What would Super Rugby Table have looked like in a pure round robin

[mdaclarke]

Just that really? How do you think it would have finished if there was no conference and each team played the other once?

My guess is that the Australian teams would have performed worse, the New Zealand teams better and the South African, Argentine and Japanese teams about the same.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

My gut feel is Australian teams would have done worse, all the rest about the same.
In terms of the playoffs, probably still about the same. The South African conference was tight and they didn't get to play the blues twice but they also didn't have to play the crusaders twice.

You could look through and half the points teams attained against teams in their own conference, then add predicted results against the 2 overseas teams they didn't play.

In 2016, I believe nz would have had 5 teams in the top 6 or 7. The worst nz team that year, the blues, only lost one game against overseas opposition, but only won one game against nz opposition because the other nz teams were ridiculously good.

I don't mind the conference system though, it evens out the playoff mix which can be good for the fans, makes it more international which is always fun, and if you are good enough to have a realistic chance of winning the competition you will still make the playoffs.

 

[mdaclarke]

I could accept the conference system if it was like Pro 14, where every team still plays every other team at least once. Even then I wouldn't like it. The Super 12/14 era was so much better.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

I could accept the conference system if it was like Pro 14, where every team still plays every other team at least once. Even then I wouldn't like it. The Super 12/14 era was so much better.

New Zealand rugby fans love beating Australians but it takes the fun out of it if no Australians actually care. So we like any advantage the Australians can get as rugby over there is at such a high risk of dying out. If they actually started winning then I'd start hating the conference system

 

[higgik]

I could accept the conference system if it was like Pro 14, where every team still plays every other team at least once. Even then I wouldn't like it. The Super 12/14 era was so much better.

I like that idea as well. It would make for 19 matches though.

Think either reducing to 12 or expanding back to 16 is best option.

With 12 there would be a 16 matches series, just like the MLR 2020.
With 16, 4 groups of 4 home and away in group, home or away v rest, gives 18 matches.

I wouldn't be surprised to see SR shrink to 12, with the Sunwolves moving to GRR and maybe another SA team moving North.

 

[mdaclarke]

I like that idea as well. It would make for 19 matches though.

Think either reducing to 12 or expanding back to 16 is best option.

With 12 there would be a 16 matches series, just like the MLR 2020.
With 16, 4 groups of 4 home and away in group, home or away v rest, gives 18 matches.

I wouldn't be surprised to see SR shrink to 12, with the Sunwolves moving to GRR and maybe another SA team moving North.

I can't see any of the original 4 SA teams going north, unless Super Rugby came to an end. Sunwolves are already being cut to facilitate the move to 14