Super Rugby 2019

OrbitalDawn said:
Maybe. I don't necessarily disagree with your proposal, but I do tend to think people are overstating the 'calamity' part. It's a kind of recency bias whereby bad stuff that occurs now tends to overshadow how things have always been.

There's still some absolutely cracking rugby being played, weekend in and weekend out. Occasional bad reffing isn't new, and form dipping isn't, either.
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Not at all, bad reffing has never bothered me even remotely close to the extent it seems to bother most, and, indeed there is great rugby played.

I think people mostly miss having household names to be honest. Those names are becoming less because once a name starts to shine the player leaves for the north. Not only does that leave fans disappointed, but the next guy can not learn from that player and so the process repeats itself.

In that sense I think SR has become a little bit weaker - and the results internationally recently backs that I think.
 
The Sunwolves now also signed Kara Pryor which will link up with his brother, Dan Pryor. They also called up Sione Teaupa which played 3 games with the Sunwolves last year and they brought in Keisuke Uchida to replace Kaito Shigeno. This is likely a move by the Sunwolves to replace the depth they lost with Rene Ranger.

It will be good to see the two Pryor brothers play together.

Edit:

I see the Sunwolves shopped around at the Highlanders, again,

https://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/timu-links-sunwolves

Timu links up with Sunwolves
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Outside back Josh Timu, who has barely played for Otago let alone the Highlanders, has joined the Sunwolves.

Timu flew out of Dunedin yesterday and was expected to link up with the Sunwolves in Auckland.

Timu (21), the son of All Black and Otago outside back John Timu, has played just three games for Otago since making his debut for the side in 2017.

His season was limited last year because of hamstring issues and he then broke his thumb at training at the start of the Mitre 10 Cup season.

The Sunwolves have injuries in the midfield. Shane Gates was the latest the go down. The centre was stretchered off the field in the match against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday night.

Sunwolves coach Tony Brown made contact with Timu in the past couple of days and offered him a position with the side.

Timu, who went to John McGlashan College and plays for the University club, was training on a week-to-week basis with the Highlanders but had no permanent contract.

He played in two pre-season games for the side but has never played in a competitive Super Rugby match for the Highlanders.

He is contracted to play for Otago this season.

That Timu has been signed reflects the depth issues faced by sides as the overseas player drain takes hold and teams are forced to pick younger players.

Timu becomes the latest Otago and Highlanders-connected player to join the Sunwolves.
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Fleck is gone at the end of the season, to be replaced by Dobbo.

/does happy dance
 
Yoh, Hurricanes! By a ballhair. Stoppage time penalty converted by Barrett for a 25 - 22 win. Didn't see it though. Was it controversial?
 
Miles offside, another shocking ref decision costing a team ... what's new
 
I am very happy for the Rebels, to think that most participants wanted them gone. The Western Force is kicking off soon with the new competition this year. South Africa is heading the cut of the Sunwolves which is now likely to happen in 2020 irrespective of their results of this and next year.
 
Fulcrum29 said:
I am very happy for the Rebels, to think that most participants wanted them gone. The Western Force is kicking off soon with the new competition this year. South Africa is heading the cut of the Sunwolves which is now likely to happen in 2020 irrespective of their results of this and next year.
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That's just stupid to try and kick more teams out. They probably want to play more derbies that nobody cares about, same teams, playing the same teams, 10 times a year is boring.
 
I had the Rebels picked and at 3 - 19 down, I thought "Oh lawd, here we go". Good fight back though. Definitely in contention with the Waratahs for conference honours
 
rietrot said:
That's just stupid to try and kick more teams out. They probably want to play more derbies that nobody cares about, same teams, playing the same teams, 10 times a year is boring.
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Everyone agrees derbies are stupid, everyone except the bosses who get more money from more tv rights income.

Super 10, each play each other and top 4 into semis is the best format, it always has been the best format.
 
Rabobi said:
Everyone agrees derbies are stupid, everyone except the bosses who get more money from more tv rights income.

Super 10, each play each other and top 4 into semis is the best format, it always has been the best format.
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We need more teams then they can even play a world cup format with legitimate pools. Not this stupid conferences and playing the same teams 10 times a year.
 
rietrot said:
We need more teams then they can even play a world cup format with legitimate pools. Not this stupid conferences and playing the same teams 10 times a year.
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The only time derbies are nice to watch is when they ACTUALLY matter. You been on tour, got smashed, and return home to play a crucial match that gets u into semis or 5th on the log or whatever. Whenever i see the schedule now, its like, ok SA sides against each other and one against overseas. I promptly forget to watch any rugby for the weekend. Super rugby has made itself irrelevant, and people cant be bothered by it nor by paying to go watch it.

