Rubber meets the road. Judgement day. Chickens, roost etc. 

This weekend, Super Rugby gets serious. Sure, it was serious enough leading into the finals, but not serious enough for teams to use their full complement of players. Not serious enough to leave player at home on a long overseas trip. Not serious enough to positionally gamble. But serious cause there were competition points on the line. 

That luxury has dissipated.  

Lose this weekend, it’s goodnight nurse. 

So, what awaits? Sadly, for the competition, this weekend is a series of lay down misères with only the Hurricanes/Brumbies fixture offering any hope of a contest. 

How arrogant is that? It’s hard not to be taking into account the piecemeal round robin where only severely underdone/rotated teams provided fresh game for the non-Kiwi teams. 

Some games have reached great heights in terms of intensity and competitive edge, but too many have been paint-by-numbers exercises that bring nothing to the fan experience. This is underlined by the skeletal stands we often see. It is a big sacrifice for the possibility of victory at the high level. Too much of a sacrifice. 

In essence, Super Rugby Pacific round robin is a top four seeding competition at best, an international development contest at worst. It is after all, solely designed to provide the Wallabies and the All Blacks with the best possible platform from which to launch a successful attack at on the World Cup. 

Until the teams/clubs/franchises are standalone entities, Super Rugby will remain, especially in World Cup years, a suboptimal comp.