Lions fly SA flag in a forgettable Super Rugby tournament complicated by a confusing system

If it weren’t for the Lions‚ Super Rugby 2016 would have been a forgettable affair for South Africa‚ while the tournament in general was one of the worst in the history of the competition.

With the tournament expanded to include the Southern Kings from Port Elizabeth‚ Jaguares from Argentina and Sunwolves from Japan‚ there was initially a novelty factor to the competition.

There was also a change in the bonus point structure demanding that teams would need to score at least three tries more than their opponents to earn a try-scoring bonus point.

Despite the gimmicks‚ the novelty of a tournament fast wore off as the growing realisation dawned in fans that more rugby did not necessarily mean better rugby.

Super Rugby’s expansion to an 18-team tournament‚ played in six countries and one city-state‚ across 16 times zones‚ over six months with six different logs was overbearing. The result of a New Zealand or Australia derby no longer had any influence on a South African team’s fortunes because an overall combined log was removed.

The tournament featured 135 matches‚ up from 125 in 2015 and crucially‚ many of those games had little interest and impact outside of their own conferences.

Those three new teams created an eight-team South Africa Group‚ which included the Bulls‚ Cheetahs‚ Lions‚ Sharks and Stormers – split into two conferences.

There were three logs: Africa 1 and Africa 2. Then‚ their points were tabled collectively in a third‚ overall SA Conference log. The Bulls‚ Stormers‚ Cheetahs and Sunwolves made up Africa 1 conference. The Cheetahs‚ Kings‚ Sharks and Jaguares‚ Africa 2. The winners of each conference (The Stormers and the Lions) advanced to the quarterfinals‚ while the third-placed team in the combined South Africa log (The Sharks) took the third quarterfinal spot. Australia and New Zealand each had their own conferences‚ also with a combined Australasian Group log. At the end five teams from their combined log advanced to the quarterfinals.

The Hurricanes‚ Chiefs‚ Highlanders and Crusaders qualified from NZ while the Brumbies were Australia’s sole quarterfinalists. From its earliest days in the amateur era‚ the tournament has always been an unbalanced and inequitable competition because of geographical challenges. But in the 2016 incarnation it was more confusing and perhaps even unfair.

The Stormers‚ for instance‚ did not play any New Zealand teams in 2016 (not until the quarterfinals at least). The Sharks and the Lions did not meet an Australian foe. There were too many one-sided matches and mediocre contests‚ particularly between conference rivals and too many games that meant little in the overall context of the tournament.

The Kings and Sunwolves were woeful and the Jaguares failed to adapt to the weekly rigours of meeting good opposition so regularly.

In the end the three new sides added little value while both the South African and Australian conferences suffered a decline in standards as player resources were stretched by the expansion.

New Zealand’s conference remained the most competitive and had the play-offs been decided on an overall log instead of the contrived conferences system‚ which ring-fenced at least one play-off representative from each conference‚ the gross picture would have been different.

The Lions flew the flag for South Africa by reaching the final against the Hurricanes in Wellington.

It was a remarkable achievement for a team that was relegated from Super Rugby in 2013. Coach Johan Ackermann did wonders with a team that played a carefree‚ attacking brand of rugby.

He hardly put a foot wrong‚ although his decision to take a ‘second’ string team for their final pool match against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires‚ which they lost‚ denied the Lions finishing top overall log.

Had the Lions finished first they might have hosted the final instead if making the gruelling journey to New Zealand’s capital. Having played brilliantly at home to beat the Crusaders (42-25) and the defending champion Highlanders (42-30) in the quarterfinal and semi-finals respectively‚ the Lions fell short in the away final.

The Hurricanes’ 20-3 victory in the final meant that every NZ franchise has now won Super Rugby. - TMG Digital