Super Rugby finally rolls into the post-COVID era

SYDNEY : Finally freed of the COVID travel restrictions that sounded the death knell to the intercontinental edition and fragmented and disrupted the rump competition, Super Rugby returns in its full new normality on Friday.

The days when the competition ranged from Buenos Aires, through South Africa's highveld and up into the northern hemisphere in Tokyo are long gone and until 2030 it will be very much an Australasian-Pacific affair.

The second season of Super Rugby Pacific will be played with a host of law variations aimed at making the game more attractive to fans but one aspect of the competition is highly unlikely to change - New Zealand supremacy.

The Canterbury Crusaders dominated Super Rugby in the years pre-pandemic and have proved just as hard to beat with or without fans in the stadiums, through lockdowns, biosecurity protocols and in competition hubs.

Scott Robertson has won a title of some description in every one of his six seasons in charge and his players will be keen to send him on his way with another when, as looks likely, he becomes the All Blacks coach after the World Cup.

Despite optimistic noises coming from across the Tasman Sea in Australia, the biggest challenge to the Crusaders is likely to come from the North Island of New Zealand.

The Auckland Blues beat the Crusaders in their Christchurch fortress last season during a 15-match winning streak but were unable to reprise the feat in front of their own fans at Eden Park in the title-decider.

The Waikato Chiefs also beat the Crusaders on the road last year and will have livewire Damian McKenzie back from Japan and playing flyhalf when they return to Christchurch Stadium for Friday's season-opener.

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