South African Rugby’s bosses have one more chance to unify the sport, but instead the fear is changes to the Super Rugby format will only add to division.
There will be a reduction in teams as Super Rugby’s custodians look to again improve the quality of the product. More has been less when it comes to the appeal of Super Rugby. The glory of Super 12 is now the gory of Super 18.
The only way to accommodate a Super 18 or even a Super 20 that includes a team from the United States and one from the Pacific Islands would be to split the tournament into Premier and First Division, with the bottom two relegated and the top two promoted. This would ensure strength versus strength and also give each region international rugby. It won’t happen because it would be too logical.