Sanzaar would do well to remember Titanic

It took a while for the proposal that Mike the Mechanic offered to filter through to the usual gathering, but then with most of the suggestions he tends to make, it is more than likely that most of the gathering did not immediately grasp the concept.

But despite this, it was clear that the Mechanic was not going to be easily fobbed off; when the YES lights up he is revealed as an anarchist at heart.

“I have just gone through the list of next season’s Super Rugby fixtures,” he said, “and if the organisers have tried to jazz up the format, I don’t think they have done much other than rearrange the deckchairs on the Titanic.

“They have bulleted the Chee- tahs, the Kings and the Western Force, yet they have kept the Jaguares and openly admit that the Sunwolves will have to jack up their performances.

“How, I ask you, does including Argentina and Japan in the mix improve things? Neither of these combinations have really set the competition alight. To my mind all they have really achieved is to broaden a potential television window and turned travelling into a nightmare.”

It was at this juncture that where the Mechanic was heading was an area of deep water where Sanzaar, who have been hit hard at the gate and falling TV viewership over the past couple of seasons, have clearly been reluctant to dangle their toes.

The Mechanic though had the bit between his teeth.

“With the bulk of the top players headed off to the Bok squad or to overseas contracts at the end of the Super Rugby season, it has reduced the Currie Cup to a meaningless series of meetings between sides made up of players largely without the experience or potential to rise above the level they are at.

“It certainly does nothing to close the gap on the All Blacks at international level. At the heart of it all lies the demands placed on all the unions by Super Rugby.

“Just think for a moment about how the Lions start their Super Rugby season. They have six matches in South Africa before leaving for Australia and New Zealand where they play twice in both countries. My thinking is that far from being a good draw for the Lions, staying at home for yet another round of games before the really tough stuff kicks in.

“There are 120 regular season games with each side playing eight home and eight away. That I suppose is fair enough, but there is still the eight-team play-offs and the conference system which gives the top sides in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa automatic entry into the knockout series with the venue decided by who has the most points.

“Surely, it would be better to drop this entirely, take the best eight sides on the overall standings and rotate the venue for the knockouts in one central venue which would rotate from country to country. You would have a mini-World Cup every year. The best side winning would certainly be better for rugby as a whole.”

In some ways it all seemed to make some sense. But it is never going to fly, just the way Sanzaar are unlikely, in the light of recent history, to try anything revolutionary ... especially not from an anarchist.