NZR, Sanzaar finally wake up
It’s amazing how slowly the wheels turn at New Zealand Rugby headquarters and at the Sanzaar office wherever that might be.
Revelations of a feasibility study into a Pacific Islands rugby team joining Super Rugby are shocking – as in: ‘‘What took you so long?’’
Super Rugby has been going since 1995 and there have been continual calls for island involvement, so this is long overdue.
The real shock in the latest development is that it is funded by New Zealand taxpayer money.
Where’s the value in that and why can’t the sport support its own tardy endeavours here?
It seems a government body is going to finally tell rugby bosses what the sport’s fans have been telling them all along – look after your island neighbours, include them in competitions happening in their backyard and benefits will flow.
There’s so much moral sense in this decision it’s incredible that the powers that be have been blind to it for more than 20 years.
As always, they will point to the financials and explain that’s why bigger markets like Asia and the United States have been investigated for expansion.
But everyone knows a rugby team of islander stock would be far more competitive than anything thrown up by the countries that border the Pacific to the east and west.
And right now Super Rugby needs better competition. Australia aren’t providing that and even the South African teams struggle for consistency.
New Zealand Rugby likes to see itself as something of a Godfather to the sport in this region, and the success of the All Blacks and Kiwi dominance in Super Rugby give it credibility and clout.
But look at the All Blacks and look at the five New Zealand franchises and it’s not hard to see that there’s an almost embarrassing island flavour to the local scene.
The trouble is, there’s an increasing island flavour to rugby teams beyond just here.
Australia, well aware of the New Zealand strategy, are increasingly tapping into this talent, while European and Japanese club teams continue to flaunt their chequebooks to the detriment of the national teams from Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.
Something needs to be done to give island players a reason to stay at home and play where they belong.
A conglomerate Pacific Islands Super Rugby franchise would be an ideal starting point.
It’s insulting that Argentina and Japan have already been included in Super Rugby and are slowly but surely showing the benefits of that performancewise.
Island rugby is far more deserving. But the wheels of change turn slowly.