South African Departure Would Bankrupt NZRU

Cape Town - South African teams leaving Super Rugby for tournaments in Europe would have dire consequences for New Zealand Rugby, a Kiwi scribe has warned.

A recent report indicated that SA teams were planning to leave Super Rugby for the PRO14 competition in Europe.

The Wales Online website reported that the Sharks would be the next South African side to join the PRO14 competition for the 2019/20 season, with the Lions and Stormers potentially following suit the season thereafter.

SANZAAR CEO Andy Marinos strongly denied the report, but Mark Reason, a columnist for New Zealand’s Stuff.co.nz website, feels the southern hemisphere governing body’s boss may be in for a rude awakening.

“This is feverishly wishful thinking from the chief executive of SANZAAR. The reports are full of substance and make absolutely terrifying reading for New Zealand Rugby,” Reason wrote.

“If South Africa do decide to leave but for a skeleton team or two in Super Rugby, then the competition's revenue streams will plummet. Such a fall would be enough to bankrupt NZR by 2023. At their current rate of spending, New Zealand Rugby need a significant rise in income from their next Super Rugby television contract just to break even.”

SANZAAR’s TV rights deal expires at the end of 2019 and Reason fears that South Africa will seek greener pastures in the north.

Reason also admitted that a move to the northern hemisphere would be in favour of South African rugby.

“You have to ask the question - why wouldn't South Africa go to Europe? Here are all the points in favour of a move. The compatible time zones mean that the away games will all be on TV at prime times. The flight time from Johannesburg to London is five hours shorter than it is to Auckland.

“The combination of the PRO14 competition and the European Cup are commercially way more valuable than Super Rugby can ever hope to be. It is the economics of population size.

“And of course half of South Africa's top players are already playing in Europe. But in favour of Super Rugby there is, er, taking suggestions from the back - the high standard of New Zealand teams raising standards, you say. Maybe, but I'm struggling to see that on the balance sheet. South Africa's fans don't like seeing their teams being constantly humiliated.”

In a strongly worded press statement released last week, SANZAAR said all its member unions were still o n board and involved in an ongoing review to determine Super Rugby's future up to 2030.

"As part of this process the member unions have fully committed to the strategy and their future participation," Marinos said in the statement.

"Any talk of a change to the stakeholder relationship and partners withdrawing, creation of new teams in new markets and trans-Tasman competitions is unsubstantiated speculation and simply wrong."

This may be right.

But the sole reason is:

South Africa's fans don't like seeing their teams being constantly humiliated.”  

They will be throwing their toys and running away.

And when they start looking for excuses for being humiliated in the Northern Hemisphere - Where do they turn to next - MARS.

And that will happen - Because South Africa are just looking for excuses - The real reasons for non performances are - Typical South African FAARKKK and shit on everything.

That is their mentality.

There was a time when I defended South Africa's partnership with Australia and New Zealand. That has long since past, as the competitions were destroyed by incompetence. There is now no reason for South Africa to stay. Zero. We'll have better up north. It was primarily Australia who were allowed to influence the brand of rugby, holding a gun to the heads of the NH potentially forcing a split. New Zealand were more than happy to go along with this little venture. Indulging a South African political experiment with an additional team was all the leverage that was needed to keep them happy. In my view, SANZAR has run its course. If we struggle up north, I don't mind. Exposure to better rugby will sharpen our game. 

What better rugby?   It would not add value at all.   The way NH rugby is regressing and the excessive use of SH players and coaches to off-set the regress is what one call better rugby is really a joke.   Fact is without the SH feeding trough NH rugby is a joke.

The NH teams started to play more comprehensive rugby after 2015 and is now the role model set by some of our members.   They are not there yet - there are still too many aimless and ineffective kicking in games - but suddenly they have developed the game to a stage implemented by SH teams many years ago, but is now the role model..

The discussion is in fact farcical - it is based on false pretenses and assumptions by individuals.          

You speak of NH rugby as being backward, you clearly aren't a student of the game. Many innovations and tactical advancements have come from the NH. Your interpretation of what is and isn't an aimless kick has been exposed countless times as a shoddily conceived means of attacking any player, team or coach you don't like. Yet, you turned a blind eye to the aimless kicking employed by Rassie. You are the most biased member I have seen post here. Of that there is no question.

Where has the SH gone since the ELVs? Defence, breakdowns and set pieces are an after thought. What we are left with is a high speed, reactionary game that is tactically inferior. Since the ELVs teams became more and more alike, like rugby league. It's a boring game. Worst of all, it's resulted in the demise of the "Big 3". Without New Zealand, the NH is the super power. Super rugby is a joke. It was one as close to test rugby as one could get. Hard to fathom such a fall from grace. 

I stand firmly in the belief that ZANZAR has run its course. There are no rugby reasons to persist with what has been a dying partnership which has yielded no fruit for over a decade. 

RL

Like the Blues and Chiefs were humiliated in Round 2 of Super Rugby this season.   And there will be more humiliation for the Highlanders and Hurricanes coming too.   

No - the real reason for not spending money on attendance of sport games is that the ordinary people struggles financially as a result of Government corruption allowing for theft of Government money surpassing the total NZ Government budget annually.   The cost of living is going up badly - the people would rather not spend money on non-essentials and watch games on TV.   

