Wanted - a 15th Super rugby team

[James]

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I don't think so - the rugby support base is much bigger in these states. It still doesn't change my view about the folly of a 5th Aussie team.

As regards comparisons with the Force, I disagree. The supporter base was always bigger and better in Perth. Melbourne is AFL territory. Game over.

And what was Perth? Yeah look there are 4 times as many teams in Melbourne than Perth but there are also twice as many people. There is enough there to support a S14 team.

[The Lone Hydrangea]

Melburnians love their sport to quote some bugger. When you quote a rugbyplayer with a name like Weary Dunlop, your opposition is in trouble marketing wise.
Melbourne is a lay down misere. Any body know the average attendance for a Storm games?

[welshrugbyfan]

Bloody how good are Summer Bay, had a great win in Home and Away tonight. Alf could be the coach and they should be the new Super 15 team. Wally Lewis's son plays for them.

[TOCC]

i wonder if this new group bidding for a team could possibly be a AFL club or even the AFL itself!!


Its not to crazy a idea, Parramatta Eels wanted to do it with another Super Rugby team in Sydney..

Its potentially a way for the AFL to protect there investment whilst also expanding there revenue base, any money made by a super team in melbourne would be poured back into AFL, also it gives the AFL the opportunity to market there product in areas which they are trying to expand in.. QLD, ACT and NSW markets, as well as South Africa.

I doubt this would ever happen, but its a just an idea.

[Pierre]

Dont mention the Grand Prix! Ok well I have - so give it to South Australia for payback! We need to give the myopic "footy players" an alternative to GAYFL. And Adelaide puts on a great party....

[James]

Bloody how good are Summer Bay, had a great win in Home and Away tonight. Alf could be the coach and they should be the new Super 15 team. Wally Lewis's son plays for them.

But if its a Vic team they might have to base it in Ramsay Street. Toadie would make one monster prop. He's another who wouldn't mind a little bit of hand on ball action when packing down the scrums.

[Working Class]

Adelaide will get there turn eventually. But for now there in their infancy as a Union in terms of participation. It growing steadily but not enough for a team yet. There a good reason why the ARU lobbied for Adelaide to have one of the IRB World Series positions. If they wanted it to be easy they'd give it to either, Sydeny, Brisbane, Canberra and these days Perth. The IRB 7's series is the precursor for a future Super team.

---------- Post added at 20:59 ---------- Previous post was at 20:52 ----------

Develop a taste for Rugby in Adelaide. Well thats what I got the signals from the Flowers administration. What's needed next are regular tests against incoming Northern opposition.

In fact test Rugby needs to be spread further across Australia. With Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth being guaranteed at least one test each. The Gold Coast and Western Sydney should also get test on a rotating roster with each other. And eventually once Perth has an appropriate Stadium ( Subiaco is rubbish for rugby and Member's Equity is to small) it should host a Bledisloe.

[Pierre]

With talk of the Adelaide GAYFL team playing at the revamped Adelaide Oval, the West Lakes Stadium becomes a large white elephant with plenty of room. Probably too much for Rugby but, hey. better more than less - look at the Hindmarsh Stadium joke. Rugby league struggles to fit!
I aggree that the timing is just too soon for the 15th slot, however the 16th is looking real good! The sevens is doing great things for rugby in Adelaide and kids are switching codes. Rugby clubs are doing well (Onkas about to open their $750k clubroom extension 22 Aug) so things are on the move here. I am glad that WA has led the charge, Vic following and SA hard on the heals!
One problem I do see is the 18's is a difficult age group to hang on to maturing players here in SA. Unless they move interstate, they drop out or move to other sports. Does this happen in WA or has the lure of the academy and the force helped?
SA has seen a few prospective players move to ACT in recent years and I see this continuing if there are no opportunities in the home state.
If all the states in Australia had a super team, then a state of origin type knockout comp could be a prospect? There's a thought from the left field!

[James]

If all the states in Australia had a super team, then a state of origin type knockout comp could be a prospect? There's a thought from the left field!

