So just to get things off on a soft note before the season starts proper on 24 February when the Blues host the Crusaders in Auckland, here's 5 potential venues for future Super Rugby expansion especially now that SANZAR has ditched the Roman numerals from the name.
OK, to be honest, I don't think Australian rugby can sustain 5 Super Rugby franchises as it is already, let alone a 6th one in South Australia, essentially an AFL stronghold. But completeness' sake, I have mentioned the City of Churches given its rise as a sporting power in Australia. Furthermore with no rugby league team since the disappearance of the Adelaide Reds in the 1990s, this is a chance for rugby union to establish a grip on what is still very much an untapped if slightly unknown market in Australia.
My tip to be the centre of New Zealand's next big growth spurt, i.e. the Hawkes Bay, and probably more able to host a Super rugby franchise than New Plymouth and Taranaki. Furthermore, despite the recent success of the Magpies in provincial rugby, the Hawkes Bay has still been given a bit of a cold shoulder by its servicing Hurricanes franchise - in fact, the Crusaders with its Magpie All Blacks, Israel Dagg and Zac Guildford, will play more times in Napier than the Canes since 2011. A Napier Super rugby franchise could feature not just the Magpies but the equally resurgent Manawatu Turbos. However, the NZ Rugby Union will need to be convinced that this small but rugby mad country is capable of having 6 full time professional rugby teams.
It's about time the Pacific Islands who have long supplied the world of rugby with its finest players, got its own professional rugby team. It could also ensure some of its best players play for the islands rather than play for other countries. Suva, Fiji's capital and the South Pacific's largest city outside Auckland, is probably best suited to hosting a Pacific Islands Super rugby team. And with an urban population of 100,000 plus, it has roughly the same population as the Highlanders population base. The only trouble is the travel, the lack of modern facilities and also the diplomatic relationship between the Fijian generals and Australia and New Zealand.
South Africa has long been hankering for a Super rugby franchise in the middle of its coastline and the Southern Kings/Spears have been competing in the Currie Cup for years now. Furthermore, the East Cape has long produced future Springboks who have had to leave the region because there is no top flight union in the area, i.e. Luke Watson. Now with a brand new stadium in Port Elizabeth, the region will probably be right in line for Super Rugby's newest team.
With Argentina now playing in the new Rugby Championship, formerly the Tri Nations, it will become inevitable that a Super Rugby franchise will emerge in Argentina's largest city and give the country it's first and only professional rugby team. The Argentine Super rugby franchise would also probably be the panacea to the problems of European clubs releasing players for the Rugby Championship simply because they would have been wiped out as a matter of convenience. Furthermore, Buenos Aires and the surrounding La Plata region do have a few big modern stadia that can be home to a Super rugby team.
Anyway, for more on the Super rugby season and all your rugby action, go to http://www.superrugbytips.com/
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