Kings set to put on their Sunday best

Marinos upbeat Super Rugby will hit new heights

FOR the first time this year the Southern Kings will be playing Super Rugby on a Sunday in South Africa in a spiced up fixture list.

This is one of a number of innovations for the new season which is designed to attract bigger crowds to the global tournament.

The latest fixture list has the Kings down to play the Lions in Johannesburg in a “Super Sunday” fixture on May 28 at 2.30pm.

It is not surprising that rugby bosses are experimenting with Sundays because soccer and cricket have found Sundays to be good days to attract crowds.

The Kings start the season with a home match against the Jaguares at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

Just days before the new tournament kicks off, Super Rugby chief executive Andy Marinos said Super Rugby attracted a global audience far in excess of European competitions.

Marinos also rejects claims that Super Rugby is in a downward spiral.

Last year, points scored per match increased from 45.3 to 52, while tries were up from 5.1 to 6.4 a match.

Marinos is also trumpeting a global audience he says hit 50 million last year.

“On all of those numbers we are up on any other rugby competition in the world, and from a viewership perspective by some order of magnitude we dwarf what the other competitions are generating.

“I still believe it is the premium competition.”

The defending champions, the Wellington-based Hurricanes, will start their programme in Tokyo against the Sunwolves.

The South African Conference winners this year, the Lions and Stormers, will play the Free State-based Cheetahs and Pretoria’s Bulls respectively.

It will be the second season for the 17round, four-conference tournament structure that sees each team play 15 matches and have two byes.

As this year, each team will play six matches in its own conference and nine matches against other conference teams.

Next year’s June Test window and in particular the British and Irish Lions series in New Zealand has an impact on the match schedule.

Fixtures in early June and July are scheduled around the various June Tests and the matches between the British and Irish Lions and the five New Zealand Super Rugby teams.

“The new season is set to be another enthralling, action-packed one as we enter the second year of the 18-team conference-style tournament,” said Marinos.

“The tournament saw some fantastic rugby last year and we look forward in particular to the continued development of the new franchises that added exciting new territories and colour to the tournament.

“The schedule will see four Sunwolves matches played in Tokyo and three matches in Singapore, while eight matches will be hosted by the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.

“Both these teams made their Super Rugby debuts in 2016, with the Kings from South Africa returning after their brief spell in 2013,” said Marinos.

“It is anticipated that all three teams will be better for the experience of 2016 as we look forward to seeing their continued improvement.

“Super Rugby continues to be the toughest rugby tournament in the world given the high level, week-to-week competition and the travelling that is undertaken.

“We enjoyed a global audience of just over 50 million viewers for the 20th edition of Super Rugby with just over two million fans attending the matches,” said Marinos.