File photo. Crusaders and Chiefs in Christchurch during round one of Super Rugby Pacific. Photo: Photosport / Chris Symes
Opinion - It's fair to say that this weekend's Super Rugby Super Round should have the snap of a clapper and someone shouting "Take Two" before it kicks off at AAMI Park in Melbourne tonight.
Last year's edition, much like everything about the start of Super Rugby Pacific 2022, was badly affected by travel restrictions.
It meant that the concept was shifted to April, deep into both the NRL and AFL seasons, the latter competition putting a serious dent in any potential crowd in Victoria and arguably Australia's sporting capital.
For context, the two AFL games held just a short walk from AAMI Park at the Melbourne Cricket Ground drew a cumulative spectator number of 154,539. The Super Round maybe had a maximum attendance of 10,000 for one of its six fixtures.
We're probably not going to see AAMI Park bulging at the seams this weekend, as the Super Round is still very much a work in progress. It might not even be one worth persisting with if no one is making any money out of it, but at least we'll get a definitive answer on its future after the weekend.
The pros and cons of this year's Super Round are roughly the same as last year with the added situation that given we are only one week into the season and therefore have a very small sample size to draw on. But as far as draws go, it's not as spicy as it could be, with almost all the games probably going the way of their respective historical precedents.
We saw an opening round that had the Crusaders and Highlanders both crushed at home, now they're facing each other in the first game on Friday night.
For the first time in quite a while, a New Zealand side will put out a starting XV that contains no All Blacks. In fact, the Highlanders only have one on the bench in Folau Fakatava, although they do boast former England test player Freddie Burns at first five.
Meanwhile, the Crusaders have 13 in their squad. Just how Burns goes will be interesting, but the more interesting discussion is just how shallow the talent pool is right now if he's picking up a gig after coming off a full season of the English Premiership.
The Hurricanes come into the weekend after delivering a punishing blow to Brad Thorn's coaching career with the Reds, they shouldn't have too many issues with the Rebels.
Nor should the Chiefs with Moana Pasifika on Saturday night. The Drua and Waratahs should be a fun watch, then last year's semifinal replay between the Brumbies and Blues has the potential to be the most revealing game of the weekend due to it giving us a real gauge on how the strongest Australian side will fare this season.
Rugby across the Tasman does need one of their sides to do well, which is nothing new, but the code seems to be riding a bit of a wave of interest now that Eddie Jones is back. OK, so his assistant coaches are quitting on a weekly basis but Jones has been providing the headlines that are so desperately needed and won't be too far away from a microphone over the weekend.
But really, the biggest test will be that of the Super Round itself. All games will be clashing with the NRL over the weekend, with the opener going directly against the Warriors.
There is enough room for both codes to co-exist on any normal weekend given the usual time difference, but this one is entirely on Australian Eastern Standard Time.
Super Rugby will need just as much of the high tempo product it delivered in week one to make sure this idea has legs.
