by Mark Comerford
Moana Pasifika just beat the Hurricanes! Without context, that sentence might sound as unsubstantial as an Eddie Jones press conference, but it’s evidence for Super Rugby, not for the first time, quietly showing Europe the way. When COVID caused New Zealand and Australia to close their borders, South Africa was cast adrift from Super Rugby, instead finding a home in Europe. After the dead-rubbers that were the 2020 and 2021 seasons, New Zealand Rugby and Rugby Australia announced the launch of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season. The revamped competition consists of five Australian teams, five New Zealand teams, and two Pacific Island teams – Fijian Drua, who play in the Australian conference, and Moana Pasifika, who play in the New Zealand conference.
Fijian Drua was formed in 2017 and spent three years playing in Australia’s now defunct National Rugby Championship. While Fiji’s best players ply their trade mostly in France and Britain (where the money is), the Drua squad still consists almost entirely of Fijians, boasting an impressive ensemble of Olympic gold medallists, sevens stars, and a dozen or so internationals, all under the tutelage of former Leinster skills coach, Mick Byrne.
Moana Pasifika were created in 2020 for a one-off match against the Māori All Blacks and like Fijian Drua, were invited to join Super Rugby from 2022. The club is designed to give a home to Samoan and Tongan players, as well as New Zealand and Australian-based players with strong Pacific Island heritage. With All Blacks legend, Aaron Mauger, at the helm, Moana Pasifika slapped the Hurricanes as if they were Will Smith at an award ceremony.
Henry Taefu of Moana Pasifika celebrates beating the Canes (Getty).
So why is this such a big deal? Well, despite the squad only being together a matter of months, the Pasifika were able to beat a founding member of Super Rugby; a team who won the competition as recently as 2016 and made the semi-finals every year since. Hurricanes Head Coach, Jason Holland, who played for Munster for nine years and coached the province for four, picked a strong side for the clash, which contained five All Blacks, including Jordie Barrett and TJ Perenara.
As part of World Rugby’s strategy to increase competitiveness, they provide financial, high performance, and administrative support to both the Drua and Pasifika. The hope is that this will “boost the performances of the Pacific Islands and give them the best opportunity to perform to their full potential on the world stage.” The teams benefit New Zealand and Australia as well, providing a home for “surplus” players, keeping them in Super Rugby and away from Europe.
This is not the first time Super Rugby has cast its net beyond South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. In 2016 the Jaguares of Argentina and the Sunwolves of Japan joined the competition, both playing in the South African conference. Again, the sides were majority local players and both franchises were designed to improve and grow the game in their respective countries. In Argentina, the Jaguares gave many Argentine players the opportunity to play and train together for sustainable periods of time, helping to build on their international progress and aid them in transitioning into the Rugby Championship. For Japan, the Sunwolves provided a strong foundation to base their game on, heading into the 2019 World Cup.
So what can Europe learn from Super Rugby? Before we answer the ‘what’, we must answer the ‘why’: Why does Europe need help? The calls for Italy to be removed/replaced in the Six Nations have been gaining traction for a number of years, but this year, more than ever, it seemed to be THE hot topic before, and indeed throughout the competition. Like a middle-aged man going through the distastefully named seven-year-itch, unable to accept that it’ll be the same one woman for the rest of his life, the talking heads of European rugby are now wanting to explore their options.
Writing in the Irish Times, Gordon D’Arcy, who won 82 caps for Ireland, bemoaned Italy’s seven-year losing streak in the Six Nations, asking “what, if any, value they are adding to the tournament?” D’Arcy laments the poor performances of the Italian clubs in the United Rugby Championship and wonders if there is “any coherent strategy for the short, medium and long-term development of Italian rugby?” The former Leinster centre says Italy’s presence should not be guaranteed if they cannot be competitive.
