It may not be Super Rugby as we know it, but Super Rugby Aotearoa will be a competition no one will ever forget, says Chiefs coach Warren Gatland.
With Covid-19 travel restrictions having put a serious handbrake on sport across the globe, New Zealand’s five Super Rugby sides will instead battle against each other, their season condensed into a 10-week battle royale for local bragging rights.
The five sides will face each other home and away in a round robin format, with no finals or playoffs and a winner decided on points.
Gatland and the Chiefs will kick the new competition off on Saturday night, travelling to Dunedin to face the Highlanders, with their coach revelling in what his side will face in the coming months.
“It’s different, but it’s even more exciting,” Gatland told media over Zoom.
“It’s harder, it’s local derbies. Fans [are] getting excited, everyone [is] getting excited, not just in New Zealand but globally.
“We recognise how hard the New Zealand derbies are.
“Players are going to hold nothing back, they see it as bragging rights for the next 12 months. Every game’s almost like a trial for higher honours.”
Gatland also said that his Chiefs, who were fifth before the Covid-19 shutdown, are eagerly awaiting kicking the competition off on Saturday night.
The unique circumstances of Super Rugby Aotearoa are serving as inspiration enough for the Chiefs to target the trophy.
“We’re motivated too, even if it’s not the Super Rugby competition.
“Whoever wins this, you’re going to remember it. Everyone’s going to remember the year there was Covid-19 and the year we had a New Zealand competition with the five franchises and who won that competition.
“No one’s going to remember who finished second or third, but everyone’s going to remember who won it.”
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