Rugby Championship ready to launch with Sanzaar sailing into troubled waters

Three shockwaves hit southern hemisphere rugby within the space of 24 hours last week: Bristol announced the capture of Charles Piutau on a reported £1m-a-year contract, Western Force were axed by the Australian Rugby Union and the new-look Pro14 was launched in South Africa. It will not go down as the easiest of days at Sanzaar HQ as the Rugby Championship gets under way on Saturday.

For Sanzaar, these are difficult times. Super Rugby has been listing in recent years and while three of the 18 franchises have been jettisoned, there is still the creeping sense the competition has taken on too much water and that it could go under for good in 2020. Internationals offer some respite but look a little closer and there has been a step backwards since New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina contested the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup.

The Wallabies are wounded as they prepare to host the All Blacks. The decision to cut Western Force and the ensuing legal battle still reverberates and Michael Cheika’s side go into the game with Australia’s Super Rugby teams having lost all 26 matches to New Zealand opposition this year. The surprise selection is on the wing where Curtis Rona, of Western Force, will be handed a debut. Rona has only been in union a year and has hardly set the world alight but reading between the lines you suspect Cheika was fearful of an immediate return to the NRL for the wing, where he would not be short of offers. Already, as seen with Kurtley Beale’s return to Australia, Cheika has had to maximise his powers of persuasion.

There is every chance Australia, who still have some exceptionally talented players, will run the All Blacks close – the upshot of their collective Super Rugby failure is greater time to prepare – but the problem is that a thumping New Zealand win, however many offloads the returning Sonny Bill Williams cares to make, will not have us in raptures as 12 months ago.

At times during the victory in South Africa last year it seemed New Zealand were playing a different sport entirely but the Springboks’ problems were subsequently laid bare and the Lions surely proved too much mythologising over the All Blacks must stop.

New Zealand, still haunted by their failure to win that series, would like nothing more than to grind Australia into the turf. Some genuine competition would be far healthier in the long run but a big victory on Saturday will help to restore pride and belief from within that they are not in the early stages of decline.

Which brings us back to Piutau. Steve Hansen did not mince his words when he expressed disappointment at his departure for Ulster in 2015. Piutau was not due in Belfast until July 2016 but nonetheless Hansen refused to consider him for the 2015 World Cup and even prevented him signing a short-term contract with the Blues.

Hansen would have at least expected Piutau back for the 2019 World Cup until Bristol’s huge offer. For Piutau, it must be remembered, is not an All Black in the twilight of his career, winding down in Europe. He is 25 and would walk into any international squad. Consider how Hansen could have done with a player of his ability as injury and suspension took hold against the Lions. Consider too how joining him in the northern hemisphere this season are Steven Luatua, Aaron Cruden and Malakai Fekitoa.

The concern is that the player drain will only get worse as Super Rugby heads closer towards the abyss. New Zealand are able to keep most of their best players at home because they are propped up by Sanzaar money. That in turn comes from broadcast deals that rely heavily on the widespread demand in South Africa but if the Southern Kings and the Cheetahs prove to be Pro14 pioneers rather than ill-fated guinea pigs, the rest of their franchises may follow suit. In the short term the NZRU has been boosted by the considerable windfall a Lions tour brings but the fact the All Blacks play five matches this autumn suggests an awareness troubled waters may lie ahead.

Eddie Jones picked up on their problems earlier this month. “Five years ago, the New Zealand players who came to the northern hemisphere were players close to or over 30 years old and it was the last part of their career,” he said. “Now some players are moving more in the middle stage of their career and they are probably the B selection for the All Blacks – the Crudens and the Fekitoas. That leaves a gap because now you are looking at your C-team player.”

South Africa can be credited for taking action but it remains to be seen if their Pro14 experiment is a success. The Kings have been plagued by financial problems recently and neither theirs nor the Cheetahs’ squad has any distinction to speak of. A 3-0 whitewash against France was a promising sign of recovery after last year’s dismal performances, while Brendan Venter’s influence is no doubt being felt.

Still, Faf de Klerk’s move to Sale was a blow and the political problems continue to hamper the union. Things could still get worse before they get better, even if Allister Coetzee has picked some talented young players to face Argentina.

All of which leads us to the elephant in the Sanzaar boardroom. Argentina have a habit of stagnating between World Cups but the introduction of the Jaguares to Super Rugby has misfired to the extent it has worsened the Pumas. Not including victories over Uruguay and Chile they have lost 13 of 18 Tests since their swashbuckling quarter-final victory over Ireland in 2015 and were at times shambolic against England over the summer.

To sound the death knell on southern hemisphere rugby would be grossly premature. But as the curtain comes up on the Rugby Championship, it is clear it is not plain sailing.