D’Arcy concludes that Italian rugby would collapse if they were removed from the Six Nations, yet that is a price he seems not only willing to pay, but giddy about the prospect. There are some valid points made within the article, but crucially, not a single alternative is offered. Coincidentally, D’arcy deactivated his Twitter account following Italy’s glorious 22-21 win in Cardiff over defending champions, Wales, and it’s been radio silence ever since. Although a connection between the two would be purely conjecture on my part.
Italian players celebrate their first win in Cardiff (TS).
With anything, there is always the law of unintended consequences. What happens if Italy are turfed out? Do we revert to a pre-2000 Five Nations? That would be a slap in the face to World Rugby’s proclamation that they want to grow the game. It would also make the last 22 years look like a waste of time and money.
Before the Six Nations kicked off, there were serious rumours that World Champions South Africa were being ear-marked to replace the Azzurri. Investment company CVC are now a major shareholder in the competition and want to maximise their return on investment in the Six Nations – that would be considerably more likely with the Springboks. Adding South Africa would massively increase revenue through higher ticket sales, improved TV viewership, and increased advertising. There’s no doubt either that adding the three-time world champions would improve the standards of the championship. And let’s face it, the Rainbow nation has been moving closer to Europe for years. The top four South African franchises already play in the URC and will enter the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup for the first time next season.
Back to the law of unintended consequences: what happens to the Rugby Championship? Do South Africa play in both Northern and Southern Hemisphere competitions? Or do they, instead, abandon the competition, leaving New Zealand, Australia and Argentina up creek without a paddle? What about the summer and autumn tours? The hemispheric attraction would instantly lose its appeal if the ‘Boks are playing in Europe every spring. And the Lions? What would be the point?
Maybe they could explore the possibility of a Seven Nations – adding South Africa without removing Italy. This would introduce a fairer split of three home games and three away – and there’d be the added advantage of a cracking new theme tune.
Former Wales and Lions captain, Sam Warburton, has been a leading advocate for the introduction of a relegation playoff format, where the team finishing bottom of the Six Nations would go into a playoff with the winners of the Rugby Europe Championship (REC) – the continent’s second-tier annual rugby tournament.
Such posturing is done under the veil of wanting to “grow the game” and “help the teams in the REC”. But let’s examine the REC: Since 2006, Georgia have failed to win the competition on only two occasions, both times to Romania. Despite the recent emergence of countries such as Spain, Russia and Portugal, let’s assume Italy would meet the Georgians in this proposed relegation/promotion playoff. Georgia have never beaten Italy, losing their most recent game in 2018 on a scoreline of 28-17. If the eastern nation did manage to beat the Italians and gain entry to the Six Nations, what exactly is Warburton expecting? In 18 tests against the remaining five nations, Georgia have lost each and every time.
Georgian winger, Akaki Tabutsadze, powers past the Portuguese defence (Rugby Europe).
Personally, I think any option that removes Italy from the competition is a mistake – at least for now. The current team of rising young stars should not be punished for the shortcomings of their predecessors. Now, more than ever, is the time to nurture the likes of Danilo Fischetti, one of the most energetic props playing the game; fly-half Paolo Garbisi, learning the tricks of the trade at French table-toppers Montpellier; explosive winger, Monty Ioane, who made the second-most run metres in this year’s Six Nations, most defenders beaten, most offloads, and most clean breaks; new superstar of northern hemisphere rugby, the diminutive Ange Cappuozzo, who scored two tries on debut versus Scotland and made the match-winning try from nothing against Wales; and dynamic captain, Michele Lamaro, who holds it all together.
The Under 20’s further compounded this promise with an excellent third place finish in their Six Nations. With wins over Scotland and Wales, and the Under 20s’ first ever victory over England, the Italian pipeline looks stronger than ever. It took 50 years for France to win their first Five Nations, Italy’s tenure in the competition is less than half that. They deserve more time.
