2015 Super Rugby Season

First topic message reminder :

The place for all things Super Rugby.  

Here we can discuss the latest team news, results, upcoming fixtures, referees performances, crowd behaviour, the cheerleaders....

George & Canelion: I've converted your Round 3 and Round 6 threads into the "super" Super Rugby Thread. A few others included in there too.

Check the links below for fixtures, results and the table.

2014 Table

2014 Results
 

   

It'd be funnier if he said at the end only kidding. I'm staying after all. It was just a motivational tool to make you play better by thinking you'd be rid of me.

nganboy wrote:Wouldn't it be funny if the Hurricanes got to the finals after Hammett threw in the towel - not the final mind you just the finals don't want to ask for too much.

on the cards nganboy...this Canes side is the best I've ever seen it, and is now a must watch side for the talent across the side. On its current path could go all the way...there...said it for you!

Is Julian Savea modelling his hair styles on Jonah Lomu? The Samurai look is definitely not harming his form. I think he's going to make a big impact in the England tests. There's oodles of talent in form, and they'll need to be with this England side wanting to press their claims for 2015.

Saveas adding strings to his bow isnt he. Like Nonu theyve both found this kick in behind flavour that theyre really getting the hang of. Variation seems to be Saveas modus operandi at the moment Kia...that might explain the hair?

It's more functional now. Before it was just flopping and in danger of covering over his eyes. I really don't care how he looks. I'm just glad he's on our side. It's great to see him in this kind of form.

speaking of...In the 6 nations I watched Wales camped on their line for a good five -8 minutes or so. That Welsh prop with the medieval page boy long blonde hair must have cleared the hair out of his eyes about 10 times while hunched down in defence...I mean how inefficient is that? Imagine scoring a try under him just as he's clearing his hair off his eyes...Coach'll give em a no.1 during the half time break!

The Shane Warne Mane makes no sense in Wales. The Hibbard Blonde Blizzard would be a more apt name for that atrocity.

I fear we don't have enough mullets in our team. Lock used to be a lock for a mullet. We can't afford to let standards slip. The grizzly beard should not undermine the mullet. It's a NZ staple!

Anyone seen the announced plans for Super XVIII? One more team for SA, one for Arg and an Asian team. Four pools - 1 Aus, 1 NZ and 2 in SA - with the Arg/Asian sides. Seems stupid to me - think of all the travel the Asian side will have to do!!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/9993926/Super-Rugby-expansion-plans-revealed

On another note - Chris Noakes has cut ties with the Blues for London Irish....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/27204317

Not entirely unexpected but another of the middle layer gone from NZ

Had a bit of time off from the site so my apologies for not updating the OP last weekend.

Has anyone else heard about the expansion to Super 18? Or should that be Super XVIII?

NZ and Oz stay the same but then two groups of 4 based in SA (Kings back and some other/s) with an Argentinian and an Asian (Japanese?) side?

Announcement in 2 weeks apparently.

Yes LB. It is seen here as potentially a good thing. It seems to address these issues:

- SA want a 6th side- tick
- SA don't like the amount of travel, and to an extent neither do Oz and SA- tick
- Oz want to play NZ more and vice versa- that will happen-tick
- more matches, B(*&ms on seats

For me the not playing all devalues this tournament. Never again will we get the saders effort of beating every single side in the comp. That for me is reaching perfection in the tournament, and no one (literally) can argue.

This way, oh...we didnt qualify but we would have gone all the way rubbish will happen.

So for us greedy kiwis, we want domination in the sport. This format gives a whole lot of teams a whole lot of games, somehow assuming those who make the playoffs are somehow 'even' at that point when the reality is it will be more difficult to make the playoffs from the NZ/ Oz side. So we'll have close finishing Chiefs or Saders sides missing out on playing the Lions kind of thing, in the knockout- tougher to qualify, easier to win them.