However, it is not crowd  attendance that is really important - it is TV viewing that cost them less and attain for them a better deal for money spent.    To give you an idea SA has 15 satellite TV sports channels and sometimes there are two further channels used for sport.   How many sports channels does NZ viewers have available?    

The other issue is that NZ is a small country - to travel to view games require from SA viewers to travel hundreds of kilometers per game- so audiences are restricted because of that problem too.       

Yep

If it results in better wages for our boys then I'm 100% behind it.

Also, I enjoy the Free State games against Euro opposition much more than SR these days.

Rugby Linda...the guy that wants to post but had to make a fake account to say what he actually wants, you poor cowardly tit. Nuf said.

AO

Stop talking nonsense.   What innovations have come from NH rugby?  I watch the NH games regularly and what I have seen is that after 2015 - when there was NO NH teams in the semi-finals in the WC the NH started implementing playing more comprehensive rugby provided for in the 2008 rules amendments used by the NZ teams since 2010 and not used by the NH teams and SA at all.   

Fact is as bad as the NH teams were by 2015 as bad was SA as well, bar for the Lions and Cheetahs in 2013.   This was so foreign to the ideas of Meyer that he refused to select players from the Lions in the 2015 WC squad.   The NH teams started the techniques used for years by 2016 and was  only followed by SA in 2018 .

The NH teams started with the appointment of SH coaches and to contract an ever-increasing number of  SH players.   That made it possible for them to start playing a brand of rugby previously foreign to them.   They are succeeding to play the brand of rugby that they should have implemented at least 5 years earlier.   The Irish was leading the NH pack and then England with Jones and Wales with Gatland  followed suit.   Not quite there yet - there is still far too often the mad and often ineffective  box kicking,     However, in the main their kicking became more strategic than it used to be.   All other aspects are in fact copying of strategies the NZ teams have used for years - nothing new.

For you what the NH teams now use is so foreign to what was admired by you in the past that it seems to be revolutionary and new to you.                 

seems that Rugby Linda is quite right,.... most saffas here crying, throwing their toys and trying (or hoping) their teams run away

so you all want the saffa teams to play NH, uh?

where? pro14? because it's the only avalaible,..... and that's a crap competition,.... there are 3 decent teams (Leinster, Munster and Glasgow) and the rest is crap,.... utter crap with 4-5 teams the Sunwolves-style,..... Kings, Dragons, Zebre, Cheetahs, always at the bottom of the table and receiving huge amount of tries each game

and re. the money,..... weren't Cheetahs and Kings going north to make a lot of money? what has happened?

because Sharks, Bulls, Stormers and Lions continue poaching all their players

Getting rid of a bankrupted union would bankrupt NZRU. That is for sure.

As foretold some time ago, the move to the north will only means that SA sides are going to change their non white players for other non white players. It is already happening for one of their franchises engaged in the pro 14.

Going to be great.

They will be throwing their toys and running away.

"seems that Rugby Linda is quite right,.... most saffas here crying, throwing their toys and trying (or hoping) their teams run away

so you all want the saffa teams to play NH, uh?"

No, I don't think any of us want that, but I do think things have become a bit stale and something new would be kinda nice. Some restructuring is needed. The SR season is just too long...adding more teams to the Pro 14 will spoil that too. WR needs some innovative thinking.

My thinking is this: Whatever best serves South African rugby must come first. Simples. Super rugby has nothing to offer South Africa. So why stick around? Because it's in the best interests of New Zealand? New Zealand are part of the reason why the competition is the aesthetic abomination it is today; they went along with Australia's vision to turn rugby into a sloppy, half-baked copy of rugby league. Go north. Better money, more opportunities and better, fundamentally sound rugby. Super rugby is turning our players into autonomous drones with generic skill sets that can't fit into any position.

so you all want the saffa teams to play NH, uh?

where? pro14? because it's the only avalaible,..... and that's a crap competition,.... there are 3 decent teams (Leinster, Munster and Glasgow) and the rest is crap,.... utter crap with 4-5 teams the Sunwolves-style,..... Kings, Dragons, Zebre, Cheetahs, always at the bottom of the table and receiving huge amount of tries each game

Is that why the pro14 provided 3 of the semi-finalists and winners of the Champions Cup last year as well as last years Challenge Cup winners and are providing 5 of the 8 CC quarter finalists this year?

I'd agree that Leinster Munster and Glasgow have been the strongest teams this year but the Scarlets where up for with them for the last several years albeit falling back into the midfield this year. Yes Zebre and Dragon's have been crap and crap for a long time. Kings have been awful since they arrived last year. Cheetahs finished mid-table last year so its unfair to say they are always bottom of the table even if their form this season is not as good. The rest of teams are pretty decent with Benetton and Edinburgh coming good in the last 2 seasons. Connacht won the league back in 2016, Ulster always manage to make the top 6 and get into Europe.

I'm curious if the the remaining South African SR teams moved north how you think they would fair in the Pro 14?

Cloudy 

I like ABF a lot - especially his thinking on rugby-related issues,   He has very one-sided opinions - but that is refreshing as well since it relates to N Z Rugby and is normally very informative.