The Super Rugby season of 2026 winds itself along with some great rugby being on display but the same old organisation problems persist. Seemingly, there is no attempt to do anything about them by the organisers. I guess if I am to be responsible, I should note my plan to improve this competition for the benefit of fans, players, franchises and NZ Rugby.
When the Super Rugby competition started 30 years ago, NZ Rugby was desperate to protect the All Blacks’ player strength and our internal provincial competition. They were not successful in protecting our New Zealand Provincial Competition (NPC), which has become a second-rate competition, but they have largely, but not entirely, protected the All Blacks. One of the major reasons for this is player drain where young players strive to make the All Blacks but if they are unsuccessful, often head overseas for money and life experience. Recent examples of this are Stephen Perofeta who is probably our fifth ranked first five and is now heading overseas. A more important one is Hurricanes explosive winger Fehi Fineanganofo who was destined for All Black selection this year but has instead signed up with an English Club.
We need to keep such players here as it boosts our player depth and enhances competitions for fans enjoyment. This should result in better competitions and revenues for organisers. The NZRFU does not appear to have come up with anything to address this problem.
Here are a couple of ideas. Firstly, let’s allow players to expand their horizons and be available for All Black selection so long as they play for any Super Rugby side, not just New Zealand ones as is the current situation. This would allow players to relocate to Australia, Fiji or Samoa if they wished and continue their careers. It would also enable the Australian sides to strengthen their sides with a few Kiwis which helps them out, but does not affect player’s national selection chances.
The other part of this equation is to enable the NZ Super sides to hire overseas talent. Sides would be strengthened by having South Africans or top European players boosting their squads. I realise this can happen to a certain extent, but it is limited by super franchise ownership and money. The current structure prevents money pouring into the game as there is limited income earning potential for the Franchises. This is the big change that must happen. The current model is basically that NZRFU controls money and distributes it out to the clubs (franchises). This must change to a model where the clubs control their revenue and costs, and pay fees to the NZRFU. This would give flexibility for the clubs to find new owners with deep pockets who would be interested in strengthening their teams, making them more interesting for fans. This in turn would make it more interesting for fans and open revenue opportunities in addition to their share of TV revenue.
The competition itself could also be smartened up a bit. The current arrangement of playing every other team once but some twice is quite stupid and unfair. Every team should play every other team once with a finals series that consists of the top four teams only.
If no Australian teams make it, such is life. However, having the ability to strengthen their sides with Kiwis should help them be more competitive. The finals series, consisting of three games, should be held at one venue which is announced at the start of the season so fans can organise a trip around this.
For example, Perth may host the finals having the semi-finals on the Saturday and Sunday of the first weekend and the final on the following Saturday. This is great for fans who want to organise a holiday and a great event for the host city.
The season would need to be broken up for two weeks to allow the annual ANZAC Day test to be held. I know we haven’t had one yet, but we should, and it appears that the powers are looking at this favourably.
Every Super team gets a two-week rest period while the national teams prepare then battle. This is much like leagues State of Origin and would be an excellent event. Of course, this should be the only Bledisloe Cup match of the year.
There you go, my solution to the current woes of Super Rugby which would lead to better competition, a better experience for fans and hopefully, could lead to a stronger NPC competition, but that is another article.