Just who these ideas are designed to suit more is confusing but its getting less and less from a fans perspective, and i thought they were the most important aspect of the pro game. Without them, we wouldn't have it after all.

At least thats my take from it initially.

Yes, it will get more confusing and I'm not convinced a larger tournament will attract a proportionate increase of bums on seats and increased revenue.

Looking at it quickly with no hard figures (I'm sure Biltong has done a thorough study of it) - at present, SA generate 50% of SR revenue but we all get 33.3% with 5 teams each. Is this correct?

Then if SA has 8/18 and NZ and Oz 5/18 each under the expanded competition - overall revenue pie is bigger (but by how much?) and obviously SA will generate more revenue with more matches/broadcasts. However the danger is that the quality may deteriorate with 2... possibly 3 initially weaker sides in their 8... crowds, which are already below par, will not suddenly rise in a big way overnight - could even get worse.

It will also depend on where this "Asian team" is based. If they are based in SA (full time) I can't see them attracting a following. Even if they are based in Tokyo? I wonder how much interest they will receive from the locals. Also, who would be willing to sponsor a cellar-dwelling rugby franchise? Yet the costs for running the expanded show will be increased significantly.

I have a feeling we are looking at a recipe for disaster.

I can tell you guys I am done with Super Rugby.

It is a bloody mess.

You have four conferences which isn't equal in number.

The qualifiers will have no credibility as you won't play anywhere the same sides as other qualifiers.

How can you simply not play a whole country's teams for the season?

You can get the luck of the draw and get a tougher than most schedule or not at all.

Our rugby will suffer because of it, the ARU and NZrU has managed to reduce the game against us this time round, next time it will be even less.

And yet we still split revenue, lose players, play less teams and double up on the Currie Cup.

What a f... Waste.

SA not only got their extra team but also another conference. Can't help but feel they've got shafted again and Australia have got more games against NZ.

I can see why you'd be dismissive of the concept BB. They don't even know who the last team is in the chicken stock pot conference but you can be assured it won't be from the finer cuts of the meat. Just offal I say. Truly offal.

Super Rugby is like watching a film like American Gangster.

For 10 years we had Super 12. 11 games against everybody and a perfect season was possible. Success though breeds envy. You have a superior product and people want to get their hands on that product. In order to spread the profit, they cut it up and divide it. The quality is reduced but the profit is spread wider and people are fooled into thinking that more is better.

Let's call a turd a turd. The new Super product should be Super Dope. An ironic title for a concept that has outgrown demand. The more people who want to get their hands on the product, the more diluted it becomes and the quality suffers.

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:Super Rugby is like watching a film like American Gangster.For 10 years we had Super 12. 11 games against everybody and a perfect season was possible. Success though breeds envy. You have a superior product and people want to get their hands on that product. In order to spread the profit, they cut it up and divide it. The quality is reduced but the profit is spread wider and people are fooled into thinking that more is better.

Let's call a turd a turd. The new Super product should be Super Dope. An ironic title for a concept that has outgrown demand. The more people who want to get their hands on the product, the more diluted it becomes and the quality suffers.

thats a very good name for it Kia, especially as the mooted Super xviii is modelled on the NFL.

SA rugbys going to suffer a bit. Instead of gaining valuable experience vs NZ and Oz sides they'll instead be coaching South American sides...

SA and Aus have made life hard for everyone for wanting more teams in the competition over the last few years. This has added to the cost, travel and diluted their talent. While SA can afford more teams they have generally had a couple of teams that have really struggled. While the Force and the Rebels are not totally hopeless anymore they have really stretched the Aussie talent thin and have had to rely a lot of recruiting from overseas. The other side of the problem is that NZ doesn't bring much money to the comp but generally does bring the quality.

I really liked the Super 12 and haven't been happy with the expansions. BUT we have to hope things work out. IF we can get big money from Arg and Japan then at least we might be able to hold on to more players rather than have some many go to Europe and Japan.

