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PRO14 poised to become PRO16 as Super Rugby teams

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    Posted: 01-Mar-2019 at 3:00pm
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/pro14-poised-become-pro16-super-15906502?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

It would allow the competition to address one of its major issues

The South African contingent in the Guinness PRO14 could be set to increase with Super Rugby big-hitters keen to join the cross-border competition.

Southern Kings and the Cheetahs are already on board and into their second season in the league.


Now the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers have all emerged as potential additions to the PRO14 party.

The prospect is that two of these high-profile sides could join up for the 2020-21 season, creating an expanded PRO16.

A number of teams from different countries have been touted as potential new recruits for the league over the last year or so.

There has been talk of American sides coming on board, with South African Currie Cup outfits the Griquas and Pumas also heavily linked.

And just this week, it was mooted that a Georgian team could join the league, as the Eastern Europeans look to break into the top tier of the game.

National coach Milton Haig went as far as to say he was hopeful a Georgian outfit could be involved in the next couple of years.

But this is not on the cards, nor is the involvement of the Griquas and Pumas or a Barcelona-based team.

The only new additions PRO14 chiefs are considering with real interest are top South African Super Rugby sides.

It’s understood the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers are all keen on being involved from 2020.

The appeal from a South African point of view is that matches would take place in the same time zone, which is welcome to broadcasters and takes less of a toll on players than travelling to Australia and New Zealand.

From the PRO14 perspective, the sides would bring quality and status to the league, with the Pretoria-based Bulls, for example, being three-times Super 14 champions.

Among the Springbok stars on their books are Duane Vermeulen, Handre Pollard, Jess Kriel, Lood de Jager and Schalk Brits.

The Stormers, from Cape Town, feature big names like Eben Etzebeth, Damian de Allende, Pieter-Steph du Toit and ‘Boks captain Siya Kolisi, with Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira among the leading lights at the Durban-sited Sharks.

As well as rugby credibility, these sides would also generate vital additional revenue for the league if a couple of them signed up.

The inclusion of the Cheetahs and Kings brings in around £6m per season, with a TV deal in place with SuperSport.

Adding higher profile South African sides would be likely to bring in significantly more cash again.

Solving a big problem

It would also allow PRO14 bosses to address one of the major issues with the competition.

There is consistent criticism over the number of matches that are played out between second string sides, with the star names missing.


With 21 regular season fixtures, several games have to be played in international periods, which means teams being hard hit by Test call-ups.

Almost counter-intuitively, increasing to 16 sides would enable that problem to be addressed.

You would be able to have one league, with teams playing each other home or away, giving 15 fixtures.

Add in three return derbies and you would have a regular season total of 18 games, which would enable pretty much every match to be played outside of the Test window.

It would be a case of quality over quantity, with the stars on duty in a greater percentage of league fixtures.
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Jong Leeu
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ROOIHART Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01-Mar-2019 at 4:28pm
Of ons daarvan hou of nie, as daar net 2 SA spanne oorbly in Super rugby gaan dit ook maar vinnige dood sterf. Ons het die ander spanne in mate nodig.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vaal Leeu 3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01-Mar-2019 at 4:30pm
In al die berigte verwys niemand na die Leeus wat dalk sal belangstel, ek wonder hoekom. Is dit toevallig of stel Leeus rerig nie belang nie?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Transvaal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01-Mar-2019 at 4:35pm
Nee ek dink hulle doen
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote PaBz0r Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01-Mar-2019 at 4:38pm
Leeus het lankal genoem hul sal in so iets belangstel.
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Koning Leeu
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WitBoer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01-Mar-2019 at 7:02pm
Dalk is dit tyd... Kom ons face dit, sal nooit Super Rugby wen nie, so dalk moet ons Pro16 probeer? Maak sin itv tydsones en kostes.
"Believe nothing, No matter where you read it, Or who has said it, Not even if I have said it, Unless it agrees with your own reason And your own common sense" - Buddha
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Leeubok Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02-Mar-2019 at 8:39am
Originally posted by WitBoer WitBoer wrote:

Dalk is dit tyd... Kom ons face dit, sal nooit Super Rugby wen nie, so dalk moet ons Pro16 probeer? Maak sin itv tydsones en kostes.

Dit sal vir my maar 'n betekenlose wen wees as ons super rugby los omdat ons nie goed genoeg is om te wen nie, en ons gaan dan en wen 'n laer kwaliteit kompetisie. Lets face it, die beste club/franchise spanne is in super rugby. Ek glo nie enige Pro16 of Top14 span sal die Crusaders klop nie

Maar ek moet se, dit sal nogals interessant wees om te sien hoe ons teen daai spanne sal doen. Ek, en ek is seker baie ander mense, is maar bietjie moeg vir super rugby
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