Justin Marshall: Australians should lose two teams

To see the Hurricanes put 60 points on the Cheetahs was sad. Photo / Photosport

If this latest round of Super Rugby proved anything, it was that we need to lose at least three teams for the good of the competition.

Apart from the Stormers v Blues match in Cape Town, which could have gone either way, the only other competitive match was the New Zealand derby between the Chiefs and Crusaders in Fiji.

It has been a recurring theme throughout. To see the Hurricanes put 60 points on the Cheetahs and Highlanders drop 50 on the Force was sad. The game is losing its true sense of competition. The gap in quality between teams is far too large and that's detrimental to the game.

As a former player, I know there's little more demoralising than turning up to a game when you know the opposition is clearly better and that the result is not in doubt.

South Africa has been earmarked to lose two teams, and Australia one. I would argue the Aussies should lose two; it would pay off in the long run.

There is a lot of politics involved and I accept that. But this cull is for the good of the game and if the people involved can't see that these two countries don't have enough depth, then they don't know the game.

The original Super 12 competition featured teams who were all capable of beating each other. That keeps viewers and spectators entertained and engaged, like they were on Friday in Suva, and the week before when the Crusaders beat the Hurricanes.

When New Zealand teams play their South African or Australian counterparts the result is 90 per cent guaranteed and that's not good for the game. The stats don't lie. The points table shows there's a huge amount of dominance in one country.

It's not about trying to satisfy egotistical owners and politically balancing things to try to keep franchises involved purely for financial or location reasons. It's about trying to get the competitiveness back into this competition.

The Aussies should lose two teams in order to regroup their depth, to galvanise their talent, and make it harder to make starting line-ups. Internal competition gets the best out of everyone and that allows you to win tough matches. That's not happening now.

If Australia, in particular, can't wake up to the idea that they are in the middle of a crisis as a rugby nation, they're not working together and won't get the improvement they need.

In New Zealand, if you switch off for a week, you'll lose your place in the team. That's not happening across the Tasman.

The Crusaders' victory in front of 17,000 in Suva was the focal point of the round. What I respected most was that both they and the Chiefs played with positivity in such a crucial match. The physicality was immense but it was played in the right spirit.

It was great for rugby, both franchises, and Fiji, a nation which has provided so much for the game here.