isthatrightref says...

@ tundha... the difference is that last year the Top-3 wasn't distorted by the stupid rule that has come into play this year, therefore most followers probably weren't aware of it, or its possible consequences i.e. playoffs tend to be won by the team that travels the shorter distance to get there, Rids therefore have an advantage they haven't earned on the field, while Bulls & Sharks cop a disadvantage that their on-field performances don't deserve.

On your second point there've been plenty of posts since approx Round 3 or 4 pointing out that an absurbd playoff series was possible: for a while it looked like the Brumbies would save SANZAR's ass in this regard - then they choked.

Can anyone name another sport, professional or otherwise, where a Finals series can be skewed as this one undoubtedly is?

In terms of the overall format per se, the broadcasters who pay for it all currently get 120 regular season games plus 5 playoffs: any alternative would have to give them at least that much or they'd rightly reduce the fees they pay SANZAR. Any such format would also need to fit into the samw "window" as at present, and not impose unaffordable travel costs on the teams. I've yet to see anyone come up with a format that ticks all of those boxes & suspect that none exists.

For better or worse we're stuck with the conferences for the forseeable future, but there's no reason why the conf winners can't be guaranteed a place in the Top-6 but then ranked in terms of where they actually finished: in the unlikely event of a conf winner finishing 7th overall, that's something we'd just need to deal with.

Posted 21:29 18th July 2012

hybrid187 says...

Seems most people following SuperRugby agree its an illegitimate competition.

The others are from Queensland.

Posted 15:03 18th July 2012

davodiablo says...

This is the point where the Super comp is wrong and just plain stupid . How the Reds get a home semi is beyond me .

Posted 07:01 18th July 2012

Zandberg says...

Carpelone: the format is rubbish. It disproportionately favours Australia, as they have more weaker teams. If the Reds win then Stormers wouldn't play them, although by points they are in 6th spot, but the Crusaders, who by points are in 3rd! So the log-topping team gets penalised! It should either be everyone plays everyone (as it was before), and if they want playoffs 3rd to 6th ranked teams could play off for semi final spots. Or have 16 teams in randomly selected pools of 4 each who play each other home & away, then quarter-finals, semis and final. The current conference system rubbish must come to an end.

Posted 22:10 17th July 2012

Carpelone says...

The whole SR format as is unconvincing, to say the least.

First of all, each team should have 8 domestic games (for the various derbies), plus at least one game with all the other teams (nine). This system is an hybrid and is confusing.

Posted 09:58 17th July 2012