Restore integrity in Super Rugby
cohesion or coherent rugby structure underpinning what we were trying to achieve for Super Rugby.
“It’s very much a work in progress. I am actively involved in the Sunwolves and their structure. They have certainly improved from 2016 to 2017 and 2018 in terms of their performance.
You want to know everybody has played everyone and they’ve all had a similar path to get to the finals so that the finals series has integrity. Sanzaar boss Andy Marinos
“We’ve got to look at it from a longterm perspective in how do we get their national team competing on a more frequent basis in a more competitive manner.
“Is having one team in Super Rugby the best vehicle or is it working with the Japan Rugby Union in adding to the Super Rugby team a proper professional domestic competition structure? This is all part of an ongoing conversation.”
Competing tension from Japan’s long-established and successful Top League, which attracts global stars, created conflict from the start but Sanzaar pushed ahead anyway.
“It’s also about being able to get the mix right so you get enough Japanese players playing week in, week out rather than putting a lot of foreigners in there and getting the results you need in a Super Rugby context but it is not really growing the national game.
“The coaches there will attest to that. As much as it has been fantastic and a lot of those Japanese players have stepped up internationally, we need to see them pushing into the top half of the World Rugby rankings.
“They certainly have the player base to get there if they get a more professional domestic competition underpinning their high performance programme.”
Ditching Super Rugby’s muchmaligned conference format looks certain.
Sanzaar is always a complex beast but the respective union bosses seem to believe the best way to eliminate so many scheduling injustices is to revert to a modified round-robin.
That would, however, mean fewer Kiwi derbies.
“Everyone who speaks to me, they just need something that is simple and easy to understand. When we get to the business end of the season, you want to know everybody has played everyone and they’ve all had a similar path to get to the finals so that the finals series has integrity.
“How do we increase the competitiveness and how do we get the integrity back? Certainly a roundrobin format would deliver that.”
On that basis, 15 teams become 14 and the Sunwolves get the chop? Not necessarily, says Marinos. The imminent shift in the test window from June to July will offer a larger window but, even then, to accommodate desired change, the competition would have to start earlier.
“That’s part of the process the national unions and ourselves are going through. There are a number of anomalies on the table and that is why it’s not a straightforward decision,” he said.
As for ongoing concerns around South Africa’s four remaining teams shifting north, Marinos swiftly swats aside discontent from his homeland.
“Yes, they’ve gone into the Pro14 but quite honestly they weren’t given much option with having to take two teams out of the structure. Their commitment to Super Rugby until such time as they tell us otherwise is steadfast.
“I am not convinced all South African teams playing in the Pro14 is going to give the players the same week in, week out competitiveness as they’ve been used to.
“The challenges Super Rugby gives you, it prepares the players so much better for international competition because test rugby is not always about playing home games.”