Despite a system that will see lesser teams enjoy home play-offs‚ Super Rugby bosses are unlikely to alter the structure of the tournament in the foreseeable future. On Thursday‚ South Africa‚ New Zealand‚ Australia and Argentina Rugby (SANZAAR) took the unusual step of defending the tournament’s integrity in a statement after increasing criticism of its obvious limitations. The Brumbies or the Waratahs will enjoy a home quarterfinal even though neither side is likely to finish higher than eighth on an overall log. The Stormers have also booked a home quarterfinal‚ but as it stands now‚ they have fewer points than four of New Zealand’s franchises. “Unfortunately there has been conjecture that the hosting criteria for the quarter-finals is unfair‚ largely based on the exceptional form of the New Zealand teams‚” SANZAAR chief executive Andy Marinos said in a statement. “However‚ SANZAAR stands by the existing qualification process. A tournament’s qualification criteria cannot be determined on one year’s results in isolation. “Super Rugby is one of the world’s best rugby tournaments and this year’s final series is set to be exceptional‚ as the best teams have risen to the top through the regular season. “This is reflected in the fact that going into the final round this weekend‚ seven of the nine matches will have a direct bearing on the make-up of the quarterfinals.” It’s a clever piece of spin‚ but it fails to address the obvious shortcomings of the tournament that led to the situation of the best teams on the overall standings being forced to face away play-off matches. The conference system‚ which ring fences winners in South Africa‚ Australia and New Zealand‚ regardless of their total points‚ is one major flaw. The lack of equitable fixtures is another. SANZAAR might point to the National Football League (NFL) in the USA that uses the conference system as evidence that it can work. But the NFL was the amalgamation of two domestic leagues half a century ago.Within that context there were traditional rivalries such as the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers that were taken into consideration when conferences were drawn up. Super Rugby‚ when it started as the Super 10 in 1993‚ was sold on the basis that it would see the best of SA‚ NZ and Australia playing against each other. It is not a domestic competition. By upping the number of games between local rivals and breaking them into domestic conferences‚ the competition has lost sight of its own unique selling point. The Stormers have not played a single NZ team this year and that is unfair on supporters everywhere. SANZAAR are tied into this structure for the next four years because it was sold to television companies on this basis. Research has shown that the television audience has dropped in 2016 with an expansion to 18 teams. TV viewership company Repucom confirmed that there was a steady decline in Super Rugby audience figures for five consecutive years before this season. According to Rapport newspaper earlier this month‚ the 2016 figures had also shown a huge decline‚ although it’s unclear what the source of that research was. If it continues this way‚ there might not be a product to sell in four year’s time. - TMG Digital..