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The true way to test the enjoyability of Super Rugby Pacific is to watch the Waratahs v Western Force game in Sydney on Saturday without a Wallabies lens.
If you can watch that game and not give two hoots about whether Rob Leota or Nick Champion de Crespigny have gone up in Joe Schmidt’s estimation, then Super Rugby Pacific is well on the way to becoming a standalone product with a genuine future.
That’s the way I’ll be watching it, because it is clear that over the opening three rounds Super Rugby is carving out an identity that is distinct to Test rugby.
The two will never be able to be completely separated, particularly as Super Rugby has a high-performance function in helping players to prepare for Test rugby, but the excellent opening month of Super Rugby has delivered such a level of engagement that the viewer finds him or herself frankly not caring about the Wallabies or the All Blacks.
That will come in time, of course, when Test season rolls around, but at the moment the Waratahs v Force game is all about how the result will affect a Super Rugby table that is congested enough to provide some jeopardy in every game.
The realisation that I actually cared about Super Rugby, in a genuine way, dawned on me after watching last weekend’s games.
Sifa Amone is mobbed by teammates after scoring the match-winning try for NSW in round one.Credit: Getty Images
Perhaps it was the healthy crowd behind the sticks at the Force-Reds game, the singing from the Moana Pasifika crowd, the niggle between the Waratahs-Drua forwards, or the lineout move the Chiefs produced against the Brumbies, but there was the unmistakable sense that the teams taking part in Super Rugby Pacific deserved my undivided attention, rather than just being seen as vehicles for a Test season some months off.
Of course, we are all still guilty of looking at individual performances and wondering about the Test implications, but if Super Rugby Pacific continues to grow, then it might become just a regrettable habit.
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