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Why you should be interested in Super Rugby again

Super Rugby's finale is just around the corner. Here's why it will be interesting.

The end of June International window marks the suffering return of one of the most abused competitions in world sport – Super Rugby. Coming off the euphoria of the highest level of the game, Super Rugby returns with a whimper to finish itself off.

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So, how do you beat the test window hangover and push through the tail end of the Super Rugby season? Here are some of the positives the return of Super Rugby brings to convince you it’s worth watching.

Competitive rugby back for Kiwis

Whilst the All Blacks are the hottest ticket in town for New Zealand fans, another drubbing of a Northern Hemisphere opponent failed to provide any sort of competitive rugby, with the feeling of a pre-determined series cementing itself after the French collapse at Eden Park in the second half of the first test.

With four New Zealand franchises in the thick of the playoff race, fans will be treated to real contests as a host of Kiwi derbies round out the season starting with the Chiefs and Highlanders in Fiji on Saturday night. Both teams are fighting for their lives and this result could have a huge bearing on the competition.

The Highlanders will begin their last ride with their best ever pivot, Lima Sopoaga, before he departs for Wasps. This has been the best era in franchise history. They could still make a run to pull off a second title with key pieces like Aaron and Ben Smith still around. With their title window closing, this could be their best shot in a while as they search for a new first five-eighth next year.

The Chiefs have overcome remarkable adversity this season with an injury toll that defies belief. Damian McKenzie’s switch from fullback to first five-eighth has paid off and kept the attack firing. After his form against France, no one should count the Chiefs out from peaking at the right time. If McKenzie can deliver the Chiefs a third championship under these circumstances, it should be considered one of the greatest in Super Rugby history and elevate McKenzie into the discussion of starting for the All Blacks – just like it did for Beauden Barrett in 2016.

The Chris Boyd era at the Hurricanes will end on the completion of the season. The most successful coach in franchise history took the team to back-to-back finals, winning the second one and maintaining a win percentage of 80% since 2015. The team is 10-3 and very much still in the mix. After experiencing a 20-year drought to capture their first title, every Hurricanes fan is hungry for more success while Beauden Barrett is still there and there is no better time than right now.

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The Crusaders have a habit of collecting titles in multiples, and after ending their drought last year the new dynasty is just beginning. Sitting in first place on the ladder, the side does not want to take their foot off the gas. It won’t be easy as they will play their second Southern Derby at home after losing the first one in Dunedin before they play their old rival Blues at home.

The end of the season should produce some cracking Kiwi derbies, which will overflow into the playoffs as four kiwi sides look to come out on top of the cannibalistic New Zealand conference and compete for more titles.

Fans not the only ones with Test rugby hangovers

The June international window has in the past shaken up the competition as teams deal with injuries, fatigue and a loss of momentum.

In 2016, the Chiefs entered the June break as the hottest team in the competition led by the next All Blacks first five in Aaron Cruden. A month later, he was off to France and Barrett was the ‘guy’ after capturing everyone’s attention with an explosive showing against Wales. The Chiefs faded out and gifted the Hurricanes the number one seed (who were 7th heading into the final round), which was the catalyst for their maiden title run.

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The disruption caused by the break will only serve to hit the reset button on form and momentum. The competition can be won or lost on home ground advantage seeding determined in the next few weeks as the past has proven.

A number of the sides in contention are dealing with casualties. The Waratahs lost Michael Hooper and have a suspension to Israel Folau, while the Hurricanes lost Ardie Savea. Who knows what kind of effect concussion will have on Beauden Barrett after the likes of Sam Whitelock and Ryan Crotty have missed significant game time following their own. The Crusaders have dealt with injury setbacks all year but who knows how long that resolve will last.

The month of July brings unpredictably to a competition that struggles with predictability.

End of another painful season for Australian Rugby

This is more of a ‘silver lining’ positive for Australian fans. After a series loss to Ireland, another fruitless season is closing down which means less suffering for fans of Aussie teams.

The Australian conference still hasn’t determined which sacrificial lamb will be offered as a ‘tribute’ to the Kiwi teams for slaughtering in the playoffs, which adds some intrigue to the closing rounds. It would be nice to see the Rebels put forward for a change.

At least the New Zealand drought was broken this year.

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Jaguares could be the fairytale Super Rugby needs

The Argentina national side is on a worrying slide but the Jaguares are on a six-game winning streak and riding high in Super Rugby. A historic undefeated tour of Australasia has put the team well and truly in playoff contention in the African conference.

Hopefully Argentina’s form isn’t brought back to the Jaguares, as the side has shown it can win in New Zealand. If they make the playoffs, they could cause a massive shock and give the competition the kick that it needs.

If your team is no longer in the competition, the Jags are the team to support.

Third time lucky?

Should the Lions finish top of the South African conference (which looks likely), they will finish second on the overall table and earn home-ground advantage for a quarter-final and semi-final. Despite inconsistency this season, the Lions will be given an inviting path to their third-straight final.

A third Super Rugby final loss in a row would be demoralising but does give South Africans interest in the competition all the way to the end. And who knows, it could be a case of third time lucky for the Lions. A championship would be well deserved for a side that has been so strong in recent seasons.

It seems that Super Rugby is a predictable beast but this month should produce quality and some unpredictability, offering fans (but mainly Kiwis) some reasons to get excited.

In other news:

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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