Cam's Corner: Stop the tinkering with Super rugby format

CHANGE is meant to be as good as a holiday apparently, but in the case of the Super Rugby competition I don't agree.

Making a competition appealing to fans is understandable, especially when money is a necessity in the world of business, but chopping and changing the Super Rugby competition is getting a bit old.

It wasn't even that long ago the competition brought in new teams, who were initially a big flop, and now we're looking at changing again - it's just crazy. In the words of Bream Bay man, Sky Sport commentator, New Zealand Herald columnist, and character Scotty "Sumo" Stevenson:

"I am a simple man, so let me get this straight: two divisions with four conferences - two with four teams playing three games in their conference and two with five teams playing four games in their conference and then each of those conferences playing the other conference in one division and one of the other conferences in the other division and then making up the difference with two games against teams assembled from all the concussed players who missed last season."

Confused? Me too.

The "refreshed" Super Rugby competition is to kick off from 2016 with three extra teams to be added, and chances are we will still have only a couple of Northlanders involved.

The new teams will comprise one new team each from South Africa and Argentina and one selected via a competitive tender. Teams will play in one of four conferences split evenly into two regional groups - the Australasia Group and the South Africa Group.

But, apparently the fuss is all about player welfare. Richie McCaw supports the refreshment, saying the local derbies are too demanding and too physically intense.

"There's a lot riding on those local derbies the way the conferences are set up, but it makes for a tough old year when you have to bash each other eight times," McCaw said.

"The ideal thing would be to play everyone once, the way it was in the past, but with extra teams and all those things that come with it, there are a few more factors at play."

While I like and respect McCaw, I'm not sold on the changes. To me, it seems the game of rugby is constantly being tinkered with, leaving people confused with rules and structures. I get the player welfare issue, but at the same time this refreshment seems to be going one step too far.