Super Rugby has set its sights on the vast, blue horizon of the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to reinvent and re-energise the elite southern hemisphere competition and for the first time in its 26-year history the competition will feature two Pacific Island teams – the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika – along with sides from Australia and New Zealand.
Many would argue that these inclusions are long overdue given the Pacific Islands’ enormous contribution to the game globally, particularly Super Rugby. Without professional domestic competitions, the major rugby-playing nations of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga became nurseries for rich clubs in Australasia, Europe and Japan.
Some of the most exciting players in Super Rugby history, such as Fijian winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca, were Pacific Islanders, while the team lists of Australian and Kiwi sides over the years have included a host of players of Pacific Island heritage. On that basis, it is only fair that they should be given a place at the table, but their inclusion was not just an act of altruism on the part of Australian and New Zealand administrators, who will be banking on them to give the competition a shot in the arm. The Pacific Islanders are renowned for their flamboyant style of play and they have the potential to become the entertainers of the competition.
The inclusion of the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika will also provide Super Rugby with more variety. The competition started with 12 teams involving sides from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, but expanded to an 18-team format with the addition of extra teams in Australia, Argentina and Japan.
With the departure of South Africa and the advent of Covid-19, Super Rugby devolved into two separate Australian and New Zealand domestic competitions as well as a lopsided trans-Tasman event. Officials will be hoping the two Pacific Island teams will restore an international flavour to the competition.
But the inclusion of the Pacific island sides does not come without risk. Apart from a few ex-Wallabies such as Sekope Kepu and Christian Lealiifano, most of the names in the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika sides would be unfamiliar to Australian rugby fans.
The majority of the best Pacific Island players play in Europe, which has raised concerns about the competitiveness of the two new Super Rugby sides. The last thing needed are another two uncompetitive teams, given there are already enough problems with the Kiwis dominating the Australian sides.
Moana Pasifika’s intended Super Rugby debut against the Blues in Auckland on Friday evening has been postponed because of a Covid-19 outbreak among the players, which means the Fijian Drua will be the history-makers when they play the NSW Waratahs in Parramatta.
The match will be as much of a test for the Waratahs as it will be for the Fijians. The Waratahs, the last Australian team to lift the Super Rugby title in 2014, finished last in both the domestic Super Rugby AU and Trans-Tasman competitions last year.
The men in sky blue are looking forward to a revival under new coach Darren Coleman, who developed a reputation as a coach who could turn struggling teams around in Sydney club rugby. Like former Waratahs coach Michael Cheika, one of Coleman’s greatest strengths is his ability to recruit players.
This year’s Waratahs squad looks fairly similar to last season’s, but there are a few interesting new faces such as former Wales and Lions centre Jamie Roberts, who will add experience and maturity to a young side. Coleman has a three-year plan to revitalise the the team, although they should be significantly better than recent seasons, which is important for the team representing Australia’s biggest rugby population.
The Queensland Reds and the Brumbies will be expected to be Australia’s flag-bearers once again this year. The Reds won the Super AU competition last year, while the Brumbies were the highest Australian place-getters in the Trans-Tasman competition. The Melbourne Rebels and Western Force usurped the Waratahs last year, but getting past the Brumbies and the Reds will be a much more difficult task.
But it is how the Australian teams perform against the New Zealanders that will be the ultimate test. As a result of New Zealand’s strict Covid-19 border rules, the Super Rugby draw has been revamped so the Australian sides will play their local derbies early and take on the Kiwis later in the season.
There is certainly a feel-good factor when Australian teams win local derbies, but the Aussie sides must continue to close the gap with the Kiwis to achieve a real measure of success.
Last year the Chiefs were the fifth-best New Zealand team in the Trans-Tasman competition with 19 points on the table, while the sixth-placed Brumbies were the highest-ranked Australian side with just five points, edging the Reds on percentages.
Even if all five Australian teams beat the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika, it will not count for much if they cannot defeat the Kiwis. The Australian sides beating the New Zealanders is the only thing that will put the super back into rugby.
