18-02-2022, 09:57 PM
OboeShoes post_id=68842 time= user_id=2298 Wrote:Both NZR and SARU seem to think that the other side is unreasonable and hold competition to ransom. From what I see, it it's because both sides come from a position of strength, but from a different angle.
This is a very good analysis of where things sort of sit.
Speaking from living in NZ and being connected to rugby -just want to add a couple of extra things in.
South Africa had dictated Super Rugby for a long while against NZ's wishes- adding a sixth team for a period when they didn't appear to have the depth to warrant it. They flipped back eventually after that didn't work, moving the Cheetahs and Kings to the Pro14 (as it was) but weren't overly happy about that. New Zealand teams were beating up on Australian and the weaker South African sides, diluting the quality of rugby and the only games worth watching from a NZ perspective became the 'derby' games between NZ teams.
Adding to that - the time zone for games in South African games was ludicrously bad for NZ fans (kickoffs between 1am-5am NZT) and most NZ fans(apart from the diehards) simply weren't getting up and watching those matches for franchise teams - in effect those teams would 'disappear' off the radar for a couple of weeks while they were away. Unlike Europe where you are dealing with minimal timezones, throwing in NZ, AEST, AEDST, South African time, Argentina and Japan it became too much. Test matches at 3am in the morning a bit different as they have 'event' value.
So NZR probably did the right thing (from their perspective) and 'blew up' Super Rugby when Covid hit in 2020 and gave them a chance to rebuild it that they might not have had otherwise. While the new iteration isn't perfect (questions remain whether Australia has the depth for 5 teams and Fiji/Moana will take some time to find their feet), it condenses it down to 6 slots in viewable timezones either side of the Tasman or in the Pacific Islands per weekend.
To link this back to TV, I don't think NZ or South Africa will want to lose the chance for TV revenue to play each other twice per year - so it wouldn't surprise me if either South Africa tries to play in both the 6/7 Nations and Rugby Championship, or they just stick with the Rugby Championship. NZR would face a hard sell to broadcasters for a Rugby Championship without South Africa as well. Plenty of water to go under the bridge yet.