Better Rugby Rules

Source: Unions discuss radical shakeup of NZ rugby – Toby Robson

There could be two side by side competitions.

Trans – Tasman Cup : One professional window from March to October: 14-team home and away (Nine from New Zealand, five from Australia).

Heineken Cup style tournament (to run alongside trans-Tasman trophy): Matches every four weeks with 24 teams in four pools of six made up of teams from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Japan, Pacific Islands and America.

Whats good..

Travel to south Africa as frequently as it is with the Super 14 is proving too much for the current players, and I agree. The Heineken cup travel demands are not light either, but it looks less and with plenty of time between games so that bodes well for the competition.

I guess eventually NZRU has to soak up commercial dollars by allowing Aussie into our local competition, a sponsor may very well like the ANZAC market better than just soley a pure NZ market. I guess sponsors like Adidas would see the TV coverage more rewarding over 30 million people, more so than just 4 million.

I think players would like this competition better. Less travel stress.

I would hope that players are still contracted to the NZRU and ARU, rather than the club, so a central union owns the players and not a billionaire at the club that would be reluctant to release star players on demand ( eg England and France).

Whats not so good..

Would the talent scouts from Aussie now start poaching NZ secondary school kids for their sides. We may have more players than Aussie, but the $5 million dollar salary to Matt Gateau means that NZ kids maybe on sale to the Aussie teams. How would the debate go, a player like Dan Carter playing for the Western Force. Will NZRU retain the rule that only players playing for the NZ sides can be picked for the ABs, or will they widen that to NZ players playing in the Trans-Tasman cup.

More here : Super rugby – It’s in safe hands (not) !

UDPATE1:

Source: NZRU won’t back transtasman competition

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) will not back any push for a replacement of the Super 14 rugby competition that excludes South Africa.

The union’s general manager of professional rugby, Neil Sorenson, said today that such a restructure would be at odds with the union’s preferred position at the moment.

My Comments: A NZRU CEO that ignores strong opinion from the power brokers of the stakeholders of the union, will eventually loose. The NZRU constitution is based on votes, so who is the dog and who is the tail may be surface very soon !

UDPATE2:

Apparently, South Africa is the largest piece of the revenue cake for SANZAR, so I understand that we need them more than they need us, that is why NZRU says that South Africa must be in any new competition. John Graham (Auckland Grammar Head, and ABs Manager) said it first ‘The professional era will be the death of New Zealand rugby”, so was he wrong, well not so far when you have the NZRU chasing money, money and more money !

UDPATE3:

Source: Union ready for flak over its axing decision 

Tew also played down suggestions some of the bigger unions were seriously contemplating forming a breakaway transtasman competition.

“We have made it clear that as long as we are committed to Sanzar we believe we have to have a New Zealand only-based domestic competition. It is part of our competitive advantage and we want to protect it.”

The clandestine nature of the discussions between the bigger unions was disappointing but he didn’t completely rule out the idea of such a competition if the rugby landscape changed. “It might be plan B. We can’t predict everything that is going to happen in world rugby.”

My Comments: Is the NZRU getting all soft, and warming to the power unions of NZ rugby !