Should Fiji replace Japan in Super Rugby?

[rowan]

Oh, I'm out of the loop with Fiji and wasn't even aware of the PM's appointment as Rugby Union president. So they're in the same situation as Samoa then, with Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi running both the RU & the country! I know about Samoa because I've linked the Observer to my Facebook page. Perhaps I should do the same with some Fijian news outlet...

[rowan]

How did the Sunwolves go today? Anybody know?

[rowan]

So the Sunwolves are 1-12 after 13 rounds with a points for & against deficit of 346.

Last year they finished 1-13 with 1 draw and a points deficit of 334.

So they'll need to win one or their remaining two games, or draw both of them, to improve on their (woeful) debut season record. Given they are away to the Stormers & at home to the Blues, I don't see that happening. It's a failed experiment, and the longer it takes SANZAAR to acknowledge this, the worse it will be for the competition.

[rowan]

Johannesburg - Japan are not taking Super Rugby seriously, says TV analyst and former Springboks coach Nick Mallett after the Tokyo-based Sunwolves were humiliated 94-7 by Lions at the weekend.

The Johannesburg side equalled the competition try-scoring record for one team in a single match by running in 14 for the second biggest Super Rugby winning margin.

Sunwolves were trailing by 59 points during the second half at Ellis Park stadium when Tonga-born substitute forward Uwe Helu scored the lone try for the Japanese side.

The most humiliating defeat by the two-year-old franchise angered Mallett, one of the most outspoken voices on rugby in South Africa.

"Japanese rugby officials are not taking the Super Rugby competition seriously," he said on Johannesburg-based SuperSport TV.

"Unless officials in that country change course, there are going to be a lot more heavy defeats in the future, some even heavier than the one this weekend.

"Sunwolves were introduced to Super Rugby so that a strong Japanese national team could be built as they prepare to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

"But many of the best Japanese rugby players are turning out for company-owned clubs in the country and not for the Sunwolves.

"The best Japanese players have to play for the Sunwolves, otherwise they are going to be embarrassed many more times.

"In the match against the Lions they missed 53 tackles -- you cannot compete successfully in Super Rugby with that sort of statistic," warned Mallett.

"The Sunwolves defence was non-existent and they were continually smashed in the scrums," said the man who guided South Africa to third place at the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

"Had it been a boxing match, the white towel would have been flung into the ring by half-time."

Another SuperSport analyst, 2007 Springboks World Cup-winning flyhalf Butch James, was equally critical of the Sunwolves.

"The one thing supporters of any rugby team expect is commitment and effort -- we saw neither from the Sunwolves at Ellis Park."

South Africa-born Sunwolves skipper and loose forward Willie Britz -- one of three non-Japanese starters against the Lions -- was blunt after the thrashing.

"If you do not keep the ball and make your tackles, you are going to be in big trouble, especially against a team as strong as the Lions.

Sunwolves play Stormers in Cape Town next Saturday and complete their season the following weekend by hosting the Blues from New Zealand.

The Tokyo outfit have played 28 Super Rugby matches since debuting last year, winning two, drawing one, losing 25, scoring 545 points and conceding 1,225.

Both victories came in Japan, against the Jaguares last season and the Bulls this year.

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/SuperRug ... t-20170702

[rowan]

But many of the best Japanese rugby players are turning out for company-owned clubs in the country and not for the Sunwolves.

That really does make a farce of it. The only reason they were included in the first place was to toughen Japan up for 2019.

[Stones of granite]

Anyway, the only intention of setting up this poll was to see which way people would vote. Given only two people apart from myself voted (both 'No,' obviously) it's been a bit of a failed experiment, so far.

There wasn't a "couldn't care less" option.

[rowan]

Anyway, the only intention of setting up this poll was to see which way people would vote. Given only two people apart from myself voted (both 'No,' obviously) it's been a bit of a failed experiment, so far.

There wasn't a "couldn't care less" option.

Sure there is. Abstention.

[rowan]

No offense, but that really was a silly comment to make on this thread, btw

Would be like me coming onto the Scottish forum and saying "Who cares less?"

[Lizard]

If the JRFU is thinking straight, it will earmark a significant portion of the profits from RWC2019 to Sunwolves player salaries to entice them away from the corporate clubs.

[rowan]

Yes, that's a big IF though. This is the first I've heard that they don't have their best players in the Sunwolves squad, which really shows a lack of commitment on their part, and perhaps even poor management of the venture. Meanwhile, we've got perfectly good teams facing the axe because of declining standards and one-sided scorelines, not to mention a general inundation of top flight rugby across the Southern Hemisphere.

[Lizard]

It's no surprise. Why wouldn't a player take more money for fewer games, at less phyisical standard, and relatively speaking zero travel? Being a Sunwolf would be fucking hard work.

[rowan]

Indeed. My criticism was directed at the JRU, of course; not the players.

[rowan]

In fact, my first thoughts when I heard about the prospect of a Japanese franchise was that it would detract from the local competition, which is a well-established and apparently quite lucrative professional league. But it may be that the JRU never had any intention of allowing a Super Rugby franchise to remove all its top players from the domestic championship, which would defeat the purpose of the Sunwolves concept entirely.

[Stones of granite]

No offense, but that really was a silly comment to make on this thread, btw

Would be like me coming onto the Scottish forum and saying "Who cares less?"

I was responding to your comment about only two people voting in your poll, and explaining why.

You fucking idiot.

[rowan]

If you miss the point that badly, twice in a row, then there's not much I can do to help you.

[Stones of granite]

If you miss the point that badly, twice in a row, then there's not much I can do to help you.

I missed the point? For fuck's sake get a grip you dipstick. Read back what I posted and engage your fucking brain.

Or start another pointless poll/thread that no one read. Whatever.

[rowan]

Stones, your posts on this forum are juvenile and pointless. I'm not sure what it is you're trying to prove, nor why this thread troubles you so much, but I'm really too old for this nonsense, if you don't mind.

[Stones of granite]

Stones, your posts on this forum are juvenile and pointless. I'm not sure what it is you're trying to prove, nor why this thread troubles you so much, but I'm really too old for this nonsense, if you don't mind.

To be honest, I find most of your contributions to this entire forum juvenile and pointless, and your inability to distinguish beteen a lighthearted comment about a missing option on a poll and a comment on the poll itself is further evidence that you are losing the plot. However, I am sure that someone is happy with the bandwidth you generate with your interminable thread that no one reads, and your pointless polls, so do carry on.

[rowan]

Grow up, mate.

[rowan]

So the Sunwolves, coming off a string of humiliating thrashings, now need a win over the Blues in their final game of the season to improve on last year