It’s not at all a surprise that TV viewership and stadium spectator numbers are down.
Super Rugby is just not the product it once was and, unfortunately, those who decided that bigger is better need to admit they got it wrong.
There are several reasons why interest in the competition is supposedly waning, but chief among them is that it is no longer a strength-versus-strength competition where the best are involved.
Also, the quality of rugby is not at a level that will have fans going back for more.
And, of course, how can we forget the utterly ridiculous playing schedule that doesn’t have all the teams playing each other and can produce a quarter-finalist whose points total shouldn’t allow them a place in the top eight.It also doesn’t help organisers - or viewership numbers - that those living in Australia and New Zealand have to stay awake to, or get up, at stupid times to watch their teams playing in South Africa.
I doubt they watch their teams’ matches live here, just as I doubt many South Africans watch any live matches in Argentina.And then there’s that not-so-insignificant matter of the whole rugby product brought to us by the Australians.
The biased commentary is one thing, but it’s the rubbish they dish up on the field week after week that make one turn off; and let’s be honest, the Force and Reds don’t belong in the competition right now - they’ve won five games between them - while the Rebels are not too far behind.
How one of the Brumbies and Waratahs, each with 39 points, will host a quarter-final is beyond me. They don’t deserve it, but because one of them will be “conference” winners they’ll get home advantage against a team that will have won more games and finished with more log points.
It’s stupid.Then again, it’s not only the Aussies who’ve dropped the ball this year. The Cheetahs and Kings have also flopped badly, winning four and two matches respectively, while the less said about the other two newcomers the better.
The Sunwolves have performed as was expected - winning just once - but why the organisers thought they’d do better only they know. The Jaguares have been the biggest disappointments of the competition, especially after their strong showing at international level as Argentina, winning three times.
The conference system has also confused many viewers and it’s completely understandable that fans have asked why some teams in South Africa have only played Australian teams and other teams only New Zealand teams.
Surely, for a competition as super as Super Rugby, the ultimate champion should have beaten teams from all involved countries?
There have, however, also been good news stories this season, most notably the Lions’ run to the top of the combined points table.
They have been brilliant on and off the field and backed it up with stunning rugby and are now, all of a sudden, streets ahead of their fellow South African sides.
The quality of rugby Johan Ackermann’s men have delivered is only matched by the New Zealand teams, with the Chiefs, Crusaders, Highlanders and Hurricanes, all keeping the dwindling TV watchers interested from one week to the next.
Were it not for them, I shudder to think what the Super Rugby product would be like.
Sadly there has not been much in Super Rugby this season to be excited about.
Bar the Lions’ good showing and the quality of the Kiwi teams, it’s been a competition that’s delivered little in the entertainment stakes. And isn’t that what sport should be about?
Super Rugby needs a rethink.
The Star