It feels like there is a lot happening in rugby right now, at least on either side of the Tasman Sea.
The raging success of Super Round has offset some of the Super Rugby negativity created by Moana Pasifika's looming demise, while there is plenty going on inside the boardrooms at Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby -- with the Super Rugby commission somewhere in between.
With that in mind, we asked our rugby writers Sam Bruce [Australia], Brittany Mitchell [Australia] and Liam Napier [New Zealand] to address some of the key water-cooler topics doing the rounds right now.
Read on for their responses!
It looks like Moana Pasifika won't be around next year, what sort of competition structure would you like to see Super Rugby take next year and beyond?
SB: I don't think we're going to see anything too crazy next season, and it might be a move to a conference setup, with the Fijian Drua joining the four Australian franchises. That would allow for home-and-away in your own conference, plus the five cross-over games, and then maybe one further game at Super Round.
Beyond that, however, and noting that it would likely require a move to the long discussed global calendar, I'd be all for a full home-and-away season for one big reason: competition integrity. If you want an Australia team guaranteed in the final, go back to Super Rugby AU and see how well the Wallabies do on the world stage. Australia needs that intense competition, the four franchises should be striving to be the best they can be.
The smart money is on a return to conference play, though, as that will likely resonate with Australian broadcasters.
BM: It's pretty obvious what needs to happen. Make Super Rugby Pacific a full home-and-away season.
For too long Super fans have had to deal with convoluted tournament systems -- remember the mind-bending conference systems? -- make it easy for the fans to get back involved in the game.
The big issue will be with the finals structure. Retain a six-team playoff system and most of the regular season games lose all meaning. Reduce to just four and maybe if we're lucky one side outside of New Zealand will reach the finals -- based on this season's form not even the Brumbies would breach the post-eason.
For the sake of growing Australian rugby and building support, I'd push for a six-team playoffs. Top two sides get a week off while the remaining four battles it out for a place in the semifinal.
LN: Not ideal, is it? While the vexed issue of how best to support professional rugby in Samoa and Tonga rumbles on, Super Rugby seems set to return to the amateur era Super 10 competition that ran from 1993-95. I'll steer clear about amateur hour jibes to instead say I'm a fan of less is more.
Losing Moana Pasifika is a great shame but 10 teams allows for a clearer draw. Broadcast revenue will always win out - more fixtures, more eyeballs, more cash to prop up financially struggling teams. A straight home-and-away regular season could, though, create more jeopardy and meaning. And if you need more games, why not schedule them in the finals when interest peaks?
A 10-team competition cannot creditably maintain a six side finals series but rugby could take a leaf from football and stage home and away semifinals and, possibly, the grand final with the highest aggregate score crowning winners. That would allow teams to maximise gate revenue - and give broadcasters more genuinely meaningful games at the business end.
Super Round was a raging success last weekend, what would you like to see happen with the concept moving forward?
SB: Let's commit the event to Christchurch for the next two years, at least. Look at what Magic Round has done for the NRL in Brisbane, and then what transpired in Canterbury over the weekend - this was the story Super Rugby Pacific needed. You have a shiny new stadium, a city that is rugby to its core and adores its beloved Crusaders. It just ticks all the boxes.
I don't think it needs to be wedded to the Anzac Day for the next two years, as that would open up the possibility to alter the slate of matches from what we had last weekend, particularly the Hurricanes-Brumbies and Blues-Reds games that have become regular Anzac Round fixtures.
But if it ain't broke, then don't fix it. What we saw at the weekend was the start of something special. Long may Super Round live in Christchurch.
BM: Super Round needs to stay in Christchurch. At least for the short term. They deserve that much after the spectacle they created over the weekend.
Too often rugby kills the golden goose by making changes too quickly, desperate to make short term gains instead of looking to the future. From all accounts from those involved including players, fans, and management, the three-day festival was a huge success, why make any changes now? Lock it into Christchurch for 2027 -- Australia already has a Rugby World Cup next year -- before opening the door to alternate venues.
Switching between Australian and New Zealand stadiums would be a boon for both nations, and already we've seen multiple clubs put their hands up to host next year, but we have to acknowledge the beauty of Magic Round (NRL) and Gather Round (AFL) is the long-term hosting in Brisbane and Adelaide makes it easier for fans to prepare. If the weekend is to move, lock it in early for the sake of fans.
Perhaps in the future it can be expanded to include Junior All Blacks and Wallabies or the women's game. But for now, as they say in school, keep it simple.
LN: Next year must return to Christchurch. The Garden City and its new stadium turned on a magnificent weekend, and therefore deserves the right to retain the event. Anything else and the bring-back-the-horses brigade will want bloodshed. Beyond 2027, though, I'm not against testing it in another location such as Auckland.
Eden Park's imperfect aged concrete venue isn't a patch on the pristine, roofed, intimate One New Zealand Stadium. But with the right marketing campaign and complementary entertainment package, New Zealand's largest city could feasibly attract more punters than 73,000 who packed the Christchurch venue three days straight.
Events in New Zealand can wane over time. We've seen it before with the fun police killing off the Wellington sevens and many once well attended music festivals going under. Some form of rotation, with Dunedin's student population another potential target market, could work well to retain interest in the best shot in the arm Super Rugby has seen since the turn of professionalism.
