Throw the baby out with the bathwater: ditch the Stormers, Sharks, Lions and Bulls

For once, it seems our mates in Australia are even worse off than us. The ARU, whose idea it was to give one of their own teams the bullet, haven’t even got out of the starting blocks, despite their promise of “swift action”. Incredible what the threat of 2 subsequent lawsuits does.

SA Rugby, by contrast, seems to have done something right for once. Having been informed recently by SANZAAR that they must shed 2 Super Rugby teams, they took it on the chin and played the long game.

Perhaps they have finally recognised – without openly admitting it – that their insistence to have 6 teams was indeed a monumental cock-up. (I secretly want to believe that on his first day of employment, Brendan Venter twisted SA Rugby’s grubby arms and convinced them that this is a great opportunity to “Make Bok Rugby Great Again”…with fewer teams).

So where does that leave our Super Rugby involvement? Well, at a crossroads.

Down one road is to simply chop the Kings and Cheetahs, LIFO-style (Last-In, First Out). It would be horrendously unfair to kill off the Bloemfontein team – the current Currie Cup champions – but, decisions need to be made.

Or…an alternative is to draw a line in the sand and throw out all 6 teams. Hear me out.

Firstly, centrally contract all the players. This would by far be the most significant step. Then, set up 4 new franchises: one based in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, one in Durban and Bloemfontein and then one each in Johannesburg and Pretoria/Nelspruit. This really is no different to New Zealand, where all teams have two venues, with the secondary venues actually still being the homes of top provinces in their version of the Currie Cup.

Each new team would have a new name, new kit and not owned entirely by SA Rugby (making use of the new 74% private equity shareholding rule). Then implement an IPL-style draft auction system for each team, but within a salary cap. To create continuity in the teams, tie the players into 2-year contracts, and even add in some transformation targets to appease the ANC. Sure, some players will lose out and have to go back to club rugby, but that is perhaps where they belong.

And what about the current teams’ brand equities? Honestly, who cares – they’re mostly the same as Currie Cup teams.

This alternative system will achieve a much-needed and refreshing breakaway from what can only be described as clinging to the past, it will efficiently fit 6 teams into 4, fewer players might bog off overseas, and perhaps SA Rugby would actually be seen as being bold, pioneering and prepared to make tough decisions for the betterment of Springbok Rugby.