Alternativey - as I said to LB, on a separate thread, Sanzar have to find a way to compete financially. The player exodus has thus far occurred in small, manageable drips. It just seems like it escalate very quickly, given the new deal in Europe. Morne Steyn said as much. Fans are obviously still into SR, it's still by quite some way the biggest rugby tournament in terms of average attendance.

good wins for Saders, Chiefs and Blues so far. Tahs beat the Canes in a high octane match and for me two things stuck out. TJ Perenara, as I mentioned earlier, is too lippy, and it cost them a bonus point with the last penalty, even though I agree it was knocked by a tahs player.

He needs to park his ego and think before he does anything. He also bungled a certain try by not passing to Jane. If theres one thing thats certain in rugby...an unmarked Cory Jane has a better than even chance of getting to the tryline.

Key calls went against the Canes. A short infield pass, which looked flat called forward by the oz touchie. No tmo, just all round full acceptance where passes like Le Rouxs which end up 10 meters in front of the initial pass point get the third degree and are still ok.

One try Walsh says, for me its no try unless you can see something conclusive. They roll the tape, nothing is conclusive, and the try is awarded! say what?

Agree about Perenara. His mistakes did cost us the game. I'm sure he also did something stupid that led to a try being scored against us as well.
But its a team game and the Canes didn't defend tough enough in my mind - too many easy metres for the Tahs.

That Will Skelton was the key player I thought. He just kept getting over the gainline time and again. But the thing that stand out for me is that Wellington should never have surrendered that lead.

Did anyone else think that the Highlanders were very lucky to keep that win against the Lions?

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Did anyone else think that the Highlanders were very lucky to keep that win against the Lions?

Yeah, the conversion should have been retaken.

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Did anyone else think that the Highlanders were very lucky to keep that win against the Lions?

Exceptionally lucky.
But we were due some good fortune.

Crusaders with a great win away in Brisbane. Shame that Romano is out now with a broken ankle and won't be in the June series. Hopefully his big presence won't be missed. Saders now have a game in hand and can leap frog the Chiefs with a bonus point win.

Crusaders have found a way of being the best side to travel that's for sure. That will see them well in the finals if they can keep that up. Impressive stuff. Slade once again in top form. In Cruden Barrett and Slade DC sure has some able 10s ready to step up.
Pity about piatau and knees are horrible injuries confidence wise. Fekitoa just got a ticket to the big show no doubt.

Hurricanes and Highlanders with poor wins but Chiefs and Crusaders show their quality. I watched the Sharks and Brumbies last night. That was an awful game. Granted there was a little rain but it was really dull. I was expecting a humdinger between two conference leaders and almost ended up turning it off.

Gunner wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Did anyone else think that the Highlanders were very lucky to keep that win against the Lions?

Exceptionally lucky.
But we were due some good fortune.

Have to agree. Decision on the non try against the post and the early charge. Very, very lucky. Could have easily been a draw. Wouldn't be surprised if Lions management make some noise.

looking at the points table, it is quite possible that 3-4 NZ sides could qualify for the Top 6

Crusaders will win it again, mate. They are a class above the rest.

They seem to have finally found a way to emerge from the shadow of DC, or learnt how to deal with either him or McCaw being on sabbatical. The loss of Read is substantial but the re-emergence of Slade plus contributions across the board means they are looking threatening again. McCaw is playing like he was 10 years ago!

However, I still have a feeling that we've been here before with the Crusaders. They'll fade in the end.

Maybe... but I think every other team will fade more.

Starting to think the Sharks and Brumbies are already fading! Didn't see it but their match has been slated as utterly one dimensional and certainly not the quality you'd expect from the top 2 teams.

NZ have fast-finishing teams. I'd like to think Wellington will emerge from the pack to bury their hoodoo!!

