I know that in Australia, Rubgy League challenges Aussie rules as the most popular sport. When Australia sends out a team to play Union, do they draw the players from Legaue teams, or does the split between Union and League that you see in the UK also occur in Australia.
Union and League are completely different games - different rules, controlling bodies and players. The players, particularly the forwards, are not generally suited to both games League is the most popular football code in New South Wales & Queensland. Aussie Rules is the most popular in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania (with a strong foothold in southern New South Wales). Up until recently Union was very much a minor sport, popular only amongst ex-private school types. Since winning the 1991 World Cup, the advent of professionalism and the Super12 competition, it has come along strongly. It is growing in popularity in the Aussie Rules states, especially Western Australia which has a large ex-pat South African presence. It is also rivalling League in NSW and Queensland at the representative (Super12 and international) level, but not at the club level. In the past when Union was amateur, many top players were lured to League with varying levels of success. Now Union is starting to buy some League players, such as Mat Rogers who played against NZ on Saturday night.
i would have said backs find it easier to adjust as the technical side of the game isnt much different. People like jason robbinson have had no probs changing codes. Although that said lysten Hassis (sp) is having a hard time.
league is better a club level but union is milions of times better at international and it is that which draws many players into going from league to union
What is the history/origin of the Super 12? How were the 12 teams that play in it selected, and do the Super 12 players play for other clubs/provinces or make enough money from Super 12 games? I have seen a lot of Super 12 games on FSW but never understood it origins.
Originally it was the South Pacific Championship. It had New South Wales & Queensland from Australia, the top Pacific Islands national team (Fiji, Western Samoa or Tonga), and the top 3 provincial teams from New Zealand. It then expanded to Super10, then Super12. The Island teams were dropped, and a third Australian team, Australian Capital Territory, and South African teams were brought in. At first it continued to be the top 4 provinces in South Africa, and the top 5 in NZ, so you had, say, from SA: Transvaal, Nth Transvaal, Natal, Western Province and Orange Free State, and from NZ: Auckland, Waikato, Canterbury, Wellington and Otago, and maybe North Harbour or Counties. As this meant that many NZ and SA players missed out, while all Aussies were available, some provinces in SA and NZ were merged and the provincial names dropped in favour of "mascot" names. So now there are: Australia: New South Wales Waratahs Queensland Reds ACT Brumbies NZ: The Crusaders (basically Canterbury) The Highlanders (Otago) The Hurricanes (Wellington) The Blues (Auckland) The Chiefs (Waikato) The Auckland Blues for example is a different team to the Auckland that competes in the NZ National Provincial Championship, and the same with the others, so they can bring in players from other provinces. SA: (not 100% sure of provincial ties, but..) The Sharks (Natal/Eastern Province) The Stormers (Cape/Western Province) The Cats (Transvaal/Free State) The Bulls (Nth Transvaal/?) The competition runs for 11 weeks, then semi-finals and final. At the end, all the players go back to playing for their own clubs (in the case of Australia) or provinces (in the case of SA & NZ), and/or for their national teams, as the Tri-Nations Championship follows the Super 12.
did u watch that S.Africa match when that fan went for the ref. Did you watch some of the SA players go for him...If i was there i would have proper laid into the fan the fat piece of ************ he was
Further to Craigs post, New Zealand is divided into twenty-seven provincial unions, all who select representative sides. They are, from North to South: Northland, North Harbour, Auckland, Counties/Manukau, Thames Valley, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Poverty Bay, Hawke's Bay, King Country, Taranaki, Manawatu, Wanganui, Waiararapa Bush, Horowhenua/Kapiti, Wellington, Nelson Bays, Marlborough, Buller, West Coast, Canterbury, Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury, North Otago, Otago and Southland. All the unions pride themselves on their particular brand of rugby, with prevailing weather conditions significant in the development of their style. Southern unions tend more toward the dour forward battles, waged on cold, wet grounds. Northern sides are better known for their expansive play, with underfoot conditions more conducive to running rugby. Some of the more remote unions, like the East and West Coasts, are famous for unique and free-spirited styles all of their own. It is organised in to 3 division for the National Provincial Championship. Div 1 has 10 teams, D2 has 8 and D3 has 9. There are Semi Finals and a Final to decide the division winners. The team who wins D1 wins the NPC. Those 27 provinces are aligned with the 5 Super 12 teams. For example, Auckland Blues are made up of Auckland NPC, North Harbour and Northland. Also, the Ranfurly Shield is a Challenge Cup style trophy for the provinces. Whoever the holder is, they play home matches against challengers. The Challengers must win to take the shield. They then become the holders, and must defend it in a certain number of games per year. Aucklands monster 1985-93 tenure is the greatest. After taking the shield from Canterbury in 1985, Auckland defended it 61 times before losing to Waikato in 1993. The shortest Shield tenure was the one week Wellington held it in 1963. Seven days after taking it from Auckland, Wellington lost it to Taranaki. If the holding union refuses to place the Shield at stake, the NZRFU will intervene to organise a game.