Trinations to be renamed - The Rugby Championship.

Not keen to simply upgrade the Tri Nations to the Four or Quad Nations (league and rugby competitions already exist with both names) SANZAR bosses – and new boys Argentina – agreed upon the simple title of The Rugby Championship.

Here are the schedule for 2012.

Home team first.

Aug. 18
Australia vs New Zealand ANZ Stadium, Sydney
South Africa vs Argentina To Be Confirmed

Aug. 25
New Zealand vs Australia Eden Park, Auckland
Argentina vs South Africa To Be Confirmed

Sept. 1
Travel Bye

Sept. 8
Australia vs South Africa Patersons Stadium, Perth
New Zealand vs Argentina Westpac Stadium, Wellington

Sept. 15
Australia vs Argentina Skilled Park, Gold Coast
New Zealand vs South Africa Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin

Sept. 22
Travel Bye

Sept. 29
South Africa vs Australia To Be Confirmed
Argentina vs New Zealand To Be Confirmed

Oct. 6
South Africa vs New Zealand To Be Confirmed
Argentina vs Australia To Be Confirmed

Sounds about about right, that's the name of our second league. Just saying...

Sounds a bit grandiose, the kind of name the RFU would dream up.

Glad it doesn't contain the word "super" though.

I would have preferred.

The Southern Hemisphere Rugby Championship.

On another board a helpful northern gent suggested Southern Hemisphere International Tournament

ermm abit egotistical perhaps lol, but its only a name

boomeranga wrote:On another board a helpful northern gent suggested Southern Hemisphere International Tournament

Thats a cracker

boomeranga

Ok now we just need to convince the Argies not to call up Ayerza for next years tournament and this will make a really good tournament from my point of view.

boomeranga

Ok now we just need to convince the Argies not to call up Ayerza for next years tournament and this will make a really good tournament from my point of view.

Interesting how any trips into Argentina are linked to games in SA from the looks of it.
So NZ and Oz can set it up as a round the world event to get away games in both Argentina and SA in a week.
Seems to make sense.
As for the name, I congratulate them for not selling out and calling it something like the Vodacom-Foxsports-Bueno Aires Grill Spectacular.

Games in the Gold Coast and Perth for Australia. That's encouraging and at least spreading the rugby gospel especially if you add in them having their game against Scotland in Newcastle.

thebandwagonsociety wrote:Interesting how any trips into Argentina are linked to games in SA from the looks of it.
So NZ and Oz can set it up as a round the world event to get away games in both Argentina and SA in a week.
Seems to make sense.
As for the name, I congratulate them for not selling out and calling it something like the Vodacom-Foxsports-Bueno Aires Grill Spectacular.

On the contrary from what I understand each country will use whichever sponsor as part of the name they would call the tournamnet in their country.

EG.

SA - The De Beers Rugby championship.
OZ - The Qantas rugby championship.

sell out they surely will.

That's what I read here as well Biltong. It was apparently given quite a simple name so it lends itself to the Heinikein (?) approach.

interesting- right got it

Ah the [insert sponser name here] European Cup method. Which will be easily shortened to [insert sponser name here] Cup. It's a good method. Finally something the NH can teach the SH about rugby, selling out to sponsership.

boomeranga wrote:That's what I read here as well Biltong. It was apparently given quite a simple name so it lends itself to the Heinikein (?) approach.

Hopefully that sponsorship will help with enough revenue to shorten the super rugby tournamnet.

Have you seen the schedule for next year.

It is going to be murder on the players. The super Rugby breaks up for the winter tour, only to resume again and conclude just a few weeks before the Rugby Championship, and then onto the NH for a tour there.

I haven't seen any draws yet, but am across the way it is to work. It's an awful lot of top flight rugby for the international players.

The gap in Super rugby will be a bit weird as well. I know the HC includes gaps, but I'm not used to a competition where you walk away from it for a month before starting again. The gap probably adds another dynamic for teams to manage.

Carpe Diem wrote:Sounds about about right, that's the name of our second league. Just saying...

That means the Nation which wins this competition travels to Penzance to take on Cornish Pirates, for true global domination?

Yeah, i don't like it at all, The bulls, sharks and stormers all play the weekend before a test against england, so they will have to play the super rugby round without their springboks.

That makes no sense at all.

doctor_grey wrote:

Carpe Diem wrote:Sounds about about right, that's the name of our second league. Just saying...

That means the Nation which wins this competition travels to Penzance to take on Cornish Pirates, for true global domination?

i would expect it is going to hurt, big time.

No, no, no. no pain at all. Taking the name of the second tier competition?
Cornwall is beautiful in late summer. You should make your reservations now...........

You would have thought they would learn lessons from this year,Super extra long.Then 3Ns a fortnight before RWC starts,no wonder players have little in the tank come the RWC games.
Plus the injury wear and tear on players and recovery time,BUT since when has money bothered about players welfare?

How unimaginative

Boks´ Last Tango Down Under sounds more imaginative.

I hope even with the time difference there are no time clashes when say the games are in NZ and Australia simultaneously. The liver will take a hammering but it´d be nice to see both matches.

Don't worry Kia I'm sure that won't happen. I can imagine the players body clocks being pretty stuffed up though.

Apparently besides the new 4Ns format no matter what the name,Argentina
will have ALL there best players involved.
Also the Bledisloe cash cow will now be an annual 3rd match alternately
Home and away.This year in Australia at least they`ve dropped the pretence it`s to spread the word to Japan or Hong Kong.
Now its just plain greed talk about running players into the ground.

But Emack fewer games = fewer dollars for the players

Ngan boy don`t be naive there is also an Autumn tour to be played not yet annouced.The usual 14 or 15 matches will be played but players will now be clocking up another 75.000 kms travel.Three Bledisloes is one to many they were getting tedious.

