Reducing mess of Super semis
A desire to limit the logistical carnage is the reason for Sanzaar’s change in semifinal format for this year’s Super Rugby competition.
It may have gone largely unnoticed, but in the off-season there was a slight tweaking of the playoffs structure for this year, which will clean up teams’ hypothetical travel bookings, but also, through the rule of unintended consequence, throw up some vagaries in terms of matchups.
Since Super Rugby moved to a conference system and three-week playoffs, in 2011, the semifinals format has always been that the top-ranked quarterfinal winner hosts the lowest-ranked winner, and the second-highest ranked winner hosts the second-lowest ranked winner.
But this year Sanzaar have moved to a predetermined system for the semis - like a tournament format where you have two sides of the draw. It will see the winner of 1 v 8 play the winner of 4 v 5, while the winner of 2 v 7 will face the winner of 3 v 6 (with hosting rights still going to the higher seed).
Sanzaar media and communications manager Greg Thomas said a review of the finals after last season brought about the change, with a unanimous decision coming after consultation with teams and national unions.
‘‘It was agreed it’d be much easier to have a predetermined semifinal draw, just like you do in other tournaments, like Rugby World Cup,’’ Thomas said.
‘‘The problem we had was in terms of scheduling, transport, getting teams on planes, it was a complete and utter nightmare. If you went down to the last quarterfinal you’d have teams still not knowing where they were travelling to, on the Sunday.
‘‘If teams know where they’re going, who they’re playing - one, mentally, and secondly, for travel, it helps. The older system got to a point where teams were having to fly to Sydney for a night, stay there and then go to South Africa, it was all pretty messy. But this predetermined system does make it a bit easier.
‘‘It gives you a bit more certainty, and to be honest, gives us [more too], in terms of operational planning for accommodation and flights. It’s still pretty tricky, but it does help us.
‘‘We can’t hold hundreds of seats on airlines, because the airlines get very very anxious about it all, and if we do hold seats and don’t use them you have to pay for them. That’s another part in all of this.’’
As with the old system, under the new format only the top two seeds for the quarterfinals have one possible destination for their semifinals - their home ground but for the rest of the teams there is some respite.
The new structure means teams seeded third to eighth all have just two possible semifinal destinations, whereas the old system had two options for the third seed, three options for the fifth seed and four options for teams seeded fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth. It took in multiple countries and various corners of the globe.
But while the adjustment will make organising travel somewhat easier, it does mean that the higher-seeded teams won’t get quite the advantages they used to enjoy, if, as expected, New Zealand sides continue to dominate.
While nothing would change if all top four seeded teams won their quarterfinals - it’d be 1 v 4 and 2 v 3 - it’s unlikely to pan out that way, such is the structure where conference winners are seeded higher than teams with better records.
Like last year, three Kiwi heavyweights will fall outside the top four. The Chiefs, Hurricanes and Highlanders are, on form, likely to finish seeded fifth, sixth and seventh, in that order,.
On form, the Crusaders would finish as overall top seed and progress from a likely quarterfinal against the Sharks. Going on last year’s format, and the Kiwi teams winning through, the Crusaders would host seventh (lowest-ranked winner), which would be the Highlanders, however, under this year’s predetermined system they would host fifth place (the Chiefs [winner of 4 v 5]) in a semifinal.
That hardly seems fair for either side, considering they have finished first and second in the hotly contested New Zealand conference. Then it leaves the sixthplaced Hurricanes with the luxury of a home semifinal, against the Highlanders, despite finishing behind the Chiefs.
So there is certainly the potential for somewhat of an uneven playing field - just yet another quirk to Super Rugby’s chaotic format.
‘‘The teams get consulted on all this before the season, they’re all aware of permutations,’’ Thomas said. ‘‘Ultimately, what they all say is ‘Look, to win it we’ve got to play the best and beat whoever on the way anyway’.’’