After watching Super Rugby’s four quarter-finals this weekend it is hard not to be left with the feeling that Europe has an enormous advantage heading into the tenth Rugby World Cup. Especially now that the South African franchises are part of the old world.
There has always been a gaping chasm between the quality of Super Rugby and its various European counterparts. The French and English club games were not short of some powerful teams and the various incarnations of Celtic and Italian leagues were often exciting, but the best of the northern hemisphere would have been blown away by the Super Rugby elite.
The Crusaders, the most successful southern hemisphere side, were the All Blacks in terms of intensity, while the Hurricanes, Highlanders, Chiefs
