'To completely pull the plug would be premature'

SUPER RUGBY SPOTLIGHT: “I’ve got a horrible feeling that this cacophony is going to have some sway.”

With those words, Stormers coach John Dobson admitted the noise coming from Australasia will have an influence on the destiny of the game.

However, he also warned vocal New Zealand and Australian critics they run the risk of a major mistake if they exclude South Africa from their future plans.

SANZAAR made the call to return to a 14-team round-robin format in 2021, but there has been a clamour in Australasia to ditch South Africa and opt for a Trans-Tasman competition next year.

Dobson, addressing the media this week, suggested the best format was the original 12-team configuration that came about with the introduction of the professional game.

“Those guys who are older will remember that when it started it was a Trans-Tasman tournament – a Super Six,” Dobson told a media briefing via a video-conference call.

That Super Rugby tournament – relaunched in 1992 after the demise of the South Pacific Championship – consisted of three provincial teams from New Zealand (Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington), along with two Australian state teams (Queensland and New South Wales) and the Fiji national team.

“I would suggest that when that [Super Six] tournament expanded – to include South Africa – it became a much bigger and better tournament,” Dobson said.

“I remember the Super 10, which Transvaal won in 1993 under Kitch Christie, was a really good tournament.”

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The Stormers coach said the constant tinkering, through expansion to an over-bloated 18-team competition, resulted in the deterioration of the product.

Dobson felt a return to a more simplified format would be the best option.

“If we think back to that period that lasted so long – from about the mid-1990s up until the 2000s – it was a really good product,” he said.

“I think all of us would agree that first prize was Super 12 – the top four [went into the] semifinals, [then a] Final and it was over by end of May – [with] no break for incoming tours,” Dobson added.

“You had some availability of Springboks to the Currie Cup and those were our best seasons.

“You had that window then for tours and you could get bigger tours as well.”

He warned against the constant clamour for a return to the pre-professional era formats.

“I’ve got a horrible feeling that this cacophony is going to have some sway,” he said about the Australasian bleating, adding: “But my understanding is that a deal is locked in [till 2025] and that there is Super Rugby in its current [14-team] format for the foreseeable future.

“I think it would be premature completely pull the plug.

“However, if we could get back closer to something like we used to have, that would have real merit to me.”

Dobson said the Stormers are looking at the possibility of a return to training next week, when South Africa moves into level three of lockdown.

They will working in groups of five, with no-contact training.

“We are working on this August [return to play] idea,” he said, adding that they are depending on directives from the SA government.

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