Focus Sport: Weekend preview show with Cheree Kinnear and Kate Wells
Elliott Smith ponders the big talking points from the world of rugby.
A question...
Is it time to put Super Rugby Pacific – at least in its planned form – back in the box until 2023? The beleaguered competition has got off to a dreadfully inconsistent start on this sideof the Tasman with weekly postponements, which ramped up to a full-on wiping of the slate this week after an initial switch in scheduling.
To somewhat protect the integrity of the competition, the incoming transtasman games should be flagged in order to complete derby matches, with a double round-robin on both sides of the Tasman. You could then have a three-week crossover finals series at the end to crown the champion.
Yes, it's going back – sort of - to how it's been for the previous two seasons but there's a risk of bastardising the derbies by having teams play twice in a week, especially given they are the drawcards of the competition, rather than say the Hurricanes-Rebels clash later in the campaign. For credibility's sake those matches have to be protected.
I put the idea to New Zealand Rugby's head of competitions Cameron Good of binning the Aussie round robin and playing internally. He said it hadn't entered their thinking and they are confident of having the games rescheduled and played before they join the Australian sides.
New Zealand Rugby is stuck in a no-win situation here, they know 2-3 games a weekend isn't enough to feed the broadcast beast but squeezing derbies in to ensure cross-country games doesn't benefit anyone.
Despite my suggestions above around the structure of this year's competition, the games across the ditch have improved markedly in the last couple of weeks. The Fijian Drua, after a slow start, have the makings of a fun side and appear ahead of schedule in their growth. The Rebels remain the Rebels.
Highlanders Aaron Smith with coach Tony Brown before the Super Rugby Pacific rugby match between the Blues and the Highlanders. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
A suggestion...
I'd love to see the New Zealand Super Rugby sides attempt more 50/22s. I'm still to come around on the rule change. Given rugby union is already a kick-heavy game I'm not convinced of its benefits and I'm not sure it's opened up attacking space, but it's been a big part of the Six Nations. Kiwi teams need to learn how to use them on attack as well as defend them.
France should seal the Six Nations this weekend and deservedly so. Apart from the blip against Wales, they're playing some delicious rugby that balances their natural skills and attack. They look frankly frightening in terms of where they might be come the World Cup.
An observation...
One of the Black Ferns Sevens' best players went into a sabbatical of an unclear duration last weekend. Gayle Broughton won Olympics gold, Commonwealth Games gold, and was a World Cup winner, all by the age of 25. She's made it clear she's not retiring – just moving to Australia and insists she has more ankles to break before her career is done. Broughton may not have had the public profile of some of her teammates, but her efforts at the Olympics last year saved New Zealand's gold medal campaign in extra-time of the semifinal.
