Why suspending Super Rugby was right despite Brumbies' record run

But if there's a silver lining to the coronavirus chaos, it's that rugby union has given itself a chance to step back, take a breath and develop a plan that may give the game a new beginning.

That will be of little solace to the rampaging ACT Brumbies, who smashed the NSW Waratahs on Sunday and are shattering club records this season.

They have scored 31 tries in the first six games of the year, breaking the perception of stodgy and boring rugby in the capital.

Their average of 5.2 tries per game is better than any season in at least the past 16 years. Rugby records are hard to find these days, which says a lot about where the game is given the information available on the internet.

Their average tries since 2005 has been 2.9 tries per game. The next best behind this year was four tries per game in 2019, which is coincidentally the only other season with an average of four or above.

So it's understandable the players want to keep playing. They feel like they're building something special in Canberra, even though they're not yet halfway through the season.

But the benefit of having the competition suspended is that they're not having to choose between their family and their teammates, like so many others are being forced to do in other sports.

The Wellington Phoenix are relocating to Sydney for the A-League, leaving their family behind and entering a 14-day quarantine period before they can end self isolation.

The New Zealand Warriors are stranded in Australia for the time being. Some players have flown home, others are staying to play the Canberra Raiders this weekend.

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The most-capped player in NRL history, Cameron Smith, wants the competition's officials to suspend the season to avoid such situations.

The AFL has reduced its season to 17 games. Those three competitions are having to make decisions on the fly because they have games in coming days. Rugby can make informed decisions without the same sort of pressure.

The counter argument for all sports, not just the NRL, is that any games are better than none. And if there are no games being played on television, there's no broadcast revenue and therefore no money to pay the players.

And so we get to Super Rugby, whose hands were effectively tied when the New Zealand and Australian governments enforced travel restrictions and quarantine periods.

That could turn out to be a pivotal moment. Because while everyone wants to play, maybe the product Super Rugby bosses are working on as a replacement is the way of the future.

The most likely option is for the competition format as we know it being scrapped in the short-term and replaced by derbies with teams from the same jurisdictions.

Sure, Australian teams have been no match for the Brumbies so far this season. But it has been traditionally harder to attract crowds for games against New Zealand, South African or Argentinean teams.

Regular games against the Waratahs, Queensland Reds, Melbourne Rebels and even the Japan Sunwolves seems like the most logical and smartest idea. Have a five-week mini tournament, reassess the coronavirus situation and decide what happens from there.

It would give the players the best chance to stay on the field for as long as possible and fans the best chance to watch rugby.

It will also give administrators a chance to trial new systems. Many have called for the introduction of a trans-Tasman competition to replace the existing format. There have been rumours South Africa wants to send its teams to Europe anyway.

So Super Rugby could continue with as many as eight derby games each and then reconvene for a best of the best finals series.

All of that, of course, will depend on the changing government advice. At the moment crowds of 500 people or more are banned. That could soon transform to no sport at all.

SANZAAR boss Andy Marinos says the competition will be cancelled altogether instead of postponed if teams cannot play for five weeks or more.

"You know, I think if it goes sort of four, five weeks then it's going to be almost impossible because we don't have the schedule to do anything further," Marinos told New Zealand's Newshub.

"It would put us in a very precarious position. That's why it's so important for us to work with our broadcasters and why we're so determined to see if we can't get some form of rugby and some kind of structure up in the foreseeable future."

But what Super Rugby has done is given itself a chance to pause for thought. There's been no NRL-style "Australia needs us" war cry.

There will be a time when Australian franchises need assistance. While the NRL cries poor after banking a $30 million profit last year, rugby is actually poor.

For now, it's about trying to formulate a plan to make sure whatever iteration of Super Rugby is next is better than the format that has been languishing.