Opinion Piece: The Dawn of a New Rugby Era

As the Cheetahs and Kings venture ‘beyond the wall’ in search of rugby glory, we take a look at the spin off effects this could have on the global rugby scene.

Drastic changes are afoot in the rugby world with the Cheetahs and Kings jaunt North set to have a domino affect on the sport as we know it. The success of this year’s expanded Pro 12 – now the Pro 14 – could see SARU break away from SANZAAR and leave the Kiwis and Aussies holding their thumbs to the wind looking to pick up a few hitchhikers to prop up both the Rugby Championship and Super Rugby.

Below we’ll take a look at the reasons for South Africa’s interest in the North Hemisphere’s domestic competitions, why Super Rugby is no longer the mighty product it used to be, and how this year’s Pro 14 will work.

Why the Pro 12 Expansion Could Be the Final Nail in Super Rugby’s Coffin
It’s no secret that rugby fans have become disillusioned with Super Rugby. SANZAAR’s attempts to lure in new markets have backfired spectacularly with seasoned supporters feeling abused by what has become a money hungry regime.

To say us rugby fans have been left with an unsavoury taste in our mouths and been told it’s a serving of a Michelin Star restaurant is putting it lightly. I mean, we’ve expected to consume near on 12 hours of Super Rugby in the space of 24 hours? Come on now.

I understand some punters out there will disagree with me, saying the extra games offer extra opportunities, but I could have a million rand on an Australian Derby and I’d still struggle not to fall asleep.

And how do the brains trust at SANZAAR, plan on stream lining the tournament and appeasing our pleas? Kicking out the Kings and Cheetahs, who are both a hell of a lot more competitive than the Sunwolves.

I understand you need to grow the game. And look, Japan is hosting the next World Cup, and South Africa’s playing pool can only realistically supply four competitive teams. But there are only so many one-sided affairs featuring the SunwoIves that I can stand witnessing in a season – even if I am on the minus. I think we can all agree that it feels like a case of neglect towards die hard rugby fans in South Africa.

Another annoyance for South Africans is the kick-off time of fixtures. I mean who’s getting up at quarter to five on a Saturday morning to watch this stuff? Call me old-fashioned but I like a lay-in after a night out after a night on the town.

This is where the Pro 14 really has the upper-hand. You can happily sleep in until 11 am on a Saturday morning and still have time to pop to the bottle store before the first game in Europe kicks-off. I think this is why the English Premier League – football not rugby – has become such a popular product in the Republic.

Pro 14 Structure
The Pro 14 gets underway on the 1st of September and will see 14 sides side’s slug it out for title honours. The 14 sides will play 21 games each with the tournament split into two conferences. Each conference is divided equally amongst unions with two Welsh sides, two Irish sides, one Scottish side, one South African side, and one Italian side featuring in each.

Each side will play each other at least once with the teams in the same conference locking horns in both home and away fixtures.

A lot of thought – take note SANZAAR – has gone into this format and rugby fans in both the North and South will be relieved to hear that the local derby fixtures will be kept in place with local competitors set to lock horns three times in a season. It’s a bit different for the Irish and Welsh sides due to them having an extra team in the tournament. Sides from these nations will play their local conference rivals home and away but will only play their local rivals in the other conference, once.

The 21 game split means that not all sides will play the same amount of games at home with certain teams playing 11 games at home and 10 games away this season. This will switch around next year with the sides who played the extra away fixture during the 2017/18 campaign enjoying an extra home fixture the following season.

While the Pro 12 featured semi-finals in the past, the Pro 14 will have an extra playoff game much like the 2013 and 2014 editions of Super Rugby. The first placed teams in each conference will earn a home semi-final while the second and third placed teams in each conference will square off against their conference opponents for a semi-final berth.

The top three sides from each conference will qualify for the European Rugby Champions Cup, although, both the Cheetahs and Kings are ineligible to participate in this tournament. The final European Rugby Champions Cup qualification slot will be awarded to whichever fourth placed side from the two conferences has the most points at the close of the regular season.

Pro 14 Teams

Conference A

Conference B

Early Season Fixtures

Round 1

Friday 1 September

Saturday 2 September

Round 2

Friday 8 September

Saturday 9 September

Conclusion

With the new global rugby season set to be introduced in 2020, we could see a hell of a lot of change occur over the next half decade. If the Kings and Cheetahs Northern jaunt bears fruit both financially and results wise, then I would not be at all surprised to see the likes of the Sharks and Lions plying their trade in the Aviva Premiership.

The other scenario that could play out here is that we eventually see a global league implemented with a tier structure. We could well be watching the Crusaders and Saracens duke it out in France for – insert horrifically kitch name here – title honours come the 2020/2021 season as no one in New Zealand wants to see the Crusaders and Hurricanes hammer the Australian Super Rugby sides and the Sunwolves week in and week out.

Written by Darry Worthington for @Hollywoodbets.net

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