D'Arcy Waldegrave: Not so Super Rugby

Not so Super Rugby has leapt into a phone box this weekend and jumped out with its underpants on its head.  

Although the competition has surprised many with the nature of the product and the resurgence of the much-maligned Australian teams, this weekend has proven that the whole shooting match can take aim at its feet and blowing them clean off.  

The fan-centric buzzword, wheeled out like an epiphany, has proven to roll easily enough off the tongue, but not it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny when you cast an eye over the last couple of rounds.  

Easter weekend, an odd construct where we all get a holiday with an asterisk regardless of our beliefs, provides a holiday period with a captive audience, yet super rugby’s entertainment was thin on the ground. No Sunday games, no Monday games. All done and dusted with a packed Saturday schedule. Wilfully ignorant or just plain dumb, you decide.  

This weekend its byes aplenty, with 3 NZ teams getting a cup of tea and a lie down. The feature game on Friday night was the hapless Force being shredded by the Blues at Eden Park. If anything, at least a local derby wasn’t on the cards, as no-one can get anywhere in Auckland on a Friday night, that piece of scheduling though was more fluke than intent.  

The Chiefs get to slap Moana Pacifica tonight, another one-sided embarrassment for the locals not to turn up to. Chiefs 1.02 favourites v 11 dollars for the Nomads.   

Yes, the comp has provided some mouthwatering clashes and some surprising results, but it doesn’t help itself in other areas. Its own worst enemy if you will.  

Fortunately for rugby though, no one is paying any attention to the football because the biggest rugby show in town right now is the custard pie exchange within NZ rugby, as the game appears intent on tearing itself apart in full view of a bemused world.   

Oversized shoes, spinning bowties, tiny bikes with offset wheels and red noses for all.   

Roll up, roll up... 

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