Fortune would have it that I managed to watch three rugby games. Injury prevented me from playing. After watching the super xv game last week. I was concerned about the chances of the Northern Hemisphere sides in the world cup. The two top league matches have made me think again. The other game I watched was lower league which will be the subject of a later blog.
The first game I managed to see was a premiership match between Leicester and Harlequins. The context of the game was the the Quins needed to win to secure a place in the play-off finals. Leicester preferred to win with a big European game next week. The other game I watched was Magners league game between Leinster and Munster. These were two physically tight games where no quarter was asked or taken. The contrast with the Super XV game the week before made me think.
The super xv tournament is between franchises, this is strength and weakness. Strength as it allows national selectors to control players and no risk of relegation allows players to express themselves on the pitch. Weakness because the teams are manufactured. The two games I watched were between two old rivals. In England the game between Leicester and the Quins is an old rivalry between the city slickers from London and the yeoman from the provinces. In Ireland it was between the city slickers of Dublin and the dockers and farmers of Munster. These games would have meant something no matter what the competition. This is where Super XV loses out because of the manufactured nature of the competition the intensity goes out of the game and it becomes more basketball less rugby.
How does this link to the world cup? Northern hemisphere competition is always intense this might give them the edge in the world cup. Bad weather and close games are likely down in New Zealand this might give the pretty rugby will not survive in those conditions.
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