‘It’s not all roses in the URC and Top 14’ – Ex-All Black reveals frustration at Super Rugby ‘punching bag’
Super Rugby Pacific semi-final between Hurricanes and Blues, and a Racing 92 v Toulon Top 14 clash.
Former All Black and respected pundit James Parsons insists that modern day Super Rugby Pacific has been given an unfair rap.
Once considered the best non-international competition in the sport, interest has waned over the years and the current format has had its critics.
With South Africa exiting Super Rugby in 2020, it is now effectively a trans-Tasman competition, although there has been Pacific Island representation in the form of Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika.
Improving Super Rugby’s product
Over recent times, southern hemisphere bigwigs have looked to make it more fan-centric with particular attention paid to speeding up the game and reducing the amount of ‘dead time’ caused by unnecessary stoppages.
That has created a high-octane product where attack has dominated, as evidenced by the weekend’s semi-finals, but it hasn’t necessarily brought too many more people through the gates.
It doesn’t help that, despite the number of points scored. the Chiefs v Crusaders and Hurricanes v Blues encounters were blowouts.
However, Parsons believes that Super Rugby has found a good balance between appealing to the purists and making it exciting for the newer fans.
“I enjoyed the semi-finals on the weekend, there was still tension, there was still drama,” he said on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“We’ve got a game that has purposefully shaped new rules to bring in new fans; to hold onto the traditionalists like myself, which I still get out of the current game and current Super Rugby, and bring in new engaging fans where you’re going to see a lot of points and wow factor.
“That first half of the Chiefs-Crusaders, my wife reckoned I said: ‘Holy s***, wow, how did that happen? Who did that?’ over and over.
“I couldn’t comprehend what was happening.”
Top 14 comparison
The interest in Super Rugby has paled in comparison to the likes of the Top 14, which is a competition that continues to go from strength to strength.
Games regularly sell out in France, there is a big TV deal in place and, as a result, the budgets of the French clubs are significantly bigger than those in the southern hemisphere.
But that does not mean it is infallible, especially when it comes to the entertainment on the field, according to former All Blacks hooker Parsons.
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“I think Super Rugby does become this punching bag. Go run your eyes over the URC and Top 14, there are lots of blowouts and there are lower teams, it’s not all roses,” he said.
“I don’t think we necessarily watch so much of it that you can form enough of an opinion.
“Super Rugby is a great product and if we can get a Super Rugby final that finishes 42-40, I’m all for it.”