Where are the days when every single match the Crusaders played, i watched as a rule, to see how every other team faired. Now? Meh dont care. Will watch the final only
 
Rabobi said:
The only time derbies are nice to watch is when they ACTUALLY matter. You been on tour, got smashed, and return home to play a crucial match that gets u into semis or 5th on the log or whatever. Whenever i see the schedule now, its like, ok SA sides against each other and one against overseas. I promptly forget to watch any rugby for the weekend. Super rugby has made itself irrelevant, and people cant be bothered by it nor by paying to go watch it.

Where are the days when every single match the Crusaders played, i watched as a rule, to see how every other team faired. Now? Meh dont care. Will watch the final only
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Not to mention the fact that less derbies during Super Rugby would mean the ones in the Currie Cup are not just yet another re-run of a matchup seen many times before in a season.
 
Cray said:
Not to mention the fact that less derbies during Super Rugby would mean the ones in the Currie Cup are not just yet another re-run of a matchup seen many times before in a season.
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Yup
 
Fulcrum29 said:
I am very happy for the Rebels, to think that most participants wanted them gone. The Western Force is kicking off soon with the new competition this year. South Africa is heading the cut of the Sunwolves which is now likely to happen in 2020 irrespective of their results of this and next year.
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Didn't most of the Force players join the Rebels when the Force was kicked out?
 
Rabobi said:
The only time derbies are nice to watch is when they ACTUALLY matter. You been on tour, got smashed, and return home to play a crucial match that gets u into semis or 5th on the log or whatever.
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This, like the one in 2012 where the Sharks had to go the Brisbane to play the Reds for a play off spot, then to Cape Town versus the Stormers in the semi-final and then back to Waikato versus the Chiefs for the Final.
 
rietrot said:
We need more teams then they can even play a world cup format with legitimate pools. Not this stupid conferences and playing the same teams 10 times a year.
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It is a hard call, I believe Super Rugby is watered-down, but it isn’t due to adding another region. It is due to adding too many teams. I will be happy with a Super 10/12.

The Sunwolves isn’t in this competition due to Japan hosting the world cup, it was due to winning broadcasting rights and SANZAAR wanted a market in the East. Singapore was key to this and it didn’t pan out, and this ended up in a 5-year deal which couldn’t be chopped but rather reorganised. The Sunwolves have no say in any SANZAAR decision, they are even managed by the Japan Super Rugby Association (JSRA) since 2018. Basically, the Sunwolves are managed by the JRFU and New Zealand which is a good thing in my opinion and you can see that it is only the Kiwis backing them in SANZAAR.

Everything we see in modern-day rugby today is about money. Then we started pumping up the PRO12 with SA teams due to some negotiations, and even now we, SARU, wants to add more teams to the PRO14. I would be happy to see the Pumas there, Stonehouse will be happy and the union will be happy, but we want to pump it with our minor unions. What is happening in Super Rugby will also happen in PRO rugby, without quality.

Global Rapid Rugby is starting this year, should the Sunwolves be kicked in 2020 they may have a go at this competition in 2021.

World Rugby is introducing a new competition, which is currently hotly debated and they are looking at promoting the top 12 teams but is excluding the Islanders due to money being made in the USA. Now, Japan is also a world top 12 team, so they will need to be in this competition and this may again be a decider as to how SANZAAR will restructure Super Rugby in 2020 to be ready by 2021. Fewer teams are all I want, but it should be to develop the sport and the competition.

Also, Japan Junior (with mostly Japanese players) won Samoa A. Quite well, actually, since Samoa A is not exactly an understrength side at this time.

I personally dislike the Australian politics in rugby, they are really the cry babies at times, and having the Rebels put one over the Brumbies is big. The Brumbies are only there in name and should have amalgamated with the Rebels as already proposed. Pride and all that.

Then SARU, they want money and they don’t like to lose money. SARU has Multichoice behind their backs when it comes to broadcasting deals, they also have more people in the seats and this results in them having much weighed in SANZAAR. BUT, then along came Fox Sports and pumped in a number large enough into Australia and New Zealand to make Multichoice shake. So yah… we will have to see how it looks in 2021.
 
walterl said:
Didn't most of the Force players join the Rebels when the Force was kicked out?
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Yes, many did, but they signed up all over the place. The Sunwolves also recruited 1 or 2. The Western Force, now with Global Rapid Rugby, already lured some back.
 
Fulcrum29 said:
It is a hard call, I believe Super Rugby is watered-down, but it isn’t due to adding another region. It is due to adding too many teams. I will be happy with a Super 10/12.
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No it's not. It is to many games and too repetitive, too long of a competition. The break for the june test kills all the momentum.

And supersport. A lot of people has given up on dstv.

And the bad quality of our top teams. Nobody likes watching their team lose if they play bad rugby.


If they fix it there would actually be more money, more people watching, full stadiums, more merchandise sales. Bigger tv rights.
 
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