If the Australian Rugby Union neglect and downgrade their domestic comps then the elite teams won't be so super, according to John Connolly in the Sydney Morning Herald.
"With Australian rugby standing at a fork in the road, there's one important issue that we can't afford to overlook: the value of developing a strong feeder competition to provide players for the future.
"...The O'Neill model features the Super 14 running from March to August, with the Tri Nations at the end, in direct competition with the AFL and NRL. A definite advantage is that it would fill that black hole for rugby in June, July and August when all attention is focused on league and AFL.
"But the problem it presents is that it would take 125 players out of club rugby for the entire season. That could have a detrimental effect on the quality and support of this level of the game, with some clubs already struggling with Super rugby taking just 25 players from their competition."
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