End of Super 14?

[Inertia]

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A994611

THE Super 14 is unlikely to survive beyond next year as relations between SA and Australia soured further following stinging criticism of SA by Australian rugby boss John O’Neill yesterday.

 

[Guest 20221009]

They need us, they just being arrogant right now. Struggling to attract people to their matches..besides they treat us like dirt...but they make good foes though!

 

[davemc]

I just get tired of all these "provincial" matches, where the game can swing suddenly one way or the other for no reason whatsoever.

I mean, how the freck did the sharks lose their last game against a South African side? (I forgot who it was) I mean, seriously, HOW? Absolutely impossible, and smells like game rigging.

I much prefer donning the green and gold and watching the best of the country smack the best of another country. Having everyone in the pub cheer for the same team is awesome.

The Currie cup has it's place as the proving grounds, and that is why it is so well contested. If you play like your a55 in the Currie Cup, you will not get selected. That fact removes all the "fixing" rubbish.

I would live without super 14 easily.

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

Meh Just CC would get super boring, super fast .....

Oz and NZ need to get their heads out of O'Neill's a55 and realise what they would lose if they follow through with this.

 

[The_Pumpkin_King]

their new proposed format would be overkill!

good luck with japan

 

[hoegh]

SA basically own the super rugby thing, we pull bigger crowds and our tv viewers far exceed anything they can offer, remember the semi finals and final and the CC last year, sold out games, thats 50-60000 people at the stadium alone, the Air NZ cup final was barely sold out in their tiny little 20000 seater (and Aus want us to drop the CC, go jump in the lake!!), simple maths here, we have all the money, they don't, they must shut up and agree.

 

[milomak]

from a rugby playing perspective, south africa would lose out i reckon.

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

Nah, that's what O'Neill is trying to spew ....... as much as I would hate to see the end of the S14, we could go it with other nations .... wouldn't be as good but we wouldn't really be losing out apart from having softer opposition.

 

[killadoob]

How is he so sure New Zealand would want to pull out if i may ask?

Is he speaking on behalf of the new zealanders or is he just jumping the gun on that one?

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

I think they've shown some kind of support with the Aussies but if it came down to the wire I just can't see NZ breaking their long history with us .... and if they do, their loss.

 

[HypoThesis]

Ahhh, the Aussies. The mouths running ahead of their brains again. Pulling SA from SANZAR would be financial suicide for them. Although I'm loath to say this but isolation made SA rugby learn how to be self-sufficient, hence the fanatical home-based support. After England SA is the 2nd largest rugby union in the world.

The only reason Europe televises the Super 14 is because a good portion of it happens within the European timezone due to SA's location, pull SA out and do they really think Europe will want to televise games played at 8am? Does O'Neill truly think Japan is a worthy substitute for the World Champions? Someone please get this mans a$$ out his mouth!

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

I see them looking at replacing us with the Japanese as a purely greedy agenda ..... the rugby will be carp but the Japanese have money so in their minds (the Aussies), everything will be hunky-dory.

On that note ... I think out attendance and viewership levels have more importance than our monetary value .... the Rand isn't that strong after all.

 

[Pitbull]

from a rugby playing perspective, south africa would lose out i reckon.

The CC has been played for over 100 years. It's the legend of SA Rugby, no way SA will give up the CC for the Super14. milomak, you have no idea what your talking about. The CC has been the greatest sporting event in SA every year for the last 100 years. We the SA support base don;t need anything but the CC to keep us happy. I prefer CC over anything else out there. What has been pissing me off the last couple of years was the fact that all the top guns are stuck in Super14 and Tri-nation while the CC has been running.

This is what SA Rugby should fix. The strongest possible team should play in the CC not a second rate B team.

Currie Cup FTW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CHURCHILL]

I agree with Pitbul, the CC is very important, and should not be interfered with, but the Super14 is a great competition and i would not like to see it coming to an end, i suppose that the only upside if the super14 came to an end would be that, ol' Steve Welsh never gets to ref a Sharks game again.

 

[Vrotappel]

Although I would hate to see the S14 end the Aussies have no right to try and dictate terms to us.