Super Rugby News
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Wallabies great Tatafu Polota-Nau is back in Australian rugby and is set to take on the Reds on Saturday night, after the veteran hooker was granted a loan deal. Polota-Nau is in his second season with traditional English heavyweights Leicester Tigers, but has struggled for game in recent months. And after Test rake Tolu Latu was suspended for six weeks, the Waratahs inquired with the English club whether they could lure Polota-Nau back home on a short-term deal. Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson confirmed to reporters in Sydney on Monday afternoon that Polota-Nau was going through the final fine print to secure the deal. “We are pleased to welcome home internationally renowned hooker and NSW Waratahs’ own Tatafu Polota-Nau, to help fill a short term need with our squad,” Gibson said. -
Also posted in the Chiefs 2019 thread:
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@Tim fucking oath! They can't come over here, beat the Chiefs and not expect any consequences!
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@Tim If it's true, it's not really surprising. Even with small improvements in performance since they joined the competition, what have they actually contributed to the development of rugby in Japan? You only have to look at the make-up of their squad - with an incredible number of non-Japanese born players - to know that that contribution can't be very significant. This is not a Japanese SR team, this is a multi-national team of SR rejects.
Going back to a SR 14 opens the door to abolishing the conference system and returning to a shorter regular season (13 matches) than currently (16 matches). Fewer games and less travel; it's good from a player welfare point of view, which should also benefit the quality of the games. The question is, what's the financial impact of such a decision on the competition. I have no idea what Japanese broadcasters/sponsors are currently contributing in that respect.
Maybe they should join the Major League Rugby in North America.
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I don’t know what their deal is worth, but I doubt that the Sunwolves bring any many new rugby viewers - most are already fans of the Japan league, and accordingly already subscribe to the main provider (J-sport), so my guess is that you’re right about the lack of impact on TV rights. With that in mind, moving to a 14 team competition would be ideal.
Even better if they split the Jags and got Argentina, the US, Japan, and other pacific teams in a Super rugby D2 division.
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@Tim I'll wait for the results of the B sample before throwing him to the wolves. Not because I suspect he's innocent, but it makes the moral high ground even better.
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"Sprained his ankle. How bad, we will find out tomorrow," Robertson said.
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@Tim Now that the Sunwolves aren't touring New Zealand...
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@Tim Not a huge loss considering the backbone of that squad is made up of Kiwis. Kind of a shame though as they had great support at home matches in Tokyo and have shown they have the ability to compete.
@Canes4life said in Super Rugby News:
@Tim Not a huge loss considering the backbone of that squad is made up of Kiwis. Kind of a shame though as they had great support at home matches in Tokyo and have shown they have the ability to compete.
I work for a Japanese company and the ones from Tokyo mentioned that while they were reasonably supported the clubs didn't support the team and also outside of the local base of fans there wasn't much support outside the area.
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@Tim I remember reading a similar article last week. Are they using old articles as their source again, or has something actually changed since last week? I don't believe anything, until I see an actual decision from SANZAAR (preferably published on their website).
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@Tim I remember reading a similar article last week. Are they using old articles as their source again, or has something actually changed since last week? I don't believe anything, until I see an actual decision from SANZAAR (preferably published on their website).
@Stargazer Sumo on twitter saying he has confirmation that Sunwolves team has been informed they are gone.
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@Stargazer Sumo on twitter saying he has confirmation that Sunwolves team has been informed they are gone.
@KiwiMurph Yeah, was just going to post the tweet! No need for that now.
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@Stargazer Sumo on twitter saying he has confirmation that Sunwolves team has been informed they are gone.
@KiwiMurph said in Super Rugby News:
@Stargazer Sumo on twitter saying he has confirmation that Sunwolves team has been informed they are gone.
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I feel sorry for the players. They've basically been part of a failed experiment. I hope that the better players (particularly, Little) will be able to score a spot in a NZ SR squad next year by playing well for the SW this year (their Japanese club contracts permitting).
By the way, SANZAAR will come with an official announcement on Friday - not limited to pulling the SW, going by this tweet:
