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I think we shouldn't compare both competitions at all. The Heiniken Cup which I believe is really a provincial 'club' competition which makes it relevent to the Air New Zealand Cup competition or the Currie Cup in South Africa or the new Australian national competition....urghhh don't know the name.
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No no, the ANZ Cup and the CC are
National competitions and not
international competitions like the HEC.
Also, you forget that half of the teams in the HEC (from Ireland, Scotland and Wales) are drawn up along provincial (al la Super 14) lines too.
Yes you can't compare the Super 14 to the HEC clubs, but you also can't compare the CC or the ANZC to the HEC either.
However, for the purpose of argument, I shall contradict myself and compare the Super 14 to the HEC clubs.
As for which teams are better, obviously the Super 14 teams. Even if the entire Crusaders squad to a man upped sticks and moved to Saracens, and then not only that clone the worlds greatest rugby players in the last 100 years, we'd still somehow cock it up. The Super 14 just has that much more clinical edge!
The Scarlets just want to fanny about with lateral passing and 100m dashes to actually bother with winning, the likes of the Crusaders and the Sharks just want to
CRUSH KILL AND DESTROY.
But then again, in the banter stakes, the HEC clubs will always have the edge, mainly because some (Munster, Leicester, Ospreys) have defeated SH International teams in their lifetime. In fact, in the bragging stakes, the HEC would wing it because their collective history and pride would outstrip the phoney, manufactured Super 14 'franchises' by a huge rate.
Lets leave it for fifty years and let the Super 14 franchises mature, let them play some touring International sides and then they'll be able to stand shoulder to shoulder, not just on results, but on history and culture too.
Final conclusions: HEC clubs can brag about former glories, but thats about it. S14 > HEC Clubs.
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What I meant was where the Super 14 teams are based in. eg Crusaders, Christchurch or Blues, Auckland etc. which gives more options of player selections from it's provicial sides in the ANZC. These are main 'cities' where in the HC, there are some team locations based as 'provincial'. But yes I agree that the HC is an international comp. and ANZC and CC are national.