Super Rugby: All Blacks rule change that made competition great again - Elliott Smith’s Tight 5

Samisoni Taukei’aho on the charge for the Chiefs. Photo / Martin Hunter, SmartFrame

An observation...

Super Rugby has had its best start in years. This has created headlines about the on-field action (rather than off-field) that the competition has wanted for years – but one of the reasons behind why has gone under the radar.

That is the disappearance – or maybe more accurately, “rescoping” – of the dreaded All Blacks rest weeks. These enforced breaks have plagued the competition for nearly 20 years, ever since the dreaded rest-and-rotation debacle of 2007.

The competition has been hamstrung by having top talent sit out the best matches because of varying rules – not being able to play five matches in a row or needing to rest for two games per season were a couple of the different variations.

Hard-and-fast rules have gone out the window; now the approach is more focused on individuals, recognising that a one-size-fits all approach hardly works in rugby.

A suggestion...

The counterpoint to that is the number of players who had big minutes for the All Blacks last year who have injuries and either haven’t been sighted this year or had a late start to the season due to injuries. The list includes Wallace Sititi, Tyrel Lomax, Asafo Aumua, and Sam Darry.

Aumua played every All Blacks test in 2024 while Sititi was wheeled out for all five matches on the end-of-year tour in his first season and could probably have done with a breather rather than trudging on against Italy.

Whether there is any correlation is something only doctors would be able to say.

An explanation...

It’s a higher injury list than usual – and more high-profile names have been added as Super Rugby has gone on – but regardless, copping players being injured from the competition and not able to play is a lot easier than seeing fit All Blacks rested.

The change is a welcome one.

Super Rugby simply couldn’t have got away for much longer as being solely used as an extended All Blacks trial.

The best players needed to be playing to get the eyeballs back. It’s translating into both bigger audience and crowd numbers.

A suggestion...

It was refreshing to hear Scott Robertson speaking on the Rugby Direct podcast about being open to the idea of using a seven-one bench at some point.

The bench is one area the All Blacks have tinkered with in recent years and not been able to get quite right – from plumping for defensive halfbacks to specialist wingers being included – but the seven-one bench allows a free hit of sorts, especially if the opposition is using it.

There are also several loose forwards knocking on the door who wouldn’t look too out of place in a test backline in the case of injuries.

A prediction...

While World Rugby have not made any noises about getting rid of it – lest South Africa get too furious after the scrum from a free-kick was also sent to touch – the seven-one tactic is probably unlikely to last in rugby’s lawbooks long-term.

It will probably go down with graphite cricket bats, swimming super suits, and Vaporfly running shoes as innovations that were banned because they were at risk of ruining their sports. But while it lives on, it would be silly not to utilise it.