New Super Rugby format agreed for 2022 – report
Bryce Heem (right) of the Blues runs over the top of Filipo Daugunu (left) of the Reds during the Round 4 Trans-Tasman Super Rugby match between the Queensland Reds and Auckland Blues at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Friday, June 4, 2021. (AAP Image/Darren England) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY ** STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO COMMERCIAL USE, NO BOOKS **
Rugby Australia (RA) and New Zealand Rugby (NZR) have reached an agreement on a new Super Rugby format for the 2022 season, according to reports in Australia.
The new tournament will feature five franchises each from Australia and New Zealand, while the Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua teams will each make their Super Rugby debuts.
The Sydney Morning Herald have stated the competition will have a similar format to the one which was used in 2020 before it was brought to a grinding halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.
That means the 12 franchises will be in action over 14 rounds where they face each other once before playing three extra round-robin matches.
The top eight sides will then advance to the quarter-finals, with the stronger teams having home-ground advantage in those knockout fixtures.
Unresolved issue
There is still an unresolved issue, however, with RA and NZR still to determine the additional three fixtures before the format will be officially unveiled later this week.
RA are keen for the additional games to be derbies, but according to a New Zealand Herald report, that option was swiftly dismissed as it would favour the Australian sides, who have struggled against Kiwi opposition recently: “Their request was not granted amid concerns that the competition would instantly lack integrity if there was a heavy weighting on local derbies – with New Zealand sides having argued in the past that this creates inequity and sets them a much harder path to reach the finals than their Australian rivals.
“A formula is being developed based on how the Trans-Tasman table finished this year and the only certainty to date is that the two new teams, Moana Pasifika and Fiji Drua, will definitely play each other twice in 2022.”
An alternative option is to pick a side apiece from the top, middle and bottom of the 2021 Super Rugby Trans-Tasman table.
The final option is to take a completely random selection, but this would cause problems as it will mean that some sides will face the leading teams twice while others will only play the leading teams once.