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More is lessJust when you thought it safe to start believing in the future of northern hemisphere rugby,
along come
the blazers = მახვშები | ჳოღრაშები with another hair-brained scheme.
No, we’re not talking about the plans to streamline future British & Irish Lions tour,
nor Premiership Rugby’s desire to extend the season “in the interests of player welfare”.
This one is
even more maniacal.The latest wheeze is a proposed expansion of the PRO12,
with the Southern Kings and the Cheetahs set to accept an invite
it join the competition from
as early as September.But don’t worry! Players will not have to spend half the season traversing the Sahara,
nor will they expected to play more rugby.
The revamp will see the league
divided into two conferences of seven teams,
with one South African side in each camp.
And it doesn’t end there.
An American side could join from the 2018/19 season
“as the competition continues to explore expansion options
to generate more revenue and
tap into new markets”.Genius, right? Well, of course not.
Even a part-time fan of our game could tell you why it is
that the Kings and the Cheetahs find themselves at a loose end,
and that’s because Super Rugby has decided to shape up
by cutting some of the
dead wood.So how could expansion work north of the equator
after having
failed so miserably in the south?
And how does
fewer home games square with the fans
and the finances of existing sides?
And how much real benefit will the new South African TV deal bring?
Won’t the reported (and pretty paltry) extra £11 million be
swallowed by airfares alone?
And why would South Africans tune in to watch the PRO14
after it has been framed, by pure design, as
secondary to Super Rugby?And what’s the logic behind doing away with traditional/ancient home-and-away derbies
by separating sides into conferences?
(As it stands, Munster, the Scarlets and the Blues will be in one group,
Leinster, the Ospreys and the Dragons in the other.)
And what if the South African sides
win qualification for European competition? Could the Cheetahs of Bloemfontein really become
champions of Europe?Yes, we’re living in the
Age of Stupid, but surely that’s just one step too far.