bring this up every year!

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    I cant see how Fiji, Somoa and Tonga will have the cash to attract there stars back from Europe to play in a new Super Competition. The other issue is TV broadcasting infrastructure needed to broadcast home games.

    The likelyhood would have to be a combined Islander team plus 2 or 3 Teams from Japan and perhaps one from USA possibly based on the West Coast or much friendlier time zone: Hawaii.

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    Immortal jargan83's Avatar
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    looks like this is just a tactic to drive up the price or their share of whatever cut they get out of the TV rights

    We have seen it in the past, players from Rugby League driving up their price by saying "I've always wanted to try Rugby Union blah blah blah". The saffers are bluffing as well

    Play hardball with the Proteas, they bring nothing to the table, let them go and play in the Rainbow Cup if they want. Could be an excuse to scrap the AirNZ cup and come up with a longer Trans-Tasman competition similar to the competition recently started in Netball?

    Didn't the Saffers start crying blue murder last year when it was revealed that Australia and NZ might do that and leave the saffers to themselves anyway?

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    Last edited by jargan83; 17-02-09 at 10:23.

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    Quote Originally Posted by waratahjesus View Post
    i cant believe south africa get 8 million out of the 11 allocated and the force get only part of that! its a disgrace!

    this is dribble, they bring this up every year!
    Yepp...every away match is a long leg trip for the Force players...they must get pretty board of that business...

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    Bloody Zaffas!!!

    They are destroying their sports, thats all there is to!!

    If they are going to act like they are now what is going to stop them bullying other competitions once they are accepted in? This is definitely not a good thing for Super 14 but damn if they don't want to be part of an expanded competition, which would mean more money for their teams and the cities they play in then stuff them, seriously we don't need them! Make it Super 10, with home and away rounds if need be I am up for a trans-tasman competition!

    I am really sick of RSA sporting hierachy trying to bully around the rest of the world. It makes me sick, they aren't the bees bloody knees just because they won the RWC!!!

    We really don't need them, if they don't want to be part of it well fine I say!!!

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    I vote - GIVE US A RECTANGLE STADIUM!!!!!!

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    Champion MI5_Dog's Avatar
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    how is the level of competition in the magners league compared to super 14?

    if and only if it's a 'lower' level of competition then wouldn't SA rugby suffer? Wouldn't they then be likely to be less likely to win internationals?

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    Afrikaans trying to get back to Europe... Let them go... they pull this leaving the table rubbish every time SANZAR sits down to discuss the S14 rugby future... The European comps don't want them...

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    Player unipirate's Avatar
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    Look it would be a shame if they left, but I don't think the competition needs them if they are going to act in this way.

    We could easily go back to Super 10, trans-tasman, competition with 5 teams in Australia and 5 teams in NZ. Damn we could almost get away with a S12 I bet with 6 from each!! Also change it to a home and away format and you already have more games than you do now and then the players don't have to fly as far as RSA, which would be better for them!!

    There is no point in having a partner if all they are going to do is bitch and moan and threaten you with leaving! Damn if was a (male-female sorry shouldn't be right wing here) human-human relationship I think it would have broken down long ago!!!

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    Last edited by unipirate; 17-02-09 at 09:08. Reason: don't want to leave anyone out in the comparison
    I vote - GIVE US A RECTANGLE STADIUM!!!!!!

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    Senior Player tic's Avatar
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    Answer - 2 teams from Japan, 1 combined Pacific nations and 2 from Argentina.

    Solved.

    Fuck off Yarpies - getting a bit sick and tired of their threats.

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    Player unipirate's Avatar
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    Will the Argies have enough talent for 2 teams??? Or should I say will they have enough money to get players back from Europe for 2 teams?

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    I vote - GIVE US A RECTANGLE STADIUM!!!!!!

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    (formerly known as Coach) Your Humble Servant Darren's Avatar
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    I guess the Argies could make being available for selection in such teams a requirement if they want to play for their country... ?

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    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
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    Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out!

    Pacrim 15 anyone?
    5 NZ
    5 OZ
    1 Argentina
    1 Japan
    2 Pacific Islands (East/West or Notrh/South depending upon which is culturally the best fit)
    1 US (LA or Hawaii)

    Sell it to TV stations in all areas, funding goes to the teams to cover travel/Salaries etc with the richer countries (OZ, US, NZ and Japan) taking a smaller cut of the pie.

    EASY!

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    C'mon the

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    Veteran beige's Avatar
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    I wouldn't be unhappy to see them go.

    The only proviso on that one is to do with the News Corp money, which I'm guessing would be the big issue with doing it. The TV rights would necessarily drop of course but as long Australia and New Zealand's share of the money doesn't suffer then it's not a problem.

    So it kind of depends on whether News Corp perceives any further drop in value from getting rid of the South African franchises.

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    Quote Originally Posted by MI5_Dog View Post
    how is the level of competition in the magners league compared to super 14?

    if and only if it's a 'lower' level of competition then wouldn't SA rugby suffer? Wouldn't they then be likely to be less likely to win internationals?
    I wouldn't call it a 'lower level' comp. Teams like Munster, Leinster, Blues and the Ospreys would be good matches for the 'better' SA teams. Any team can have it's colours lowered at an away game and all the Ulster fans on here would get to see their team travel to the republic. They'd also have to get used to playing in wet weather which would disadvantage them from the outset.

    I guess if their going to play in the Magners league then they'll also be playing in the Heineken Cup comp as well which is the elite rugby tournament in the world.

    It's all good, if it happens let it. Rugby will survive without them in the SH.

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