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Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town - The first completed season of pre-knockout activity in the restructured Super Rugby competition indicates that New Zealand ruled the conference-play roost in general terms, with South Africa not very far behind.
Although their rugby has been buoyed a fair bit by the commendable achievement of the Reds in topping the overall table after the ordinary season, the broader picture suggests Australia ended quite clearly the humblest of the trio of SANZAR partners in the competition.
Of course some critics may want to reserve judgment on where the truest balance of power lies until after the five-match finals series - the big showpiece itself takes place on July 9 – although there is also an argument for saying the new, gruelling conference phase is perhaps the best barometer of all, as “survival of the fittest” becomes a key factor in the run-in.
Based on conference play, the collective New Zealand challenge has been the most convincing, even if, ironically, the important home semi-final berths have gone the way of Aussie and South African sides instead.
The Crusaders were the best NZ finishers, in third overall, and must play an extra, sudden-death match against the Sharks in Nelson next weekend as a result.
But the truth is that they did exceptionally well considering their extraordinary circumstances this season of being disadvantaged by the Christchurch earthquake and playing home matches mostly at Trafalgar Park, hundreds of kilometres from their normal home, and their last one, against the Hurricanes, in their opponents’ Wellington stronghold instead.
Australians will take comfort in the fact that the six-team finals series sees an even split, with two representatives of each nation making the cut.
But deeper analysis suggests that the Aussies were notably the weakest in terms of conference depth: three of their five franchises (the Force, Brumbies and wooden-spoonists the Rebels) occupied the last four spots on the overall log.
Not too many weeks ago, an Australian writer suggested the South African conference was the least compelling of the lot: the fellow must have been smoking his socks at the time.
Perhaps the best thing you can say in his defence is that it has been mostly subsequent to his claim that SA sides have confirmed their superiority over Australian ones – the conference run-in has seen five wins on the trot by South Africans over Aussie opponents.
Our teams won 12 and lost seven of 19 meetings with Australian foes during ordinary season, whilst when it came to New Zealand encounters, South African sides won eight but lost 11.
Other statistical material also points to New Zealand supremacy overall: their conference earned a total haul of 248 points, and 40 wins. Right on their tails came the South African conference (243 points, and as many wins).
The slightly lopsided Australian conference – there was a 42-point gap between winners the Reds and the last-placed Rebels – saw a total harvest of only 217 points and 35 victories.
A further feather in New Zealand caps was all five of their teams ending in the top 10 overall, the Chiefs holding off the Cheetahs by a whisker for 10th spot itself.
The suggestion in World Cup year, then, with the All Blacks to enjoy host status, is that their domestic rugby remains in robust health and that their position at the top of the IRB Test rankings (93.19 points) is perhaps even more justified.
But they will also be only too aware that the South African game seems to be on the “up” once more, if conference play in Super Rugby is any yardstick, and that the Boks (currently third on 86.44 points) appear to be in a with a fair shout not only at recapturing the Tri-Nations title but also leapfrogging the Wallabies (87.45) back into second in the world.
Cape Town - The first completed season of pre-knockout activity in the restructured Super Rugby competition indicates that New Zealand ruled the conference-play roost in general terms, with South Africa not very far behind.
Although their rugby has been buoyed a fair bit by the commendable achievement of the Reds in topping the overall table after the ordinary season, the broader picture suggests Australia ended quite clearly the humblest of the trio of SANZAR partners in the competition.
Of course some critics may want to reserve judgment on where the truest balance of power lies until after the five-match finals series - the big showpiece itself takes place on July 9 – although there is also an argument for saying the new, gruelling conference phase is perhaps the best barometer of all, as “survival of the fittest” becomes a key factor in the run-in.
Based on conference play, the collective New Zealand challenge has been the most convincing, even if, ironically, the important home semi-final berths have gone the way of Aussie and South African sides instead.
The Crusaders were the best NZ finishers, in third overall, and must play an extra, sudden-death match against the Sharks in Nelson next weekend as a result.
But the truth is that they did exceptionally well considering their extraordinary circumstances this season of being disadvantaged by the Christchurch earthquake and playing home matches mostly at Trafalgar Park, hundreds of kilometres from their normal home, and their last one, against the Hurricanes, in their opponents’ Wellington stronghold instead.
Australians will take comfort in the fact that the six-team finals series sees an even split, with two representatives of each nation making the cut.
But deeper analysis suggests that the Aussies were notably the weakest in terms of conference depth: three of their five franchises (the Force, Brumbies and wooden-spoonists the Rebels) occupied the last four spots on the overall log.
Not too many weeks ago, an Australian writer suggested the South African conference was the least compelling of the lot: the fellow must have been smoking his socks at the time.
Perhaps the best thing you can say in his defence is that it has been mostly subsequent to his claim that SA sides have confirmed their superiority over Australian ones – the conference run-in has seen five wins on the trot by South Africans over Aussie opponents.
Our teams won 12 and lost seven of 19 meetings with Australian foes during ordinary season, whilst when it came to New Zealand encounters, South African sides won eight but lost 11.
Other statistical material also points to New Zealand supremacy overall: their conference earned a total haul of 248 points, and 40 wins. Right on their tails came the South African conference (243 points, and as many wins).
The slightly lopsided Australian conference – there was a 42-point gap between winners the Reds and the last-placed Rebels – saw a total harvest of only 217 points and 35 victories.
A further feather in New Zealand caps was all five of their teams ending in the top 10 overall, the Chiefs holding off the Cheetahs by a whisker for 10th spot itself.
The suggestion in World Cup year, then, with the All Blacks to enjoy host status, is that their domestic rugby remains in robust health and that their position at the top of the IRB Test rankings (93.19 points) is perhaps even more justified.
But they will also be only too aware that the South African game seems to be on the “up” once more, if conference play in Super Rugby is any yardstick, and that the Boks (currently third on 86.44 points) appear to be in a with a fair shout not only at recapturing the Tri-Nations title but also leapfrogging the Wallabies (87.45) back into second in the world.
