The Super 15 Riddle: Is Less More? More Or Less?

While SA Rugby deals with charges from the IRB about bringing the game into disrepute and receives a sanctioning or fine regarding the senseless “masking-tape protest” there are plenty of other distractions out there.

For starters, the roll-out of the Currie Cup around the country, Craven Week in East London, Tri-Nations on July 25 in Bloemfontein against the All Blacks, Rugby World Cup bid announcement on July 28, and there seems to be an eerie quiet before the storm on the structuring and financing of the Super 15 for 2011-2015.

At last week’s SA Rugby President’s Council meeting in Johannesburg on Wednesday, the presentation of the “big lie” that South Africa had a Super Rugby franchise started.

This all, of course, to try and explain the mess that SA Rugby finds itself in and, of course, to woo the political masters so that the Southern Kings could play seven friendlies against overseas teams in 2010.

A spin story so inconceivable and preposterous, as it costs at least R1 million a game for team assembly, flights, accommodation, player and management costs that no one is mentioning. Fine! Who will pay for this stop-start charade?

The reality is that South Africa and its Southern Kings are scripted out of the Super 15 from 2011-2015.

The proposed tournament structure has been submitted to Newscorp and SuperSport already. Five teams a piece for South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

You might ask why the Southern Kings were never consulted as to structures and fixtures before the submission, or even privy to the submission in a transparent and open process, as it defines their future or non-future for the next six years. Too sensitive a subject to discuss at the president’s council?

This single Super Rugby tournament is unquestionably the well from which SA Rugby, the ARU, and NZRU derive the bulk of their income—from the Newscorp and SuperSport broadcast revenues—yet the structuring of the tournament and its domino effect down into the structures receives scant regard.

Already the tournament is being cobbled together with a hastily assembled "little bit of this and a little bit of that" recipe. Not a good sign that SA Rugby leadership has a solid grasp of the implications:

1. The sixth SA Super Rugby franchise—The chit-chat and promises Marinos made to Watson at the president’s council meeting last week were just "blah blah blah" to placate the government constituency. SA Rugby has made promises that will never be fulfilled. Gone is the Rugby Academy in the Eastern Cape, and gone is the sixth Super Rugby franchise.

2. The Super 15 Super Rugby tournament and 3 X 5 team conference system—The 15th team is the fifth Australian franchise team and that goes to Australia.

3. A relegation and promotion series

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