The South African rugby board have decided to appease some old blokes in suits to let two defunct duds of teams move to Europe.
South Africa didn't have enough depth or interest to support 6 Super Rugby teams, so instead of combining them into 4 stronger teams, they've decided to prolong their pain by making their lives even more complicated
Lets break this down
The Good
Nothing. Nothing good can come from this, except appeasing a few fans left in their minor provinces
The Bad
These two teams are as bad as it comes. So letting them keep playing bad rugby is as bad as an idea as it gets
The Ugly
So now South African rugby fans have to worry about two fixtures, even more travel and somehow find money to pay for it amongst fans that are already disinterested. How much more ugly can this get?
OK, so lets look at some possible scenarios:
1) Most likely - They get flogged in Europe
Fans are still disinterested, Other Super rugby teams are still weak and they are out of money
2) Less likely - They dominate or at least hold their own
The other European teams come in, take the best players for (relative) megabucks (outpacing the weak rand) - leaving SA rugby even weaker. The other SA teams are still diluted, but now the players at the other franchises are more likely to leave to play in Europe. The European competition will be shown up for the joke that it is.
South Africa needs to get back to what it does best - stacking a single side with their best players at the expense of all their others sides - which means - the less, the better!
If you enjoyed this article then search for:
South Africa didn't have enough depth or interest to support 6 Super Rugby teams, so instead of combining them into 4 stronger teams, they've decided to prolong their pain by making their lives even more complicated
Lets break this down
 |
| Generic Kings image |
Nothing. Nothing good can come from this, except appeasing a few fans left in their minor provinces
The Bad
These two teams are as bad as it comes. So letting them keep playing bad rugby is as bad as an idea as it gets
The Ugly
So now South African rugby fans have to worry about two fixtures, even more travel and somehow find money to pay for it amongst fans that are already disinterested. How much more ugly can this get?
| Generic Cheetahs image |
1) Most likely - They get flogged in Europe
Fans are still disinterested, Other Super rugby teams are still weak and they are out of money
2) Less likely - They dominate or at least hold their own
The other European teams come in, take the best players for (relative) megabucks (outpacing the weak rand) - leaving SA rugby even weaker. The other SA teams are still diluted, but now the players at the other franchises are more likely to leave to play in Europe. The European competition will be shown up for the joke that it is.
South Africa needs to get back to what it does best - stacking a single side with their best players at the expense of all their others sides - which means - the less, the better!
If you enjoyed this article then search for:
- Super Rugby 18 team expansion: Why it will end in tears
- Rebels join Super Rugby: Why it will end in tears
- Super 12 now 14: Why it will end in tears
- William Webb Ellis picks up the ball and runs: Why it will end in tears
And look out for my next follow up article next year:
- Super Rugby's renewed 15 side comp - why it all ended in tears
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