The axe has finally fallen and three teams are set to be cut from Super Rugby next season with the tournament offering contracts to just 15 franchises.
In a major blow to a tournament widely regarded as the premier provincial competition in world rugby, two South African sides and one Australian team will exit from a format which has become decidedly un-Super this year.
In a crisply worded statement SANZAAR chairman Brett Impey admitted that, “naturally we understand that there will be some very disappointed franchises.
“But the tournament’s long-term future and the economic reality of the business at present is something that had to be addressed.”
The unwieldy 18-team schedule, which was introduced in 2016 after Argentina’s Jaguares and the Japanese Sunwolves joined the competition and South Africa’s Southern Kings returned, has been widely criticised as a once quality product has been severely diluted.
The Sunwolves have only won two matches in their first year and a half but SANZAAR knows they need to retain the market share and financial opportunities of an Asian-based side, so the pain must be felt by Australia and South Africa.
If it was solely economic reasons then surely one of the Kiwi sides would be up for the chop, but they are so far superior in rugby terms that all five franchises are safe.
Australian teams have not helped their cause with a set of disastrous results. After the weekend the five Australian franchises have played a total of 31 matches for just eight wins.
In comparison the five New Zealand teams have played 32 matches for 23 wins. In a clear reflection of the lack of form, four Australian teams currently reside in the bottom eight, with only the Brumbies troubling the top-half of the table.
It's official, SANZAR snips #SuperRugby to 15 teams... pic.twitter.com/Nkk7aDbyod
— #rugbysouthafrica (@RugbyRSA) April 9, 2017
The Australian team thought most likely to be binned were the eternally under-performing Perth-based Western Force who in 11 seasons have never made the play-offs and who boast a top table finish of 8th.
The irony this season is that the Force, with two wins from six, are currently ranked as the secondbest Australian team, just above the woeful Waratahs (2 from 7), the ridiculous Reds (1 from 7) and the rabble called the Rebels (0 from 5).
Melbourne’s finest, who sit in 18th spot with a points differential of -162(!), would be many pundits pick for the delete button but complicating the issue is the franchise is privately owned, which could lead the Australian Rugby Union in to a costly legal battle.
However, in a slight change of heart the ARU look set to make the death race a genuine two-horse contest with the Rebels and Force set to argue for their future.
One possibility could be a formerly mooted merger between the Rebels and the Brumbies, which would keep Super Rugby in Melbourne, while preserving the Force.
Force stalwart Matt Hodgson was moved to tears when the possibility of his side’s forced-extinction was brought up at the post-match conference after the 46-41 victory over the visiting Southern Kings on Sunday.
“The way it’s been done is probably the most annoying thing,” said the popular flanker. “Dragged on. I’ve done four press conferences this week and I’ve had one rugby question. That’s annoying. “For kids to turn up here (today) is great. But now they don’t know if the Force are going to be their future.”
Whatever decision is made it’s a massive step backwards for the XV man code in Australia and sure to have the AFL, NRL and A League bosses laughing into their glasses. Rugby fans can only hope the whole appalling mess is sorted quickly and that Super can return to rugby in Australia sooner rather than later.
