Advertisement

The Folly of Expansion

Rugby fans around the world will be eagerly awaiting the kick off of the 2016 Super Rugby tournament on 26 February. With just over a month to go, the franchises are putting the finishing touches on their preparation with trial and warm up matches. As the dust settles on what has been a monumental off season for the Super Rugby concept, we take a look at what the expect from the competition this year.

2016 marks a watershed year for the world’s strongest provincial tournament, with the Southern Hemisphere powerhouses of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa welcoming Argentinian and Japanese sides to the fray. Additionally, a sixth South African side will be included to round out an 18-team tournament with a regular season format which is more confusing than a Georgian line out call (see below). We take a look at each of the freshly included teams to get a feel for how the expansion plans may work out.

Credit: @kingluc


JAGUARES (ARGENTINA)

Let’s start with the good news… whilst it would be bold to predict that a franchise could take out such a prestigious trophy in their first year of existence, many expect the Jaguares to give it a real crack. It’s no secret that the marginal Super Rugby teams have always struggled; the administration will be hoping this is the team to buck the trend. The Argentinian national side produced an astonishing year in 2015, and have developed remarkably since their 2012 inclusion in the Rugby Championship. The Jaguares have managed to lure almost the entire national squad, demonstrating the commitment of the local players to this fledgling club. It’s also worth noting that the national squad stands to benefit greatly. When they line up for the Rugby Championship in August, they will have

been training and playing together on a daily basis for months, and can expect to have a headstart on the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies. Verdict: EXCITING.


KINGS (PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA)

The table positions of the South African teams at the culmination of the 2015 Super Rugby season don’t make for particularly impressive reading. Based on points scored alone, the five teams placed 7th, 8th, 9th, 11th and 12th. It would be fair to say that the player pool was stretched thin with all sides struggling, particularly away from home. For this reason, the addition of the Kings, a sixth South African side, seems somewhat peculiar. In their only previous foray into Super Rugby, the Kings collected the wooden spoon and were promptly relegated back to the Currie Cup. One suspects that political powers were the driver behind the Kings’ inclusion, as the Kiwi sides are consistently mouth watering in both quality and depth of squad. The Kings have stuck largely with the squad that played Currie Cup last season, and the neutral observer will have their fingers crossed that they can perform in order to avoid a further dilution of the South African stocks. Verdict: WORRYING


SUNWOLVES (JAPAN)

Sadly, it must be said that the Sunwolves appear the antithesis to the Jaguares. Whilst the Argentinians pushed hard to secure national squad members early, their Japanese counterparts moved late and, in doing so, secured only 10 of the Cherry Blossoms who stirred national passions in RWC 2015. The team has no official training ground and is moving around using the facilities of Tokyo clubs, whilst head coach Mark Hammett remains all alone in the staff section of the official Sunwolves website. Whilst it might be unpleasant to see the Sunwolves struggle, there are potentially much larger implications here. The Cherry Blossoms inspired a nation during RWC 2015 and Japanese television audiences were smashing records. The top brass at World Rugby will have been licking their licks at the prospect of a passionate and supportive home crowd for RWC 2019. However, they must be feeling very nervous about the possibility that a failed Sunwolves will diminish the passion and undo a very important piece of global growth, a golden nugget for a sport which has struggled to expand outside the traditional strongholds. Verdict: POTENTIAL DISASTER


Expansion into new regions is crucial for the growth of rugby globally; however the pace of expansion must be managed with extreme caution. While successful expansions can generate interest, revenue and support, equally, failed ventures threaten to exhaust scarce resources and leave a lasting bad impression. As it stands, we may see both sides of the coin this year in Super Rugby, although we wish the best to the new (and returning) teams.

Written by Chris Lukins for www.TheRugbyPod.com