Not so Super 14 failing to ignite

Incompetent refereeing, complex rules and early season rust have all been put forward to explain the absence of quality in the opening rounds of Super 14.

Maybe, though, the malaise has its origins in a far less obvious place. Maybe we are seeing indifferent performances because the players feel indifferently about an expanded format that failed to deliver a schedule they wanted.

When former All Black Justin Marshall said last year that he didn't fancy the prospect of more games against the same old faces, his view was not held in isolation.

If New Zealand player opinion had been canvassed by Sanzar during their broadcast renegotations in 2004, the executives would have heard pleas to shake things up a bit.

The players spent some time collectively discussing how they would like the Super 12 and Tri Nations to evolve. Some radical ideas were bandied around - like creating a 26-week Oceanic/Asian conference to replace Super 12. Expanding the NPC to include Australian teams was another idea. By the end of their discussions the players were unanimous that the possibility of including Asia in any cross-border provincial competition had to be explored. They also agreed that test rugby was a sacred cow and that the emphasis be placed on quality, not quantity.

Those who had been on the scene for a while felt that overexposure was diluting the magic of fixtures against old foes South Africa and Australia.

But Sanzar took the view that players should be seen and not heard. It would be disingenuous to say Sanzar didn't care.

The problem was timing. The original broadcast deal signed in 1995 was due to expire at the end of 2005.

Ideally, the suits would have liked to have started renegotiating in early 2003. That wasn't possible, though. The NZRU underwent an upheaval in personnel at the end of 2002 following their loss of the 2003 World Cup co-hosting rights.

Current chief executive Chris Moller was only appointed in December 2002 and the Australians were distracted by suddenly having the sole World Cup hosting rights thrust upon them.
As for the South Africans, they were reluctant to get round the table as they were being wooed by the Celtic nations and were considering splitting from the Sanzar alliance.

It took until early 2004 for discussions to heat up and by then it was too late to fully explore the viability of opening the door to Japan, Argentina and the Pacific Islands.

The market for broadcast rights was supposedly depressed and the Sanzar partners agreed the best way of landing an improved deal would be to offer Newscorp a greater amount of the same product.

All three countries felt they had essentially signed a five-year holding deal. It was all they could do in the limited time available. There was effectively an unspoken pact that the next renegotiation was the time to be more imaginative.

If the suits were left a little cold by their boardroom endeavour, it was nothing compared with the disappointment of the players. They, after all, are the poor sods who have been lumbered with this gruelling and uninspired Super 14 and Tri Nations programme.

The new collective agreement has at least made sure the test players will pocket between $20,000-$30,000 extra in assembly fees to compensate for their increased workload.

Money, however, cannot change the fact that, just like the suits, the players feel they are passing time until the serious business of next year's World Cup and until a more inspiring domestic cross-border competition can be put in place in 2011.

That said, the top players know they can't retain test jerseys by going through the motions. At some stage those serious about the next World Cup will need to produce the goods.

That stage is not in the first few weeks of Super 14. When the season runs from early February to early December, potential test players have to be selective about the games they mentally peak for.

Leading sports psychologist Dave Hadfield said: "I think if you ask the players they will tell you that they struggle with mental fatigue more than physical fatigue."

The reality is that we probably won't see the intensity and creativity lift until the business end of the competition. That's when the big names will be looking to turn in big performances and the likes of the Crusaders, Blues and Hurricanes will be at their best.

The Crusaders are a good side. They become a great side when Chris Jack, Richie McCaw, Daniel Carter, Aaron Mauger, Rico Gear and Leon MacDonald are bang on top of their individual games. The Blues are not so different and it will be no surprise to see them finish strongly when the likes of Ali Williams, Luke McAlister, Tony Woodcock and Joe Rokocoko all shift into top form.

Australian Rugby Union referee manager Peter Marshall is hopeful by then that the officials will also be producing better work. "I think there have been some crucial decisions made that have been incorrect," said Marshall of the first four weeks of action. "But that can be put down to rustiness. Hopefully the referees are working those mistakes out of the system and in the weeks to come we will be talking about the football, not the officiating."

These first few weeks of Super 14 have been a massive turn off. That shouldn't be seen as a disaster, though.

There is an appetite within Sanzar to make radical changes in 2011. Kept on the existing diet of turgid, lacklustre rugby, that appetite will only get more voracious.

-HERALD ON SUNDAY