Four big picture questions
01 CAN THE WAR STILL BE WON?
Let’s face it, Sanzaar has just about killed Super Rugby. It took a good competition, added a few teams, stuck some crazy bits on it here and there, made up some strange format and all the time thought the fans would just keep coming.
But alas no. It all fell apart because it lost the essence of what it was and instead of being the best playing the best, it became a bloated mess where the bad far outweighed the good.
Fans have left in their droves – both in stadium attendance and TV viewing figures.
Trust has been broken, faith in the product has all but gone and now Sanzaar faces a nervous time to see if a reversion to 15 teams and a three conference format can rekindle the love.
They have a lot of ground to make up because frankly too many people have lost interest and will struggle to believe they are watching a credible and authentic competition which pits the best against the best.
02 SERIOUS SUNWOLVES
The Sunwolves have been a bit of a shambles since they entered the competition in 2016. They haven’t been well organised and have given the impression that they only half want to be in Super Rugby.
But that can’t carry on. They have been put on notice by the Sanzaar partners who have made it clear that the Sunwolves need to treat the opportunity as a privilege and respect it.
Everyone wants to see the Sunwolves improve their squad, their promotion of the tournament and their hunger to be involved.
The arrival of Jamie Joseph as head coach and the new set up, which will effectively see the Sunwolves become Japan in disguise, should help, but the bigger question is whether Sanzaar really has the balls to kick the Sunwolves out if they don’t sharpen their act.
The next World Cup is in Japan and the opportunities there are extensive so it would be a huge call to come out of Asia when everyone else is trying to get in.
03 TIE ME KANGAROO DOWN SPORT
Goodness only knows the situation in Australia has to get better. It surely can’t get any worse? The Australian sides, now chopped back to four, have no excuses.
They have to win a game against New Zealand opposition in 2018 or it will be frankly ridiculous. But can the Australian sides really turn things around to the point where they are challenging the best sides?
Will an Australian club push for the highest honour? Can crowds be hauled back? Can new players be found at the junior level on the back of a more inspiring Super Rugby landscape?
04 LOCAL CARNAGE
In the last two years the New Zealand sides have managed to overcome the fact that they play against each other as much as they do. Will they be able to do so in 2018 when they have to all play each other twice?
It would seem a solid prediction that they will take points off each other more so this year than last. What may happen then is that the Kiwi teams don’t progress as far up the table as they perhaps should because they have such a tough schedule.
Come the playoffs we may still see teams from South Africa and Australia with more competition points – because they have been able to secure so many more in their respective softer pools.