Removing Italy from the Six Nations – by relegation or replacement – leaves the question of what happens to club sides, Benneton and Zebre. Are they just removed from the URC, Champions Cup and Challenge Cup? If so, who replaces them? For all his bluster and short-sightedness, Gordon D’Arcy did at least point out that the handling of Italy’s entry into the Six Nations 22 years ago is a good example of over expansion without sufficient planning and structures already in place.
Which, you’ll be elated to learn, leads me to my point. What can Europe learn from Super Rugby? In my opinion, there is one clear path to expanding and improving European Rugby without culling Italy or laying down the red carpet for the Springboks: integrate the 6 REC countries into the European club competitions by creating teams like Moana Pasifika.
Teams akin to the Drua, Jaguares and Sunwolves already exist. In a 2021 directive from Rugby Europe and World Rugby, a new tournament was created – a club competition for the emerging unions in Europe: The Rugby Europe Super Cup. The tournament consists of 8 teams: The Black Lion (Georgia), Tel Aviv Heat (Israel), Enisey-STM (Russia), Lokomotiv Penza (Russia), Brussels Devils (Belgium), The Delta (Netherlands), Lusitanos XV (Portugal), and Castilla y Leon Iberians (Spain). Europe’s most consistent side outside of the Six Nations, Romania, will be added once all the necessary criteria has been met.
While it is encouraging to see World Rugby getting their hands dirty and showing real interest in third tier rugby, I am disappointed that they didn’t try something more creative, à la Moana Pasifika. The Black Lion – a collection of the best players from Didi 10, Georgia’s domestic competition – are probably the only side who could stand alone like the Drua or the Jaguares, shown by the club’s inclusion in South Africa’s famed Currie Cup. Like Fiji and Argentina before them, most of Georgia’s elite players play in the French Top 14. The Black Lion offers French-based internationals an opportunity to play at home, but the club would need to be involved in Europe’s premier competition to truly compete in terms of both experience and salary.
Super Cup table (Ultimate Rugby)
Portugal and Spain have been making great progress in the REC over the past few seasons – so much so that Spain have qualified for their first World Cup since 1999. Yet I still can’t envisage either side having enough to form credible stand-alone teams in Europe’s top tournaments. Lusitanos XV represent Portugal with a squad comprising of the best players from across the Divisão de Honra. Spain have not even taken that step; instead, their representatives – Castilla y Leon Iberians – are an amalgamation of the best players from just three teams, not the entire División de Honor. They represent the Castilla y Leon region, not Spain. This alone is a huge, self-imposed handicap; whatever chance the Iberians would have of being competitive is seriously diminished by such scrutinised selectivity.
My recommendation would be a merger between all the best players across both Spain and Portugal to form one super team. Obviously, ground-sharing, team colours, team name, and other issues around identity would need to be carefully considered, but the kind of exposure it would give a squad of 30 to 40 players would, in my opinion, be worth the strife. I’d make the same suggestion to the Belgian and Dutch unions. The Delta and the Brussels Devils are already struggling in the Super Cup, just as their countries struggle in the REC. A merger of the two sides would provide the best possible chance of their players reaching the next level. The question of what to do with Russian clubs is one for another day.
EPCR (European Professional Club Rugby) are constantly tinkering with the format of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup and next season, with the inclusion of the South African franchises, will be no different. With the addition of the Georgian Black Lion, an Iberian team and a Benelux team to the 14 teams from France, 13 teams from England, and 16 teams from the URC, EPCR would have 46 teams with which to create 2 stable, competitive competitions.
I find it perplexing that unlike their Super Rugby counterparts, these teams have been ring-fenced into their own, third-tier competition. If they cannot be trusted to compete against Connacht or Brive or Bristol, how can they ever be expected to compete against Ireland or France or England? And if they’re players are not given the opportunity to gain proper experience at club level, why are we surprised when they fail at international level. Imagine you spent all your life working in McDonalds, but once every four years you were put into a cooking competition with Gordon Ramsey! These players would gain so much more from playing Munster every season, instead of getting annihilated by Ireland every other decade.