RUCK N ROLL
GAVIN RICH: Super 12 format with rests would deliver better rugby
With playoff places up for grabs and finishing order to be determined, you would have thought the final round of league play in Super Rugby would be exciting and absorbing, but instead it was all slightly underwhelming. Sure, Sharks fans would have been biting their nails early on Saturday when the point of their team’s match later in the day against the Jaguares was thrown into doubt as the Rebels took a 14-point lead against the Highlanders. They would have been right to have been miffed had it remained that way though, for the Highlanders, knowing they had nothing to gain and had an extended round of tough playoff matches ahead, rested key players. But then the Jaguares also rested players in the Kings Park match that determined the Sharks’ fate. Their selection resembled a second-string combination and made the Sharks win predictable. You can’t blame teams for resting players. It would not have made sense for the Jaguares to field their best team at Kings Park as they knew they ...
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