Pro 12 shows its cojones July saw the Pro 12 become the Pro 14 and with it, change the global rugby landscape. Never have southern hemisphere club teams competed with the north over a season. It is a wonderfully bold move and one which the league desperately needed to make. The inclusion of the Cheetahs (Bloemfontein) and the South Kings (Port Elizabeth) will have a dramatic impact on the league and the benefits aren’t purely financial. Each former Pro 12 team may be 500k richer as a result, but the enrichment of the league extends further. Firstly, the debate over summer/ winter rugby no longer needs to be had. The Pro 14 will have both in a season. One week you’re playing Connacht with a litre of Deepheat sloshed up your legs, the next you’re applying factor 20 in Port Elizabeth. The coaching and selection changes required to cope with the differences in climate and altitude will be fascinating. But perhaps most importantly, long-term, is that this bold first move opens the door to the big boys of South African rugby. With little time delay for broadcasters, no jet lag and the promise of far more practical travel schedules, the Sharks, Stormers, Lions and Bulls may fancy a piece of this too. Super Rugby is in a state of flux and if rumours are to be believed the ménage à trois between the big three has become rather frigid. Whether it works remains to be seen. But the idea and ambition is laudable. The quick conversion is coming Rugby is the ultimate Darwinian sport. Whereas some sports, such as football, tend to evolve over a decade, rugby’s nuances change in rapid 12 month cycles. Be it scrum feeds, or law changes at the breakdown, a game of rugby in September can look very different from a game in the following May. The latest evolution may be the quick conversion. July saw yet another try awarded by the referee only for it the TMO to intervene 40 seconds later as the conversion was being prepared. Following a perfectly weighted chip through from the Leinster bound James Lowe, the Chiefs’ Tim Nanai-Williams slid over the line and the try was awarded by Glen Jackson. Skip forward 35 seconds, as the Crusaders line-up the extra two, and the TMO intervenes disallowing the try. This isn’t the first time this has happened this season and could well lead to a faster conversion process for the scoring team – once the kick has been taken the TMO cannot overturn the decision. Worth keeping an eye on. Zebre proves rugby is still amateur Rugby is a professional sport on the field, but off it the game remains amateur on occasions. Late July, just weeks before the start of the season, saw Zebre taken over by the Italian Rugby Federation amid rumours that their players hadn’t been paid for three months. The situation is alarming, but weirdly understandable. It’s easy to forget that rugby has only been … Continue reading Five of rugby’s talking points from July