I read that NZ were asking for SA to come back to Super Rugby. They said they didn’t get enough competition now.
I read that NZ were asking for SA to come back to Super Rugby. They said they didn’t get enough competition now.
...and I hope we never join SR again.
We should let the Cheetahs, Eastern Province, Pumas and Griquas join Super Rugby.
That'll boost Super Rugby a bit and get some income for those sides. I wouldn't be surprised if such a move hasn't already been considered.
We have more than enough players in SA and would be able to make those sides more competitive in SR than most of the island and Ozzie teams are.
Only noobs with no appreciation for rugby history would write off the mighty All Blacks.
I've watched a lot of Pacifika rugby this year and I still respect the All Blacks.
2015 through 2019. ….Boks vs ABs 1win/ 8 losses.
2020 through 2024 Boks vs ABs 6 wins/ 3 losses
ONLY A FOOL who can’t process numbers wouldn’t recognize the trend. And only an illiterate would think that saying a team is in decline means they are written off.
Hard to find somebody who can’t do numbers and words, but we have one exhibit.
STFU Moffie. I don't engage with stupid and biased rugby noobs.
Who is this palooka?
He looks and sounds like my junior school bible teacher.
Very true Rooi - the AB side remains a mighty damn good one
Their U20 side have just won the RC
Plum will you be saying that after South Africa visit NZ this year?
Over the last 11 matches only won has been played in NZ.
Write off the AB's at your own risk.
Oh you don’t engage Elerdy Bear, just another porkie.
ROFL!
Saying they're going backwards doesn't mean I think they aren't better than the Boks or that I'm writing them off.
Numerous ex ABs have said the ABs are less strong than they used to be as a result of their semi isolation.
And draw a line through when the SA teams leave SR...look at the win ratio prior and post. I made a thread about it almost two years ago now, and the trend had already begun back then.
In the past they'd have murdered England in NZ. Last year the games were very close against an England team that were still finding their feet.
I'm not too confident that the Boks will beat them in NZ this year either.
Did that confused you even more, B&R?
...try to calm down.
Setting aside the draw in NZ in 2019 which favors the Boks, there have been 10 decided matches.
The Boks have won 3 times in SA and the ABs once in SA and once in NZ. On neutral turf the Boks lead 3 matches to 2. All told the Boks lead 6 to 4, with 4 matches in RSA and 2 in NZ including the draw.
If you give the ABs one game to balance the 4/2 difference in home games, you end up at 5 to 5. But NZ have now gone 4 matches without a win, 2 in neutral venues.
So one would have to say the trend is clearly in the Boks favor.
There are two facts that is hitting the AB's hard and that is the teams they face are weaker than them - with the exception of a few matches played in Australioa and the attendances of matches are lower than previously eduring the income of NZ and Australian rugby, The other loss was the fact that DSTV funded not only SA teams involved in Super Rugby - but also NZ, Australia and Argentine Rugby The latter contribution has vanished and now all three countries suffer badly a a result,
New Zealand and Australia Rugby had the find means to retain the players norminally in New Zealand so they give players sabaticals to play in Europe and Japan. By that way the kept the players contracted in NZ and leacve the clubs to pay the players much higher incomes than they would get in New Zealand/
But what happened was entirely different - South Africa joined the URC on a temporary basis and did not really have a say as to the URC Maagement, However in terms of the contract signed South Africa would become a fully-fledged member of the URC in the 2026-07 season and the issue was discussed at the recent SARU conference and was part of the apprved system for the future, The return to Superrugby was never even on the agenda of the conference, So there is no chance that SA will rejoin Superrugby at all.
The only hope that the New Zealand and Australian Rugby has is that they may succeed is the establishment of 3 new Franchises that would include one centered around Kimberley wiith all teams involved in the Northern Cape and even the Karoo part of the Eastern Cape area. The Eastern Cape area centered in PE and the teams from Limpopo. Mpumalanga Provinces being involved - cnterd in Nelspruit, Th third team would center around the Free State and North West Province centered in Bloemfontain. Only feasible if DSTV being prepared to fund the new franchises - part of which funding would end up in subsidising NZ and Aus Rugby,
As I understand it the DSTV contract amounted to AUS$1,6 billion of which $400 ,illiom would go to each of the AUS bid NZ Rugby an the rest to SA Rugby, It is doubtful whether DSTV will und S uperrugby ubnkess SA tems somehow got invovled - bu the share of the AUS and NZ Rugby getting would be mauch less than they got in teh past,
So in no way would SA get back into Superrugby as it as upto 2021,
,
And the matches played in Aus are hardly neutral ground.
NZ will always be strong at home, but they're becoming just as fallible as the Boks when away from home.
That's the key difference between now and 7 years ago.
The supernatural aura is gone.
By the way the new twist mentioned by one of the members is that the new Superrugby Pacific actuall played teams every 14 days - I do not know whether that is true and that adds to the problems of NZ and Aussie Rugby also from a revenue point of view, .
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Here's an SA content creator that seems to think NZ rugby is on the decline since SA left.
By contrast, SA rugby is only on the rise...