Australian rugby couldn't manage a state of origin. It would end up like the Australian Schoolboys tournament thats on at the moment. Queensland would be practically unbeatable. I think about half the current Wallabies squad were born in Queensland (or at least spent most of their young lives there).

[mudskipper]

Not really, 16 week comp that starts later (March) and with a 3 week bye for the June Tests, not to mention that you won't be playing all of the overseas sides either

Instead of a 14 week Super 14....

24 week comp with final series looks like a lot more rugby to me and a longer season...

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby-worl...ectid=10573320

Some of the Super 15 framework was revealed yesterday by the Sanzar partners after they had released details of their agreement to their provinces, sponsors and other shareholders.

The outline for the next five-year deal, to be presented to the rights-holding News Corporation next month, proposes the regular Super series to begin in late February with five teams in each conference in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

Sides will play each other home and away in their own conference, before they play four of the five sides in the other two sections.

There will be a break in June for sides to host in-bound tests as the All Blacks are doing this year with France and Italy, before the Super series resumes, running into an expanded six-team playoff section and early August conclusion.

Each conference winner, and therefore one team from each country, will earn automatic entry into the finals while the three other qualifiers will be those teams who have scored the highest number of points in any conference.

The new 24-week Super series will guarantee each team a minimum of eight home matches and a 16-match regular season. The expanded six-team finals series involves two sudden-death matches before the semifinals.

Outside a World Cup year, the series will be suspended in June to accommodate in-bound tests while the Tri-Nations tests will start once the Super 15 champion is crowned.


CHANGES

• A 15th team playing in the Australian conference will be added to Super Rugby following a tender process open to all territories, and with Sanzar making the decision on the new side's location. A timetable for tenders will be released shortly.


• The Tournament will kick off in the last week of February and conclude in the first week of August, except in 2011 when the calendar will be shifted earlier to accommodate Rugby World Cup.

• Teams will be divided into three national conferences of five teams each. The new team will compete in the Australian conference.

• Teams play the other four teams in their conference twice (home and away).

• Teams play four out of the five teams from the other two conferences (four home, four away).

• All teams will have a three-week bye during the June test window;

• The three conference winners and three wildcard teams with the highest number of competition points from any conference qualify for the playoffs.

• The wildcard teams and the conference winner with the least competition points will play an elimination round to meet the two conference winners with the greatest number of competition points in the semifinals;

• Tri-Nations will always kick-off in South Africa in mid-August and conclude with two of the three transtasman matches in early October to allow for early release of Springboks to Currie Cup. The will allow for Tri Nations tests between particular teams in particular countries to become permanent fixtures on the rugby calendar.

[AndyS]

It is longer, but not much more rugby - it might be a 24 week long comp, but 2 x 4 domestic + 4 NZ + 4 SA is only 16 matches over that time.

[James]

Yeah but tack in two pre-season games and your looking at half a year of rugby. Its a step up from the 1/4 to a 1/3 of the year in the past. Plus if it was any longer we wouldn't get any form of ARC or anything.

[Working Class]

The second Vic bid is coming from the Melbourne Victory. They want to expand the brand into another football code. Could be interesting to see if they would be any cross code support. Melbourne Vistory a-League fans might follow the rugby side. Full stadium a possiblity. If it happens and the fans do follow both the Melbourne Storm might start feeling a little umcomfortable.

[mudskipper]

It is longer, but not much more rugby - it might be a 24 week long comp, but 2 x 4 domestic + 4 NZ + 4 SA is only 16 matches over that time.

I can understand why you guys may see it that way... however for those who make the finals series will do a whole lot better... General viewing growing overall from, Total S14 at 94 matches...to... Total S15 at 125 matches... 27% more....... or an extra 38.6 hours of Super Rugby....

[AndyS]

Yeah, and that is fine for us tragics that watch teams other than our own. But for most punters, it is more a case of just stretching out the season. Not a bad thing in terms of keeping everyone with something to look forward too, but it is probably inevitable that someone (perhaps the Brumbies some years) will be away before the break, have to fly back for the midyear Tests, then fly away again for the rest of their tour and it could be a couple of months between drinks at a home game.