IN CASE YOU WERE ASLEEP cont...

Here we are weeks on and the picture is as murky now as it was when they headed to London. Best anyone can tell is that there is some vague agreement that Australia will cut one team for next year and South Africa two. But it is a vague agreement because neither union seems overly committed to the idea. Here’s what we think – the competition next year will feature 18 teams. That won’t, however, stop the clever men in suits from patting themselves on the back and saying how great that it is. Even though they have already said Super Rugby is a bit crap, by next year they will have some new analytics to make a bold new claim that it is not so crap a er all. No doubt the claim will involve the word engagement and something to do with social media. While we will all be thinking the Sunwolves are just one giant tragedy of a club with no reason whatsoever to be involved, Sanzar will say something about eyeballs, awareness and growth. Just wait, you will be spoon-fed a cold cup of sick and told that it is not a cold cup of sick. The suits will carry on eating glorious lunches and treating fans and players with disdain and justify it all on the basis that equally dumb TV executives were prepared to pay way over the odds to film it all. Sorry, we shouldn’t be so cynical. We should have more respect for those men who bravely don’t ever allow women to enter their executive club and fly around the world dedicated to their cause – of killing the game. We should see them as pioneers of a bold vision and understand that vastly complicated competitions the workings of which need to be explained to the audience are always hugely successful. We should see that Australia needed five teams to house their enormous treasure trove of players. We should salute South Africa for stemming their player exodus – of ensuring that only half of their best players are now in Europe or Japan. And finally we should celebrate the fact that New Zealand teams have to batter each other senseless for one playo place while the Lions only have to beat the Kings and Sunwolves. It all makes sense. We apologise for our earlier stupidity.