The key is securing a home final and semi. Saders have looked good at home only to fade away. Stay at home and they're a handful.

blackcanelion wrote:

Gunner wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Did anyone else think that the Highlanders were very lucky to keep that win against the Lions?

Exceptionally lucky.
But we were due some good fortune.

Have to agree. Decision on the non try against the post and the early charge. Very, very lucky. Could have easily been a draw. Wouldn't be surprised if Lions management make some noise.

Agree on the early charge. V lucky.
Disagree on the try against the post. If u cant see it cant call it. In sayin that, some of the people i was watchin with called it a try.

Definitely cant agree with game easily endin in a draw. Not unless a conversion has been downgraded to one point while I rushed of for a nervous p!ss before Jantjies took the conversion!

The Hurricanes' loss to the Highlanders sums up a typical Hurricanes year. Full of ups and downs. Thought we were a bit unlucky with the ref on a couple of calls but actually we just weren't very good. C Smith had a terrible game by his standards.

TJP sure let Aaron Smith know hes around, hassling him all night, including the steal for the try. Still thought the Canes played the most rugby, had the most chances but just never took them. Cheeky little dropped goal which basically won the match.

Interesting you raise the Perenara try, in watching those replays I was pretty certain the his hand did touch the ball as well as Smith's forearm, but me that as it may, this tactic is now becoming more common among defending halfbacks at scrumtime.

Fantastic performance by the Sharks tonight to beat the Crusaders, I think its their year.

Yeah, season defining win.

Do you think Meyer's getting nervous BB? There's no way he'll be gone for next year's RWC but if the team doesn't perform - read perform for win - then Jake White's back in SA having done what it seems wonders back to back with different Super teams. Say what you like about the rugby his teams play, his results speak loud and clear for him. He's the Mourinho of the rugby world without the egregious personality. I'd be cacking myself if I were Meyer.

Kia I don't think White will ever be a Bok coach again, the administrators in SA don't take kindly to sour ex coaches, same applies for Mallett.

Phenomenal win by the sharks biltong, that was gutsy as heck. Shame what you say about Jake White. He is a special coach. His teams seem to defend like crazy. Is it nous or is it motivation you think?

I think Jake is a very good man manager and knows how to get the best out of players

He's also an astute tactician and knows what his players' strengths are and employing tactics that get the best out of his players at his disposal.

Watching Blues-Saints now, and although Sharks are up on the board approaching half time, Blues really don't seem out of it or even second best.  Just a few bad breaks.  As Biltong, using his keen intellect has discovered, I am a closet Sharks supporter.  Hoping they continue to go well.  But I find it had not to like this Blues team.  

By the way, another player removed for possible concussion.  I was concerned the Blues med staff was going to get it wrong, but they clearly did the right thing.  For anyone who didn't see it, there is no comparison to the Fritz episoide at all.  Just a bloke with a knock kept off for the right reasons.  Good on them.

SHarks won, but it aint pretty.

Can anyone beat the sharks this year?

back to back wins in NZ vs. the Crusaders & Blues is not easy in anyone's book.

They have 3 more matches (1 at home vs Stormers and 2 away vs. Cheetahs and Stormers), at worst a 4 point cushion at the top.
Can see them potentially losing to the stormers at home as the heavyweights in Newlands returns but otherwise they'll waltz home.

Can't see anyone at home beating the sharks with their team. Jake has the midas touch.

fa0019 wrote:Can anyone beat the sharks this year?

back to back wins in NZ vs. the Crusaders & Blues is not easy in anyone's book.

They have 3 more matches (1 at home vs Stormers and 2 away vs. Cheetahs and Stormers), at worst a 4 point cushion at the top.
Can see them potentially losing to the stormers at home as the heavyweights in Newlands returns but otherwise they'll waltz home.

Can't see anyone at home beating the sharks with their team. Jake has the midas touch.

Don't jinx it  

fa0019 wrote:Jake has the midas touch.

I just think he is damn good.