The idea of an Anzac Test appears to be gathering momentum, do you support this proposal and how best can it be squeezed into the calendar?
SB: It feels like an absolute no-brainer and something that would be unique to rugby. While the NRL does have an international arena, it has its traditional Anzac Day clashes locked into the calendar. The AFL, meanwhile, is completely irrelevant on the international stage. This could be something truly special for rugby in this part of the world.
Put it at Suncorp Stadium in an evening timeslot in Brisbane and watch the punters flock down Caxton Street. Have a general bye in Super Rugby Pacific that week, leaving the focus squarely on the Anzac Day Test itself. You could even make it a double-header with the Wallaroos and Black Ferns doing battle beforehand; there was certainly a decent crowd for their very own Anzac Day clash last Saturday.
Rugby Australia have put this concept on the table, it's now on New Zealand Rugby to come to the party and lock this Test in from 2028.
BM: Test match rugby on Anzac Day? Who would be opposed to that?
Over the past decade Super Rugby has failed to capitalize on what is one of the biggest days on both the Australian and New Zealand calendars, while their sporting rivals -- the NRL and AFL -- have created something special. It's time rugby did the same.
The question will be how exactly it fits into the SRP calendar. If SRP retains the current 16-week regular season format, they could squeeze it in with a bye round, but an expansion to a full home-and-away 18-week regular season would make it a lot harder.
But it's clear where the money is. People love Test matches. The fans will pack the stadium in droves and what a great way to honour the Anzacs than a battle between the two nations on the rugby pitch. Rugby Australia have pushed for it, time now for New Zealand Rugby to come onboard.
LN: I like the idea in theory. It would be a major hit, particularly in Australia where there's a clear window to maximise interest at an elite international level that the NRL and AFL can't compete with. The reality, though, is this concept encapsulates rugby's juxtaposition where it too often eats itself alive.
Sure, an Anzac Test would captivate interest and likely produce a compelling spectacle that delivers a healthy financial windfall for the New Zealand and Australian national unions. It would come at a cost, though, of further degrading and devaluing Super Rugby. Staging a Test smack in the middle of the Super season would either force that competition to take a bizarre break or render those matches of little relevance. A competition that already rests and rotates its biggest stars from regular season games would also likely be stripped of All Blacks and Wallabies for realistically another two weeks.
I'm all for exploring new initiatives but does Super Rugby really matter in this context? Ultimately if the money is right -- after all Super clubs are compensated -- the Anzac Test will be trialled but we must be real about the message it sends.
Super Rugby Pacific chief executive Jack Mesley last week said there is "inbound interest" for Super Rugby expansion. Where, if anywhere, do you think this should be considered from?
SB: The competition needs to be incredibly careful when it comes to expansion, as recent history suggests it is fraught with danger. While the Jaguares were a worthwhile addition in the most recent decade, and the Sunwolves pulled good crowds to Tokyo, the fact we've seen both the Melbourne Rebels and in all likelihood Moana Pasifika condemned to the scrapheap in Super Rugby Pacific is the ultimate warning.
Certainly, the Asian market is an attractive one. But the problem you have in Japan is the already established League One and Two, whose seasons virtually run concurrently with Super Rugby Pacific - so you're not going to get Kubota, Panasonic or Suntory leaving League One to come and join Super Rugby.
I wonder if there is an opportunity for a Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, or even just a 1 vs. 1 and 2 vs. 2 from Super Rugby Pacific and League One at the end of the season as a starting point, just to gauge where the two competitions are at standard-wise. That might best give us a clue as to which path to take moving forward.
For now, though, Super Rugby Pacific needs to consolidate as a 10-team league. And a lot of the responsibility there is on the Australian teams to start challenging for the top two spots on the ladder.
BM: I know the adage is "expand or die" but sometimes what rugby really needs is just consistency. From 12 teams, to 14, 15 then 18, back to 15, then 17, 12, and 11, since Super Rugby's inception in 1996 the competition has expanded and shrunk, has included teams from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Argentina, now Fiji and the Pacific Islands.
After the demise of the Rebels two years ago and now Moana Pasifika, perhaps the best thing for the competition right now is just stability. Retain 10 teams. Play a full home-and-away competition, build fan loyalty once more -- viewership numbers are up and Super Round was a massive success -- and return Super Rugby to the premier rugby competition it once was.
But if we must expand, go to Japan. It's logical; there's money, the time zone works, there's an eager fan base, and I miss the Sunwolves.
LN: Interest and credible new teams are likely poles apart. Where could they possibly come from without major ramifications? Major League Rugby has lost five teams in the offseason to underline their financial woes and effectively rule out an American start up surviving.
If Moana Pasifika can't make it work, no other professional team can be based in the Islands. Japan's League One doesn't appear to have any serious interest in hitching its cart to Super Rugby. And while the Jaguares were a great addition, the cost and travel challenges associated with harnessing a team from Argentina have effectively blocked that move, too.
The inherent issues of attracting fans, building a competitive roster amid continued raids from Japan and Europe and sourcing $10 to 12 million in annual overheads to keep a Super Rugby team afloat paint a stark reality. Super Rugby Pacific is better off forging ahead with 10 established teams than attempting to shoehorn in another startup that's destined to fall over well before it succeeds.