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Two or three teams from Japan, one or two from Korea, one each from Hong Kong, Fiji and WA would be how I'd like to see it start off.
Possible two from Korea to create a derby, something based around the existing "Yonsei–Korea/Korea-Yonsei" rivalry to see who finishes higher than each other during the season.
Japan, I'd go for the old Kanto vs Kansai / Giants vs Tigers rivalry for sure and maybe a combined "Kyushu Gangsters" team. If I had to leave a team out from Japan, I'd actually consider dropping Kanto (Tokyo), as the other two have more of a provincial parochialism about them than Tokyo does.
No Kiwis, keep the support base for Perth united behind the Force. Try to go for good home attendances all through the season, rather than just the odd Kiwi visit. Give Perth youngsters the Force as their only option for future support as their local team in their "local" competition. Also, keep a direct comparison of any playing standards between WSR and SANZAAR out of the picture. Any other Australian involvement? Possibly Adelaide, or a disaffected union like Newcastle-Hunter. But I think Western Australia should go it alone.
Still not sure about Singapore at all. But I would look at trading off the old Singapore Lions soccer franchise name and branding; marketing them as the "Lions rugby division" with a Lions chant along with it. Not sure about Malaysia either. Is Taiwan an option instead? Hasn't Thailand actually got a stronger rugby pedigree?
Fiji would be the Drua or something similar. Not sure if Tonga or Samoa can support a side, but maybe jumping the shark and going to Hawaii could be an option. Would love to see Tonga and Samoa in there though, maybe some home games in Apia and Nuku'alofa?
If we have to use World Rugby funds, then maybe Sri Lanka would be a better use of them, they would bring in huge crowds and look great on TV. Problems: the time difference issue with the Pacific; the side could be bolstered if standard is too low; the rivalry between Kandy and Colombo is more of a crowd-puller than the national team is.
Make sure every team in the league has a defined geographic moniker in their name, I can't stress this enough. Tweak the Force brand to include "Western Australia" in the name, or the very least, "Perth, Western Australia" in the official logo. We have a great geographical descriptor in our State's actual name, it would be a waste not to use it.
Fully integrated league with TV presenters from all countries involved in the broadcast. Play up the "one premiership season" aspect of the competition. Every away game on television live and an abridged replay at friendly hours. No home games on live TV. Play up the home stadia and culture of the teams involved, including WA's, to give the international aspect the gravitas it deserves. Try to show as many, if not all of the other matches of the week on FTA. Always have an extended highlights round-up every Monday in prime-time or thereabouts showcasing each match and the players. On-screen graphics are the same for every match/broadcast no matter what country. Digital advertisements on grounds to be localised for each feed, if this is possible to be done.
Alongside the internal Korean and Japanese rivalries, also play up the Japan vs Korea/Hong Kong rivalry. Market the Drua as the "Flying Fijians" the flamboyant skill-merchants from the sunny islands; in a similar vein to the way the West Indies used to be the "Calypso Kings." That may be worth it in the Asian markets. List the local junior clubs and high schools on-screen in the player's stats/info, this'll be great for the Force and Sri Lanka teams especially.
Have "Challenge Trophies" between each of the teams. The team who wins both fixtures between them in a home-and-away season, keeps the Trophy in their cabinet. Teams can make a goal of owning the "Full House" at any point in the season, based on the Trophies won, or retained from the last year. The achievement of winning any of these Challenge Trophies could be used to market matches between teams out of finals' contention. The name and design of each Challenge Trophies would be unique to the two teams involved.
At the same time, I would institute a WSR rip-off of the Ranfurly Shield, a Lord Forrest Plate, if you will; which will operate the same way as the New Zealand original. A premiership shield will be awarded to the table-topper, a championship cup to the grand final winner. The mythical combination of the "Full House," plus Lord Forrest Plate, plus premiership shield, plus grand final champions cup, could be some sort of fabled objective the teams can aim for as having the "ultimate season"
Try to keep the playing field relatively level, focusing on local players first, (that means WA-origin, Japan-first, Korea-first, Pacific Islander heritage if possible) from there, if teams need ring-ins or concessions, look into boosting the league with big names, rather than filling the teams up with foreigners. Bring in players from nations outside of the SANZAAR/Six Nations block, to emphasise the cosmopolitan nature of the competition, while keeping the local aspect the majority. Stick a small flag of the player's nation, similar to the English premiership, on the front of the player's jersey if need be. There is no need to go crazy with having the best players in the world on overblown contracts, if we can get the entertainment value of games right. Schools rugby and women's rugby are great examples of entertaining football without having the best athletes on earth playing it.
If the rules can be tweaked to free up space, then go ahead. (This is just me digressing though.)
Possibilities could be:
-encourage more players to head into rucks and mauls, by rewarding the team going forward regardless of whether it's either.
-get rid of the running mark, forcing more backs to cover the attacking kick, taking them out of the defensive line.
-six point try, one point conversion. Two point drop-kick. (Maybe. I'm not overly fussed)
-hockey-style green card warnings, very short spells in the bin for deliberate professional fouls.
-proper scrum must be straight, steady and still before a straight-fed put-in. Clock stops until scrum is viable.
-clock stops when ball out of play, time-wasting by team in front added to stoppage time.
-award a super try for a long-range movement which never goes to ground in a ruck, encouraging players to stay on their feet and start a drive before re-releasing to the backs; discouraging rugby league style hit-up play and getting back to keeping the ball alive. I would consider a competition-wide directive given to franchises to encourage an off-loading game to keep the ball alive also. Let's play rugby again! Not rugby league. As a matter of fact, "RUGBY'S BACK!" could be part of the marketing.
Ah, 'tis but a fantasy waxed lyrical...
Probably none of this is feasible, but it would be a helluva design portfolio...