I wasn't aware there was only One Rugby Tournament ......

I'd have preferred "The 'New World' Series"

EngInAuck wrote:I wasn't aware there was only One Rugby Tournament ......

It could have been called "The unofficial world championship"

emack2 wrote:Ngan boy don`t be naive there is also an Autumn tour to be played not yet annouced.The usual 14 or 15 matches will be played but players will now be clocking up another 75.000 kms travel.Three Bledisloes is one to many they were getting tedious.

Yep, I don't know how the top players are going to cope with these schedules.

18 round robin matches in the super 15, 3 winter tests, 6 Rugby Chamionship tests, 3-4 Autumn tour tests and that excludes any knock out matches in the super 15 and Currie cup/ITM cup matches.

Super 15 squads will have to be bigger, Test squads will have to be bigger, and having 5 franchises each already which is hardly 5 SUPER teams from each country will now dilute the Super out of the competition completely.

The simple fact is each country can only have so many quality Super players.

In the days of the Super 12 SA needed 120 quality players, it is now closer to 160+ players.

assuming all players are in camp they shoudl do it like this

the tourney to be played in the country that won it the year before OR eveb better alternated e.g. 2012 Argentina, 2013 Australia, 2014 South Africa 2015 NZ and so on

This would remove the need for travel and be fair to all but of course it will never happen

biltongbek wrote:

EngInAuck wrote:I wasn't aware there was only One Rugby Tournament ......

It could have been called "The unofficial world championship"

And i wouldn't have been the least bit surprised! hhahaha

how would it be fair to all if its held in the country that won it before - lol. ludicrous idea. alternated not to bad- however they will never go for it. 1. 4 years is to long to get home games, and 2. the really important reason why your suggestion is impossible is the obvious fact that they would never ever hold it in argentina(to many different time zones, therefore lack of tv rev, so far to travel for fans, insufficeint faciities, lack of interest,etc,etc).

basically your suggestions cant and wont happen.

least the players will be clocking up heapsa air miles....

We can rename them the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program Wallabies.

Well no we can't really, I am sure they'll fly SAA and Air New Zealand too... and the Argintenian airway what they are called

Aerolineas Argentinias.

Qantas may well be renamed Kiwis can´t fly but nor can Wallabies and then John O´Neill will no doubt argue all rugby games should be played in Australia. Always thinking ahead that crafty bugger...

mystiroakey wrote:how would it be fair to all if its held in the country that won it before - lol. ludicrous idea. alternated not to bad- however they will never go for it. 1. 4 years is to long to get home games, and 2. the really important reason why your suggestion is impossible is the obvious fact that they would never ever hold it in argentina(to many different time zones, therefore lack of tv rev, so far to travel for fans, insufficeint faciities, lack of interest,etc,etc).

basically your suggestions cant and wont happen.

which bit of

OF COURSE IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN

do you not comprehend?

THE whole point is the 3Ns has always been a Home/Away tournament,IF
it had been a case of the winners.Getting Home advantage the Following year.Since it`s inception it would have been almost permanently based in NZ.
The rotation process would have merit but again it would suit the All Blacks
best .AS THEY are the only side who regularly wins tests away,probably
the comp may be abandoned in RWC years.

You've got the pattern from the home nations championship, the 5 and 6 nations - one game home or away alternately. Every side would have two home games one year and one the next. A grand slam, winning two games away, in the Worlds toughest rugby competition would be some achievement. You would not get the "don't worry, we'll get them at home" feeling if a particular game started to slip.

Round 1 - Argentina V New Zealand - Buenos Aires
Australia v RSA - Sydney

2 week break

Round 2 - NZ v Aus - Auckland
RSA v Argentina - Johannesburg

2 week break

Round 3 - Argentina v Aus - Buenos Aires
NZ v RSA - Auckland

6 weeks and it's over. The games are more intense as there is more riding on each game.

Glas, sorry mate that is never going to work.

One home and one away match against each opponent is the only way, and you also have to consider the greed of these unions, they will never allow only 3 tests each.

Ok by why not top and tail the season then? 3 tests at the start, 3 at the end. Then they would still be able to play the series in WC year.

thebandwagonsociety wrote:Interesting how any trips into Argentina are linked to games in SA from the looks of it.
So NZ and Oz can set it up as a round the world event to get away games in both Argentina and SA in a week.
Seems to make sense.
As for the name, I congratulate them for not selling out and calling it something like the Vodacom-Foxsports-Bueno Aires Grill Spectacular.

Give em time Rodney

their probably hoping that this is just a temporary name until they get a sponsor to rename it with, the league for me is still not as exciting as the 6 nations, the quality of rugby is usually better but it does'nt quite have the same sort of rivalries and drama that the 6 nations brings

emack2 wrote:Ngan boy don`t be naive there is also an Autumn tour to be played not yet annouced.The usual 14 or 15 matches will be played but players will now be clocking up another 75.000 kms travel.Three Bledisloes is one to many they were getting tedious.

Ahh I wondered why it was such a short season.
Send the NZ A team to take on Italy and Scotland - yay!

Full complement is Super 15,break .3 Home Matchs v Ireland[plus 2 other matches v them Maori or S15side],Finals of S15 break 4Ns 2 home/away each,break 3rd Bledisloe.Then Autumn tour of England,Italy,Wales,Scotland probably a Club side,possibly Barbarians too.
Nz Maori touring Europe too,so if you have an All Blacks A touring,BOTH sides would be lightweight.
Injuries are bound to occur sadly plusrecovery times,thats a lot of rugby some one like Isreal Dagg would clock up maybe 30 matches total.

Well looking at Daggs injury rate its probably more like 15 games for him but 30 games for Kaino